An official website of the United States government.

This is not the current EPA website. To navigate to the current EPA website, please go to www.epa.gov. This website is historical material reflecting the EPA website as it existed on January 19, 2021. This website is no longer updated and links to external websites and some internal pages may not work. More information »

Indirect Dietary Residential Exposure Assessment Model (IDREAM) Implementation

The Indirect Dietary Residential Exposure Assessment Model (IDREAM) was developed to estimate acute and chronic indirect ingestion exposure that can result from use of disinfectants and sanitizers on kitchen surfaces in residential settings. It provides guidance for estimating these exposures where there may be inadvertent transfer of residue to edible items prepared on surfaces treated with these pesticides.

IDREAM was developed by the American Chemistry Council Biocides Panel in response to a need identified by EPA. Following a series of reviews and revisions, we determined that the model is appropriate for regulatory use.

On this page:

IDREAM Assumptions and Calculations

Assumptions used in IDREAM are based on behavior of consumers using hard-surface disinfectants and sanitizers in the home, including how such products are used and how consumers prepare food in the home. It categorizes foods based on physical form and likelihood of countertop contact incorporating several significant protective assumptions.

This guidance is not applicable outside of those settings or for any other type of exposures.

The calculation of the estimated exposure for Tiers 2 and 3 uses a spreadsheet where only very limited data entry results in automatic calculation (version:  June 26, 2015)

IDREAM User Guide

This user guide includes:
  • General Overview of IDREAM
  • Brief Overview of Assessment Tiers
  • Subpopulations of Interest
  • Food Ingredient Classification
  • Additional Background Information About Tier 2 and Tier 3 Assessments
  • Getting Started: Performing a Tier 2 Assessment
  • Getting Started: Performing a Tier 3 Assessment

IDREAM Memorandum

This memorandum includes discussion of issues raised during the review of earlier versions of this model and responses to those issues.

IDREAM Documents

You may need a PDF reader to view some of the files on this page. See EPA’s About PDF page to learn more.