Premium
Skin contamination, airborne concentrations, and urinary metabolite excretion of propoxur during harvesting of flowers in greenhouses
Author(s) -
Brouwer Rudi,
Van Maarleveld Karin,
Ravensberg Luco,
Meuling Wim,
De Kort Wim,
van Hemmen Joop J.
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
american journal of industrial medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.7
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1097-0274
pISSN - 0271-3586
DOI - 10.1002/ajim.4700240509
Subject(s) - propoxur , urine , excretion , medicine , metabolite , toxicokinetics , toxicology , respiratory system , pesticide , urinary system , zoology , toxicity , biology , agronomy
Abstract In eight greenhouses used for carnation culture, workers engaged in harvesting (n = 16), were monitored for dermal and respiratory exposure and urinary excretion of propoxur. Dermal exposure of hands and forearms was estimated from dislodgeable foliar residue, using a transfer factor (a measure of transfer of pesticides from leaves to the skin) and the total number of working hours. Total estimated dermal and respiratory exposure during harvesting ranged from 0.2 to 46 mg and from 3 to 278 μg, respectively. To study the relationship between external and internal exposure to propoxur, respiratory and dermal exposure levels were compared with the total amount of 2‐isopropoxyphenol (IPP), the major metabolite of propoxur, excreted in urine in 24 hr. The Pearson correlation coefficient between dermal exposure and the total amount of excreted IPP was 0.95. A correlation coefficient of 0.84 was found between respiratory exposure and the amount of IPP excreted. The latter association was probably caused by the covariation of respiratory and dermal exposure levels (r = 0.85). Assuming negligible oral absorption, calculations indicated that dermal exposure could account for >80% of the amount of excreted IPP. On the basis of the amount of IPP excreted, there was no reason to suspect increased health risks for workers from exposure to propoxur during harvesting. © 1993 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.