Open AccessEthylenethiourea in air and in urine as an indicator of exposure to ethylenebisdithiocarbamate fungicides.
Author(s) -
Päivi Kurttio,
Kai Savolainen
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
scandinavian journal of work, environment and health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1795-990X
pISSN - 0355-3140
DOI - 10.5271/sjweh.1793
Subject(s) - urine , fungicide , toxicology , chemistry , excretion , environmental chemistry , environmental science , zoology , agronomy , biology , biochemistry
Ethylenethiourea (ETU) is a ubiquitous impurity of the ethylenebisdithiocarbamate (EBDC) fungicides widely used in agriculture and forestry. In the present study, ETU was used as a measure of the exposure to EBDC on potato farms and in pine nurseries during the application of EBDC fungicides and the weeding of the sprayed vegetation. Biological and hygienic monitoring was carried out through the analysis of ETU in the breathing zone and the urine of exposed workers. Even if the concentrations of ETU in the ambient air of pine nurseries exceeded those of potato farms, the concentrations of ETU in the urine of potato farmers exceeded those of pine nursery workers. This result may have been due better protective equipment in the pine nurseries. The excretion rate was 6-10 ng/h during the first 60 h after the cessation of exposure, and it diminished thereafter to 0.2 ng/h over a 22-d observation period.