Consumer exposure to chemical substances

To assess the risk of a consumer product, it is very important to know the exposure to chemicals in these products. Exposure to chemical substances during use of consumer products is mainly determined by the way the product is used (exposure scenario), the concentration of the ingredient in the product and the release of the substance from the product during use. However, no such measurement data are available.

RIVM is involved in development of methods to determine the safety of chemical substances. For consumer products, RIVM has developed the ConsExpo model, a model that mathematically predicts human exposure to consumer products. With the use of ConsExpo, both manufacturers as well and researchers are able to predict to what amount consumers are exposed to chemical substances in a consumer product.

Main commissioning bodies

The main commissioning bodies for RIVM with respect to consumer products and consumer exposure are the Dutch Food and Consumer Products Safety Authority (NVWA), the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sports (VWS) as well as the European Commission (EC). Collaborations in this field are contracted with Wageningen University where product use is evaluated as well as with RIKILT and MESA+ that perform measurements of (nano) substances in consumer products.