ABSTRACT

Published statements have ranked indoor air quality among the top ten health risks currently facing Human exposure data for chemicals represent a major bottleneck in the risk assessment process. This has been recognised by the EU Council of Environmental Ministers by putting forward a request to the European Commission to undertake action for eliminating existing deficiencies in exposure data. To respond to this challenge, DG Health and Consumer Protection (DG SANCO) requested the JRC to develop and operate a European Information System on Chemical Risks from human exposure to chemicals released from consumer products/articles (EIS-ChemRisks) to systematically collect, store, and assess information. This work supports the rapid exchange (RAPEX) notifications system of the General Product Safety Directive (2001/95/EC) and may provide technical support to the relevant aspects of i.e., regarding downstream users. The Toolbox includes three major databases supporting exposure assessors in the EU in producing exposure assessments for reasonably foreseeable exposures (i) "ExpoFactors" for EU and other relevant exposure factors, (ii) "ExpoData" for reference exposure data and methods which includes "ExpoModels" for reference exposure models and "Chem-Test" for reference testing methods, and (iii) "ExpoScenarios" for reference scenario-based exposure assessment. In addition, these reference systems will be supported by the "ExpoHealthData" database for exposure-associated health-data. Intended users of the EIS-ChemRisks database are EU Member States, Industries, Academia, R&D, International organisations, NGOs and other interested stakeholders.