Increasing attention is being paid to human exposure to airborne chemicals from products or materials used indoors, for two reasons:

Individuals spend substantial fractions of their time indoors.

Such exposures can occur repeatedly throughout one's lifetime.

The primary objectives of this practice are as follows:

To list the elements that need to be considered in developing a scenario to describe how exposure occurs to chemicals emitted from alkyd or latex interior paints.

To discuss procedures and alternatives for choosing and describing these elements.

Elements of an exposure scenario, in turn, are used to practice a subsequent step of estimating exposures through monitoring studies or computer modeling exercises.

Once exposures have been estimated, the results can be used to assess the potential impacts of a specific paint formulation on the health of exposed individuals, or to compare the relative impacts of alternative formulations.

Estimation of exposures, or comparisons of estimated exposures across alternative paint formulations, can lead to development of environmentally preferable products by minimizing adverse health effects for exposed individuals.

1.1 This practice provides procedures for constructing scenarios for assessment of inhalation exposure to airborne emissions of chemicals released from alkyd or latex paints that are used indoors.

1.2 The indoor environments covered in this practice, in terms of considerations for developing exposure scenarios, are residences and office buildings.

1.3 Elements of the exposure scenarios include the product and chemical(s) to be assessed, the indoor environment where the product is applied, application of the product, chemical emissions during and after product application, and location/activity patterns of individuals who may be exposed to the airborne chemical emissions.

1.4 Steps to be performed after developing exposure scenarios, such as monitoring, modeling and exposure/risk assessment, also are described.

1.5 Units—The values stated in SI units are to be regarded as standard. No other units of measurement are included in this standard.

1.6 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.