Total carbon Exposure Assessment

In densely populated areas, traffic is responsible for massive exhausts of nitrous oxides, soot, polyaromatic hydrocarbons, and carbon monoxide. Traffic emissions also markedly contribute to the formation of ozone in the lower parts of the atmosphere. In large cities, fine particle exposure causes excess mortality which varies between one and five percent in the general population. Contamination of the ground water reservoirs with organic solvents has caused concern in many countries due to the persistent nature of the pollution. A total exposure assessment that takes into consideration all exposures via all routes is a relatively new concept, the significance of which is rapidly increasing. 

Monitoring methods for dermal exposure have not been standardized as well as the methods to assess inhalation exposure. Adsorptive pads of activated carbon cloth can be used for monitoring of dermal exposure to organic solvents. Patches are attached on various parts of the body under the clothing and the amounts analyzed are then multiplied with the areas of each body region.Exposure assessment is complicated by the contribution of solvent vapor on the samples. Because the adsorptive surface of activated carbon is much larger than that of the skin, pads will adsorb much more solvents than the skin. However, only exposure to liquid phase is usually significant therefore, the adsorbed vapor should be subtracted from the total mass analyzed. However, this makes the exposure assessment... 

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