EXPERTS SUBJECTIVE ASSESSMENT OF PESTICIDE EXPOSURE IN FRUIT GROWING

Objectives Exposure to pesticides in fruit growing was estimated by pe sticide experts, occupational hygienists, and fruit growing experts to determine whether valid subjective assessments can be made by experts . The study objectives were (i) validation of exposure assessment by e xperts using different sources of information, (ii) assessment of inte rrater agreement, (iii) measurement of agreement between experts' asse ssments and actual quantitative exposure data. Methods Three groups wi th different expertise made four ratings. Three of the ratings were ma de in three phases in which exposure information was provided. Results The intraclass correlation was high for each subgroup of experts when tasks in fruit growing were relatively ranked by increasing exposure level. In general, the interrater agreement on factors influencing the internal dose decreased when more information on exposure was provide d. Experts correctly considered dermal exposure as the prominent contr ibutor to internal dose. Results were comparable for the three pestici des under study. The ranking of 15 specific sprayings with a fungicide clearly showed differences between raters according to their expertis e. The pesticide experts and occupational hygienists were able to rank daily exposure levels during pesticide spraying in a meaningful way. Conclusions Experts seem to recognize the most important determinants of external exposure and therefore should be able play a role in evalu ating the effectiveness of control measures taken to reduce external e xposure and to determine exposure groups in epidemiologic studies. The expert panel should not be too small, and consensus or average estima tes should be used because differences within expert groups can be con siderable.