Dermal Uptake of Organic Chemicals from a Soil Matrix

Uptake of chemicals from soil on human skin is considered. Based on a review of literature on the structure of human skin, the processes by which chemicals pass through this boundary, and experiments that reveal the rate and magnitude of this transport process; a two-layer model is presented for estimating how chemical uptake through the stratum corneum depends on chemical properties, skin properties, soil properties and exposure conditions. The model is applied to two limiting scenarios--(1) continuous deposition and removal of soil on the skin surface and (2) a one-time deposition of soil onto the skin surface. The fraction of soil-bound chemical that passes through the stratum corneum is dependent on the skin-soil layer thickness; the dimensionless Henry's law constant, Kh and the octanol-water partition coefficient, Kow of the soil-bound chemical. The nature of this dependence is discussed.