Real-Time Monitoring of Spray Drift from Three Different Orchard Sprayers

Details

• Personal Author:
  Austin E ; Blanco MN ; Fenske RA ; Kasner EJ ; Seto E ; Yost MG
• Description:
  In Washington State, half of all pesticide-related illnesses in agriculture result from drift, the off-target movement of pesticides. Of these, a significant proportion involve workers on another farm and orchard airblast applications. We compared the spray drift exposure reduction potential of two modern tower sprayers - directed air tower (DAT) and multi-headed fan tower (MFT), in relation to a traditional axial fan airblast (AFA) sprayer. We employed real-time particle monitors (Dylos DC1100) during a randomized control trial of orchard spray applications. Sections of a field were randomly sprayed by three alternating spray technologies - AFA, DAT and MFT - while monitors sampled particulate matter above and below the canopy at various downwind locations in a neighboring field. Geometric mean particle mass concentrations (PMC) outside the intended spray area were elevated during all applications at all of our sampling distances (16-74 m, 51-244 ft). After adjusting for wind speed and sampling height, the 75th percentile (95% confidence interval) PMC level was significantly greater during spray events than background levels by 105 (93, 120) ug/m3, 49 (45, 54) ug/m3 and 26 (22, 31) ug/m3 during AFA, DAT and MFT applications, respectively. Adjusted PMC levels were significantly different between all three sprayers. In this study, tower sprayers significantly reduced spray drift exposures in a neighboring orchard field when compared to the AFA sprayer, with the MFT sprayer producing the least drift; however these tower sprayers did do not fully eliminate drift. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Environmental Exposure Environmental Monitoring Insecticides Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Air Monitoring Application Exclusion Zone Author Keywords: Pesticide Application Drift Environmental Exposure Orchard Sprayers Particle Aerodynamics Particulate Matter Pesticides And Agricultural Chemicals Spraying Operations Sprays

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• ISSN:
  0045-6535
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant ; Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 10 ; Washington
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  46-55
• Volume:
  222
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20055163
• Citation:
  Chemosphere 2019 May; 222:46-55
• Contact Point Address:
  Magali Blanco, University of Washington, 1959 NE Pacific Street, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
• Email:
  magali@uw.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2019
• NORA Priority Area:
  Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing
• Performing Organization:
  University of Washington
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Chemosphere
• End Date:
  20250630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:499eb342e720bb937a099db424d830c87fcb767c3cb4dcca667ce554ca0eccc368cddb47c9c55bed43e407d9d3678d5bda98964311e3443712f9b56138f2aac6
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/217524/cdc_217524_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.82 MB ]