EXPOSURE OF COMMERCIAL PESTICIDE APPLICATORS TO THE HERBICIDE ALACHLOR

Presented in this paper are the results of a pilot study to estimate t he alachlor inhalation (2-chloro-2',6'-diethyl-N- [methoxymethyl] acet anilide) and skin exposures of commercial pesticide applicators, who a pply a variety of herbicides and insecticides to crop land. Twenty app licators and seven hauler-mixers participated in the study. Inhalation exposures ranged from 0.32 to 6.4 mu g/m(3) with a geometric mean of 1.6 mu g/m(3). Alachlor deposition on clothing patches was highly vari able, ranging from <0.01 to 32.0 mu g/cm(2). The thigh patches general ly received more deposition than patches in other areas. Surface-wipe and hand- and glove-wash samples also indicated that the hands frequen tly were exposed; alachlor concentrations in postshift handwash sample s ranged from 3 to 324 mu g/sample. The results of the study indicate that commercial pesticide applicators encounter substantial exposures to alachlor and that proper precautions for reducing exposures are not always followed. Practical steps, in particular The use of good work practices, may be taken to reduce exposures in this population.