Ben Hirst Hazardous Materials Awareness and Operations Practice Exam 2026 – Comprehensive All-in-One Study Guide for Success!

Absorption is the process of taking in materials through the skin or eyes. The skin and the eyes have mucous membranes and can allow chemicals to pass into the body's tissues and bloodstream, which is why dermal and ocular exposure are described as absorption. Inhalation involves breathing in vapors or aerosols into the lungs, ingestion is swallowing a substance, and injection means introducing a substance directly into tissues through a puncture. So, when the exposure route is through contact with skin or eye surfaces, the correct term is absorption.