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An experimentally refined tool to assess the risks of the human dermal exposure to herbicide chlorotoluron

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Abstract

Dermal absorption of the herbicide chlorotoluron was measured using ex vivo pig skin in Franz diffusion cells in an automated system. The steady-state flux was calculated, as well as the permeability coefficient, which is 0.0038 cm h−1. The permeability coefficient (Kp) is a key factor when predicting human health risks resulting from dermal exposition to a substance. The experimental determination of this parameter filled data gaps regarding the dermal absorption of chlorotoluron. The experimental permeability coefficient was subsequently used to calculate the dermal absorbed dose during some exposure scenarios. Reference doses were revised, and screening risk assessment process was done to calculate the risks resulting from exposure to chlorotoluron. This refined new approach proved to be a useful tool for human health risk assessment in the areas with these herbicide applications.

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Acknowledgments

This research was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Masaryk University, and this research was financially supported by the Czech Science Foundation (GA ČR grant no. 14-27941S) and by the Ministry of Education of the Czech Republic (LO1214). Special thanks are due to MVDr. Jan Bernardy, Ph.D. and Veterinary and Pharmaceutical University, Brno for his help with excising skin grafts for the experiment and for expert consultation, and also to Mgr. Klára Komprdová, Ph.D. for data consultation.

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Correspondence to Pavel Čupr.

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Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues

Highlights

Kp of chlorotoluron was defined experimentally for the first time

Nonoccupational exposure (via dermal route) scenarios to chlorotoluron in Czech population were identified

Reference doses were revised, and a reference dose for chlorotoluron was recommended

Useful tool for human health risk assessment of chlorotluron was presented

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Bányiová, K., Čupr, P. & Kohoutek, J. An experimentally refined tool to assess the risks of the human dermal exposure to herbicide chlorotoluron. Environ Sci Pollut Res 22, 10713–10720 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-015-4252-x

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