Potential operator exposure in southern European greenhouses and orchards

During the first two years of the EU funded project SMT4-CT96-2048 data hav e been generated in a range of conditions in Portugal, Spain, Italy and Gre ece. High volume applications have been made using hand held application te chniques with aqueous visible tracers. Deposits of tracer were collected on disposable coveralls and cotton gloves to measure potential dermal exposur e, using both whole body dosimetry and patch methodologies. Potential inhal ation exposure was measured using personal air samplers fitted with IOM hea ds placed on the lapel of the operator. The data are variable, ranging from <50 ml/hour to >2000 ml/hour for potential dermal exposure. The reasons fo r the variability are being further investigated but crop height and row sp acing appear to be two key factors for greenhouse crops. An overview of the data will be given in the paper. The data which have been generated are al so being passed on to the EUROPOEM Expert Working Group for evaluation and possible addition to their database.