Personal air sampling and risks of inhalation exposure during atrazine application in Honduras

Details

• Personal Author:
  Cook TM ; del Rosario A ; Fuortes L ; Lozier MJ ; Martínez EP ; Montoya JFL ; Sanderson, Wayne T.
• Description:
  PURPOSE: To assess occupational inhalation exposure to the herbicide atrazine during pesticide application in a developing country. METHODS: Personal air samples were collected during atrazine application using a personal sampling pump equipped with an OSHA Versatile Sampler (OVS-2) sorbent tube. Samples were collected from 24 pesticide applicators in Honduras. Application was observed during sampling, and a survey was completed in the home. RESULTS: Fourteen of the 24 participants used pump backpack sprayers to apply atrazine and 10 used tractor/boom systems. Despite applying about 15 times as much atrazine, the tractor/boom participants (11.5 µg/m(3)) had only slightly higher (not statistically significant) time-weighted averages (TWA) than participants using backpack sprayers (9.6 µg/m(3)). Within the backpack sprayer group, those that used a cone spray nozzle (11.54 µg/m(3)) had nearly double the TWA than applicators using a flat spray nozzle (5.98 µg/m(3); P = 0.04). In the tractor/boom group, the participants that rode on the boom or the back of the tractor monitoring nozzles (15.0 µg/m(3)) had almost double the average TWA than tractor drivers (8.0 µg/m(3); P = 0.097). CONCLUSIONS: Since tractor/boom pesticide application decreases the number of man-hours required to apply pesticides, and does not increase inhalation exposure significantly, it decreases the overall population occupational exposure. Monitoring nozzles on booms from a distance rather than on the back of a tractor or boom may decrease or eliminate inhalation exposure. Use of flat spray nozzles for herbicide application among pump backpack sprayers may reduce their inhalation exposure. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Aging Demography Environmental Monitoring Herbicides Insecticides Men Occupational Health Paint Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety Surveys And Questionnaires

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• Keywords:
  Age-groups Air-samples Atrazine Author Keywords: Pesticide Exposure Central America Demographic-characteristics Exposure-levels Herbicide Honduras Humans Inhalation Exposure Pesticide Exposure Assessment Pesticides Pesticides-and-agricultural-chemicals Pollutants Questionnaires Risk-factors Sampling Spraying-equipment

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• ISSN:
  0340-0131
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Illinois ; Iowa ; OSHA Region 5 ; OSHA Region 7
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  479-488
• Volume:
  86
• Issue:
  4
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20043561
• Citation:
  Int Arch Occup Environ Health 2013 May; 86(4):479-488
• Contact Point Address:
  M. J. Lozier, Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, College of Public Health, The University of Iowa, UI Research Park, 102 IREH, Iowa City, IA 52242-5000
• Email:
  matthew-lozier@uiowa.edu
• CAS Registry Number:
  Atrazine (CAS RN 1912-24-9)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2013
• Performing Organization:
  University of Iowa
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health
• End Date:
  20290630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:432ba7f353ff88c23869df8c33496ff55aec5c4cb7b45c280cb608d0dd61f19bbb3c90b8ca480c4e8f78f365f72dbd0f6df81fbcd6ef9b1aea1dba38081aea57
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/195435/cdc_195435_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 490.71 KB ]