Effects of temperature, surfactants and skin location on the dermal penetration of haloacetonitriles and chloral hydrate

Dermal exposure has been recognized as an important contributor to the total internal dose to disinfection-by-products (DBPs) in water. However, the effect of the use of surfactants, water temperature and area of the body exposed to DBPs on their dermal flux has not been characterized and was the focus of the present study using an in-vitro system. The dermal flux of mg/l concentrations of haloacetonitriles and chloral hydrate (CH), important cytotoxic DBPs, increased by approximately 50% to 170% with increasing temperature from 25 °C to 40 °C. The fluxes for the torso and dorsum of the hand were much higher than that of palm and scalp skin. An increase in flux was observed for chloroacetonitrite and dichloroacetonitrile, two less lipophilic HANs, but not for trichloroacetonitrile or CH, with the addition of 2% sodium lauryl sulfate or 2% sodium laureth sulfate, two surfactants commonly used in soaps and shampoos used in showering and bathing. Thus, factors such as temperature, surfactants and skin location affect dermal penetration and should be considered when evaluating dermal absorption.