THE USE OF A MULTIMEDIA PERSONAL TOXIC EXPOSURE FOR ASSESSMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL RISK FACTORS IN CHILDREN (the example of Pervouralsk) S.V. Kuzmin1, E.A. Kuzmina1, V.B. Gurvich2, S.A. Voronin2, L.I. Privalova3, G.V. Matyukhina2 1 Ekaterinburg Medical Research Center for Prophylaxis and Health Protection in Industrial Workers of Rospotrebnadzor 2 Sverdlovsk Regional Agency of the Federal Service for Surveillance in the Sphere of Consumer Rights Protection and Human Welfare 3 The Center for Hygiene and Epidemiology in the Sverdlovsk Region, Ekaterinburg, Russian Federation The exposure assessment on the population level is not only averaged for sufficiently large groups and areas within which is varies significantly but is often incomplete because it does not consider indoor concentrations of chemicals in residential and public buildings that significantly depend on some local factors. Children spend their time in different microenvironments (at home, in the kindergarten, transport, shops, in the street, etc.). The soil and dust exposure is especially relevant for children due to their behavioral habits and inadequate hygienic skills. The studies showed that preschool children spend almost 80% of time indoors. Without establishing the qualitative and quantitative composition of pollutants in microenvironments it is impossible to make a reliable assessment of the personal exposure to the pollutants and to substantiate the most effective measures of its reduction. The goal of work was to assess a multimedia personal exposure of preschool children to pollutants with account for the time spent in various microenvironments and the lifestyle, to evaluate the contribution of contamination of these microenvironments in the total chemical load in order to choose priority measures of environmental risk management on the population and personal levels. The work was done in 2003-2008 and covered 287 children aged 3-7 in seven towns of the Sverdlovsk Region (Ekaterinburg, Pervouralsk, Krasnoturyinsk, Revda, Nizhni Tagil, Verkhnyaya Pyshma, and Krasnouralsk) that are big industrial centers with developed ferrous and nonferrous industries, aluminum production, machine building, heavy traffic and industrially polluted environment. Concentrations of pollutants (nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, formaldehyde, volatile organic compounds, suspended particles, lead, chromium, copper, cadmium, nickel, arsenic, zinc, aluminum, and manganese) in the air (in the breathing zone, the ambient air, indoor air in residences and kindergartens) were measured using personal samplers made in the USA, Japan and Russia. To assess the multimedia toxic load we also established concentrations of toxic metals in soil in the garden and the playground of kindergartens, in vegetables grown in private grounds, in drinking water, in dust sampled from the carpeting and the floor at home and in the kindergarten. The time study was conducted and the parents were asked to fill out a questionnaire. Here, as an example, we present the results obtained in the town of Pervouralsk. The time study showed that, on the average, the children spent 6.7% of time in the street, 32.0% - in kindergartens, and 59.0% - at home; and also 1.5% of time – indoors in other places including schools of development, shops, etc., 0.8% - in transport. The contribution of indoor air at home in the time-weighed average concentrations estimated based on average results for air of three microenvironments and the average time spent in them, was the highest in respect of nitrogen dioxide and formaldehyde, of indoor air in kindergartens – sulfur dioxide, and the contribution of ambient air was the lowest for all three pollutants (the latter was, probably, due to the short time of stay out of doors). All concentrations of volatile organic compounds established by personal sampling and also in the ambient air, in the indoor air in kindergartens and homes were significantly lower than the maximum permissible concentrations. Higher concentrations of all VOCs were found in indoor air in residences. Concentrations of other pollutants in the ambient air and indoor air in kindergartens did not exceed the corresponding maximum permissible average daily concentrations either. The analysis of concentrations of toxicants in vegetables grown in private gardens of families of the children under study showed that concentrations of cadmium in beet were 2.6 times, and in carrot – 1.3-1.7 times higher than the permissible level. Concentrations of contaminants in other studied vegetables (potato, cabbage) were within the permitted limits. Based on data on averaging concentrations of the studied toxicants in soils where the vegetables were grown, the concentration of zinc was 1.3 times higher than the maximum permissible level. In the soil of the playground in the kindergarten the concentration of zinc was 1.6 times higher than the permissible level. The evaluation of pollutants in dust sampled in kindergartens and in home dust showed that the added toxic load on children was due to high concentrations of heavy metals. Concentrations of lead, cadmium and chromium in dust were significantly higher than in soil. That could be explained by the presence of local industrial sources of emission of those chemicals. The levels of other metals in soil and dust were comparable or higher in soils. Concentrations of toxicants in drinking water consumed by children did not exceed maximum permissible concentrations. The contribution of the studied environmental media in the total toxic load was assessed for each child. Here we present some results that characterize possible health risk factors obtained based on the questionnaire data. 66.6% of children were born in Pervouralsk. 94.4% of those children lived in panel or block houses. 94,4% of flats where the children lived had windows facing the street. Gas was used for cooking in 100% of flats while the exhaust ventilation from the gas stove was arranged only in 16.7% of flats. 33% of families used tap water from the central water supply system for drinking. Floors were washed once a day in 33% of families, and once a week – in 67% of flats. In 61.1% of families somebody smoked cigarettes every day in the permanent residence of the child. The average number of cigarettes smoked a day was 13. Pets were in 44% of families (fish, cats, dogs, birds, turtles and rodents). The correlation analysis helped reveal statistically significant correlations between the personal inhalation exposure to formaldehyde and decorations in the flat in the previous 12 months; between the personal exposure to nitrogen dioxide and the gas stove in the kitchen; between concentrations of sulfur dioxide, trichloroethylene established during the personal monitoring and the floor of living (4-7 and above); between the exposure to formaldehyde and windows facing the traffic road in the flat. The results show that the main inhalation exposure of children to nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, formaldehyde, and volatile organic compounds took place indoors. High concentrations of heavy metals were found in dust samples taken from horizontal surfaces including carpeting. We also found lots of polymer and synthetic materials in flats. The results of assessing the multimedia personal exposure help obtain adequate information about the contribution of concentrations of toxicants in microenvironments in the total toxic load, develop personal measures of its reduction as well as recommendations for health risk management on the population level. S.V. Kuzmin, E.A, Kuzmina, V.B. Gurvich, S.A. Voronin, L.I. Privalova, G.V. Matyukhina. The use of a multimedia personal toxic exposure for assessment of environmental risk factors in children (the example of Pervouralsk). In: Health protection in the population of industrial regions: the strategy of development, innovative approaches and perspectives. Proceedings of the Russian scientific and practical conference with international participation, Ekaterinburg, 28-30 October 2009. Pp. 72-75. .