Potential dermal exposure to deltamethrin and risk assessment for manual sprayers: Influence of crop type

• Published in: The Science of the total environment Vol. 391; no. 1; pp. 34 - 40
• Main Authors: Hughes, Enrique A., Flores, Andrea P., Ramos, Laura M., Zalts, Anita, Richard Glass, C., Montserrat, Javier M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier B.V 25.02.2008; [Amsterdam; New York]: Elsevier Science
• Subjects: Agriculture; Argentina; Brassica; Crops, Agricultural; Deltamethrin; dermal exposure; field experimentation; GC-ECD; Hand; Humans; Insecticides - analysis; lethal dose 50; MOS; Nitriles - analysis; occupational exposure; Occupational Exposure - analysis; occupational health and safety; Periurban agriculture; Potential dermal exposure; Protective Clothing; Pyrethrins - analysis; rats; Risk Assessment; Skin; spraying; toxicity testing; Zea mays; Argentina; MOS; GC-ECD; Periurban agriculture; Potential dermal exposure; Deltamethrin
• ISSN: 0048-9697; 1879-1026
• DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2007.09.034

A comparison of the Potential Dermal Exposure (PDE) of workers to the insecticide deltamethrin was made as a function of crop type, in small agricultural production units in Argentina. Seven experiments were done with two different crops (maize and broccoli, treated area between 600 and 1000 m 2) with three different operators under typical field conditions using a lever operated knapsack. The methodology is based on the whole body dosimetry technique, presenting separately the data for mixing/loading and application activities. These results indicate a higher concentration of pesticide in lower body sections for broccoli and a wider distribution for maize. The risk inherent in these agricultural procedures is estimated through Margin of Safety (MOS) values and was found to be generally safe. Preliminary results of a mass balance distribution of the pesticide between crop, soil and operator are also presented.