CHEMICAL-COMPOSITION OF COTTON GIN EXTERNAL EMISSIONS - CROP PROTECTION PRODUCTS

Seed cotton from producers in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Georgia, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas was ginned at either the Stoneville or Mesilla Park USDA, A RS Cotton Ginning Laboratories. Particulate emissions during ginning w ere sampled from the exhausts of the unloader separator and the first lint cleaner The gin external emission particulate sampled from both e xhausts was anal),zed for crop protection products/agricultural chemic als. DEF (a chemical used for defoliation of cotton plants just prior to harvest) is the only substance found routinely in gin external emis sions. Exposure at the boundary, line (100 m from the gin exhaust) to any of the substances detected was fractions of ppb, or in the case of DEF; an average of less than I ppb (1 ng/m(3)). The air concentration s 100 m from the gin exhaust are well below levels that would produce any health concerns. Also, none of the substances detected occurred at levels of any concern for meeting either EPA or OSHA regulations.