Assessing exposure of young Australian children to toxicants in the home environment using a web-based questionnaire

Abstract

The presence of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in the home environment is ubiquitous and is a major contributor to the exposure of young children to these chemicals. EDCs are found throughout the domestic environment, including in consumer goods, dust, air and food. Whilst the term EDCs refers to chemicals that have been demonstrated to disrupt the normal homeostasis of the endocrine system, they also affect a variety of other systems. Epidemiological evidence suggests that exposure to EDCs during the foetal period and childhood may be contributing to the increasing incidence of non-communicable diseases, such as obesity, during childhood and possibly later in life. However, to date, little research has been conducted in Australia to assess exposure of young (less than three years old) children to EDCs and associated health outcomes. The current 'gold standard' of assessing human exposure to these chemicals is biomonitoring. Biomonitoring in environmental epidemiology studies of children is ethically and III 5.3.2 Soft furnishings 5.3.3 Building and construction 5.3.4 Automotive/transportation 5.3.5 Toys 5.4 Discussion: estimate of goods likely to contain BDE-209 in Australia 5.5 Conclusion CHAPTER 6 PATTERNS OF INSECTICIDE-PRODUCT USE AND CHILDREN'S EXPOSURE PATHWAYS IN THE AUSTRALIAN DOMESTIC ENVIRONMENT: AN ANALYSIS OF CALLS TO THE QUEENSLAND POISONS INFORMATION CENTRE... 6.1 Introduction 6.2 Methods 6.3 Results 6.3.1 Calls by product type and insecticide type 6.3.2 Mechanisms and routes of exposure 6.3.3 Management of exposure 6.4 Discussion 6.4.1 Key findings 6.4.2 Limitations and future research directions 6.5 Conclusion CONCLUSION OF PART ONE .