R. Brouwer et al., SKIN CONTAMINATION, AIRBORNE CONCENTRATIONS, AND URINARY METABOLITE EXCRETION OF PROPOXUR DURING HARVESTING OF FLOWERS IN GREENHOUSES, American journal of industrial medicine, 24(5), 1993, pp. 593-603
In eight greenhouses used for carnation culture, workers engaged in ha
rvesting (n = 16), were monitored for dermal and respiratory exposure
and urinary excretion of propoxur. Dermal exposure of hands and forear
ms was estimated from dislodgeable foliar residue, using a transfer fa
ctor (a measure of transfer of pesticides from leaves to the skin) and
the total number of working hours. Total estimated dermal and respira
tory exposure during harvesting ranged from 0.2 to 46 mg and from 3 to
278 mug, 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 o
f excreted IPP was 0.95. A correlation coefficient of 0.84 was found b
etween 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 absorptio
n, calculations indicated that dermal exposure could account for >80%
of the amount of excreted IPP. On the basis of the amount of IPP excre
ted, there was no reason to suspect increased health risks for workers
from exposure to propoxur during harvesting. (C) 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc
.