Tm. Wolf et al., Contribution of aerosols generated during mixing and loading of pesticidesto operator inhalation exposure, TOX LETT, 105(1), 1999, pp. 31-38
The occupational exposure resulting from the application of crop protection
agents continues to be of great interest for the purposes of identifying h
azards or determining safer chemical handling methods. The purpose of the p
resent study was to identify the potential respiratory exposure of a mixer/
loader to chlorothalonil, with the mixing and loading operation as the only
source of aerosols (particles < 13 mu m diameter). Three worst-case mixing
/loading scenarios were simulated in the lab: (1) a spill of undiluted chlo
rothalonil formulation onto a dry, horizontal metal surface; (2) a spill of
undiluted chlorothalonil formulation onto a rapidly rotating shaft; and (3
) pouring undiluted chlorothalonil formulation into a container of water. A
erosol generation from these scenarios was compared to that resulting from
atomizing dilute chlorothalonil through hydraulic nozzles. Aerosols were ca
ptured with a cascade impactor, and quantified by gas chromatography. Resul
ts indicated that simulated spill scenarios generated aerosol concentration
s between 2.1 and 5.3 ng/l, which were in the same order of magnitude as, a
nd only marginally higher than, the detection threshold (1.7 ng/l) and back
ground levels (2.2 ng/l). In comparison, atomization of dilute chlorothalon
il through a hollow cone and flat fan nozzles resulted in airborne concentr
ations of 354 and 96 ng/l, respectively, related to the atomization charact
eristics of these nozzles. Measurement of the dimensions of the aerosol clo
ud indicated that aerosols resulting from a spill amounted to approximately
10(-5)% of the spilled chlorothalonil. It was estimated that a male worker
respiring 29 l/min would inhale approximately 0.32-0.78 ng of chlorothalon
il during a typical 30 s spill, assuming a 1%, transfer efficiency between
the spill site and the mixer/loader. These estimates were between 10 000 an
d 480 000 times less than literature data for respiratory exposure of chlor
othalonil by applicators and harvesters, suggesting that inhalation of aero
sols from mixing and loading represents a minor component of overall exposu
re. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.