Abstract
Objectives: The purpose of this study was to determine skin adhesion rate of children's modeling clay for exposure assessment. Methods: Children's modeling clays were classified into 10 categories as PVA clay, PVA soft clay, starch-based clay, foam clay, rubber clay, oil clay, muddy clay, terra clay, paper clay and slime. A total of 26 children's clay goods was selected. Moisture content (%) and hardness of clays were measured. Five adults aged 20 to 25were recruited for experiment. Gravimetric difference of modeling clay was determined after 3 minutes playing time. Skin adhesion rate ($g/min/cm^2$) was estimated bythe amount of skin adhesion per minute (g/min) and each individual's palm surface area ($cm^2$). Results: Twenty four of the 26 children's modeling clay products were adhesive to skins. Two products of foam and rubber clay were not adhered to skin. For the 24 products, the average skin adhesion rate was $5.5{\times}10^{-4}{\pm}4.0{\times}10^{-4}g/min/cm^2$. The highest skin adhesion rate was $1.3{\times}10^{-3}{\pm}4.4{\times}10^{-4}g/min/cm^2$ for paper clay. The lowest skin adhesion rate was $4.6{\times}10^{-5}{\pm}1.1{\times}10^{-4}g/min/cm^2$ for oil clay. The skin adhesion rate was increased with increase of moisture content. Adhesion rates of some clays were varied by person and testing trials. Conclusion: The study determined skin adhesion rate of children's modeling clay. The adhesion rate is useful for exposure and risk assessments and setting safety guideline to protect children's health.
