SKIN CONTAMINATION, AIRBORNE CONCENTRATIONS, AND URINARY METABOLITE EXCRETION OF PROPOXUR DURING HARVESTING OF FLOWERS IN GREENHOUSES

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 .