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Exposure
Pathways Evaluation
Introduction to the Section
What would you do if you heard that the Environmental Protection Agency
had found trichloroethylene in the groundwater in your neighborhood?
Your first concern might be whether this chemical could make you and
your family sick.
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In such situations, the health assessor's job is to determine
whether you or others in your community are coming in contact with
the chemical. This is important to know because a chemical cannot
make anyone sick unless that person eats, drinks, breathes, or touches
the chemical.
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Even then, a person would have to come in contact with the chemical
in a way that allows enough of it into the body to result in illness.
For example, if you were to touch a lead pipe, your skin would keep
the lead from entering your body. But, if you were to breathe dust
from lead-based paint during sandblasting, lead particles might
get into your body and cause harm.
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Trichloroethylene is one chemical that can enter a person's body
in a number of ways. It evaporates into air, so it might be inhaled.
If it gets into your water supply, it is possible to drink it. A
little bit of it can even go through your skin if you touch it.
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To find out how, when, and where people are coming in contact with chemicals,
health assessors conduct an "exposure pathways evaluation."
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To learn about what this evaluation involves, click through this
section.
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Takes about 15-25 minutes.
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