Household Exposures to Chemicals

As scientists search for clues about how environmental risk factors affect breast cancer, one of the expanding avenues of exploration is household exposures to chemicals.

Household exposure means an exposure that takes place indoors, at home.

Much of the research into chemical exposures has examined occupational settings. A new focus on household exposures will contribute different data and will raise and help to answer different questions.

See the following sections to learn more:

• Pathways to Household Exposure
• Studying Household Exposures
• More Information About Studies and Chemicals

 Pathways to Household Exposures

Household exposure can occur in many ways. Some common routes of exposure include the following:

• A chemical is used or applied purposefully inside the home. Examples: paint, bug spray, makeup and perfume.
• A product containing the chemical is present in the home or is used in construction of the home. Examples: plasticizers in vinyl products, flame retardants in foam furniture and coatings for electrical equipment.
• A chemical comes into the home from an outside source. Examples: pesticides in air drift through open windows or tracked in on shoes.
• Unintentional release or misuse of a chemical occurs inside the home. Examples: using a chemical without adequate ventilation, storing chemicals improperly, or mixing chemicals such as ammonia and bleach.
• Residual amounts of the chemical are in the home from a prior use or accidental release.
• Outgassing (also called vapor intrusion) from chemicals in the soil to air in the home.

 Studying Household Exposures

Environmental monitoring is key to the study of household exposures.

Environmental monitoring is the periodic or continued measurements of chemicals in samples from the soil, water, air or surface dust.

Samples of house dust, air, and examinations of the interior environments of homes as well as interviews and questionnaires are common tools in studies.

Biomonitoring, measurement of a chemical in human tissue or fluid such as blood or urine, is of secondary importance. If a chemical is present in a human tissue or fluid sample, that confirms an exposure, but not where the exposure occurred. Samples from the home environment are needed to confirm that a household exposure could have been the source of the chemical present in a human sample.

More information about environmental monitoring and biomonitoring is available on the BCERF web site in the Biomonitoring and Environmental Monitoring pages.

 More Information about Studies and Chemicals

• Recent Studies that Include Questions on Household Exposures
• Links to Information about Chemicals Being Studied

Last Update 09.10.09

Program on Breast Cancer and Environmental Risk Factors
Cornell University, College of Veterinary Medicine
Vet Box 31, Ithaca, NY 14853-6401

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