EXPOSURE WHILE APPLYING INDUSTRIAL ANTIMICROBIAL PESTICIDES

Forty-three assessments were made of dermal and/or inhalation chemical exposure while applying industrial antimicrobial pesticide products, either by manually pouring or pumping liquids or by pouring a solid (p owder or flake) product. Inhalation exposure was assessed via a person al air sample bur was usually below the chemical limit of detection. D ermal exposure outside work clothing and dermal deposition inside the clothing was assessed via dermal gauze dosimeters. While dosimeters at discrete body locations often received exposures below the limit of d etection, one or more dosimeters on individual applicators almost alwa ys showed measurable exposure. The median measured dose was between 30 % and 70% of the maximum credible summed dose calculated by assuming t hat each dosimeter showed either the level of measurable deposition or one-half of the detection limit at locations where the chemical was u nmeasurable. Because of differences in settings and the low level of c ontrol implicit in these application processes, measurable dermal dose s were highly variable, Mean measurable dose rates were near 3, 8, and 10 mg product/hr, and daily total deposited doses were 2, 3.5, and 5 mg of product for pouring and pumping liquids and for pouring solids, respectively. Although the effect of gloves cannot be directly determi ned, wearers of gloves had geometric mean hand total doses 155- to 290 -fold less than those nor wearing gloves. Similar to the statistics fo r agricultural pesticides, the dermal route of exposure for these indu strial pesticides exceeds the inhalation route by 5X to 100X, dependin g on assumptions regarding nondetectable values.