Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2013C00288:reg:3:p2
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2013C00288
Segment Type: reg
Provision Reference: reg 3 (pt 2/8)
Character Range: 2782918–2785753

inhalation of particulates outdoors and indoors is considered essentially insignificant, compared with vapour inhalation.

    3.4.2         Dermal absorption
Insufficient data is available on the dermal absorption of PCE from soil. Given the volatility of the compound, dermal absorption is expected to be low though, as there is insufficient data available to further assess dermal absorption from soil, a default value of 0.03 (3%) has been adopted for the volatile organic compounds (US EPA 1995).

    3.4.3         Plant Uptake
Limited data is available on the potential for PCE to be taken up by home-grown produce. Some data is available on the effects of PCE vapours on plant growth with a predicted no effect concentration (PNEC) of 8.2 µg/m3 identified. ATSDR (1997) also notes that food products can absorb PCE from the atmosphere over time; hence, some studies on the level of PCE in food products are expected to reflect this process, rather than plant uptake from the roots. Given the volatility of this compound, the potential for plant uptake is expected to be limited. As with the assessment presented for TCE, the use of the more commonly adopted equations for quantifying plant uptake (as presented in the text of Schedule B7) that do not address uptake of volatiles (from air) rather than the root, or transformations within the plant, are not considered appropriate and relevant for the assessment of PCE.

It is expected that the potential for plant uptake will be of less significance in the derivation of an HIL, when compared with the assessment of vapour inhalation and, given the limitations involved in providing a meaningful evaluation of plant uptake, it has not been considered in the derivation of HILs.

    3.4.4         Intakes from Other Sources – Background
As PCE is highly volatile and not persistent, background intakes will be dominated by inhalation exposures. Concentrations of PCE in industrial, urban and regional areas are available in Australia. Data collected in NSW (DEC 2003) from urban and regional areas in NSW report average concentrations of PCE of approximately 0.1 ppbv, or 0.0007 mg/m3 (<5% of inhalation TRV) with a maximum concentration in the Sydney CBD of 1.6 ppbv, or 0.01 mg/m3 (5% of inhalation TRV) A study of concentrations in an industrial area in Brisbane (Hawas et. al. 2001) has reported average and maximum concentrations of 0.015 mg/m3 (7.5% of inhalation TRV) and 0.085 mg/m3 (42% of inhalation TRV) respectively. These concentrations are consistent with those reported in other cities in Australia (NICNAS 2001).

Other significant exposures of the general public are likely to occur through the use of dry-cleaning. Variable concentrations of PCE in homes and where dry-cleaned clothes are stored and worn are reported by NICNAS (2001) and WHO (2000). A study