Step 2.1 Estimating Exposure Doses

Estimating a Dermal Contact Dose: When and How?

When? Dermal contact doses should be estimated

when the chemical being evaluated is one that can pass through a person’s skin

or

when most of the skin on a person’s body is exposed to a chemical; for example, while swimming.

How? Dermal contact doses are estimated as follows.

dose=

where,

the intake rate for dermal contact with chemicals in water = (the area of skin exposed × the chemical-specific permeability constant (A chemical-specific permeability constant is a number that expresses the rate at which a chemical moves through the skin. The number is derived from experimental studies.))

the intake rate for dermal contact with chemicals in soil = (the area of skin exposed × soil adherence factor (The soil adherence factor is an estimate of how much of a particular soil type will stick to a person’s skin after contact.) × chemical-specific bioavailability factor