Integrated Far- and Near-Field Human Exposure Modelling for Organic Substances

While we enjoy the modern convenience brought by a multitude of man-made organic chemicals, such as surfactants and flame retardants, the exposure to these compounds, some of which are bio-accumulative, persistent and even toxic, may endanger our health. Humans are exposed to chemicals in consumer products during both product use in the indoor environment (near-field exposure), and consumption of contaminated animal- and vegetable-based foods (far-field exposure). The proposed research will use mechanistic models as powerful tools to systematically explore two fundamental but poorly understood questions: (i) What are the relative contributions of the two general chemical exposure fields to overall human exposure? And (ii) what factors influence these relative exposures the most. The proposed research will build upon the steady-state mechanistic human exposure models RAIDAR and RAIDAR-ICE. Batch simulation will be conducted to systematically investigate the influence of selected key parameters. TO BE CONT’D

Faculty Supervisor:

Frank Wania

Student:

Li Li

Partner:

University of Toronto

Discipline:

Environmental sciences

Sector:

Environmental industry

University:

Program: