DERMAL EXPOSURE OF AMATEUR OR NON-OCCUPATIONAL USERS TO WOOD-PRESERVATIVE FLUIDS APPLIED BY BRUSHING OUTDOORS

The results of an experiment to determine the likely dermal exposure o f amateur or occasional users to wood-preservative fluids, applied by brushing onto a wooden fence outdoors are presented. Exposure was meas ured using FIVES, a fluorescence monitoring technique developed at the Health and Safety Laboratory. Dermal exposure could be examined and m easured in a detail that would have been impossible using any other te chnique. A number of factors were found to affect dermal exposure, inc luding some that were unexpected. Trousers, a long-sleeved shirt and p ermeable gloves offered 20 times the protection of shorts and a T-shir t. Differences between individual subjects' behaviour gave rise to var iations of a factor of 10. There was far more contamination at lower a mbient temperatures, possibly because of more vigorous brushing. Spiri t-based fluid caused more exposure than water-based fluid, probably be cause the spirit flicked easily from the brush as a spray whereas the water remained in soapy globules. Only 1.6 times more fluid was applie d in Ih than in 0.5 h, but it caused 3.7 times as much contamination. Crown copyright (C) 1997 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.