Exposure of pregnant women to tap water related activities.

BACKGROUND: Evidence for an association between exposure of pregnant women to chlorination disinfection by-products and adverse birth outcomes is inconsistent and inconclusive. AIMS: To evaluate the use of a questionnaire in a population of pregnant women to assess their exposure to water, examine the validity of the questionnaire by a seven day diary, and to obtain a better understanding of the exposure of pregnant women to water in Central London. METHODS: A total of 147 pregnant women were asked to complete a questionnaire. Information was requested on their exposure to water from cooking and washing up, showering and bathing, food and drink, and swimming. Demographic and socioeconomic information were also recorded. For validation purposes, women were asked to complete a seven day diary at home. RESULTS: The average exposure duration was 338.5 min/week for cooking and washing up, 172.2 min/week for bathing and showering, and 67.9 min/month for swimming. The total fluid intake was 18.9 l/week of which, on average, 18% was cold tap water; 30% of this tap water was consumed outside the home. The correlation between questionnaire and diary data was generally good to very good, although women tended to overestimate their exposure in the questionnaire compared to the diary. CONCLUSIONS: Information was obtained on the daily exposure of pregnant women in Central London to chlorinated water at home, work, and elsewhere. The questionnaire was found to be a valid method to assess the exposure of pregnant women to water and the response rate was higher than for diaries.

Current knowledge and recent developments in consumer exposure assessment of pesticides: a UK perspective.

Techniques employed in the assessment of consumer exposure to pesticides are currently being reviewed in the UK. This is not a formal process as is happening in the USA. However, the advent of probabilistic approaches and sophisticated computer models has prompted regulators, industry and other stakeholders in the UK to recognize the need for refinements in the risk-assessment process. Sources of information and data necessary to explore such refinements are disparate. This review aims to collate the information to present a coherent picture of the current knowledge, the data available and the stakeholders involved. It can then be used as a resource with which to investigate further more specific issues. Although focussing on the UK, the European context is included and reference is made to US models and developments that should be investigated. Factors hampering progress include the lack of sufficient data on which to base quantitative analysis, especially in the residential pesticides sector, and lack of experience in using and interpreting probabilistic models. At present, such techniques are being approached with some caution in the UK and in Europe, although their utility for cumulative assessment is accepted. Communicating results to both risk managers and consumers will be a considerable challenge.