Exposure greenhouse worker

Shurdut, B., Assessment of Exposures and Risks to Greenhouse Workers Applying a Chlorpyrifos-Based Insecticide to Ornamentals Using Conventional and Probabilistic Approaches, paper presented at the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry, 1994. 

In many of these occupational cases, the dermal route of exposure may predominate/ In one report, it was found that when greenhouse workers wore long-sleeved shirts, approximately 6% of the pesticide reached the skin, compared with 38% for workers wearing short sleeves/... 

The phosphate products may be measured in urine as bioindicators of exposure to organophosphates. The product that is observed depends on whether or not oxidative desulfuration occurs prior to esterase hydrolysis of the molecules. These products have been studied in the urine of greenhouse workers exposed to three methyl organophosphate esters toclofos-methyl (Figure 18.9), feni-trothion (Figure 18.9), and omethoate, a phosphorothiolate compound (below)14 ... 

Brouwer, R., H. Marquart, G. De Mik and J.J. Van Hemmen (1992). Risk Assessment of Dermal Exposure of Greenhouse Workers to Pesticides After Re-Entry, Arch. Environ. Contam. Toxicol, 23, 273-280. 

Hernandez,A., Gomez, M.A., Pena, G., Gil, F., Rodrigo, L., Villanueva, E., andPla,A., Effect of long-term exposure to pesticides on plasma esterases from plastic greenhouse workers, J. Toxicol. Environ. Health Part A, 67 1095-1108,2004. 

Assessments of risks associated with the use of chlorpyrifos insecticide products for workers have been made. The assessments are based on the results of field studies conducted in citrus groves, a Christmas tree farm, cauliflower and tomato fields, and greenhouses that utilized both passive dosimetry and biomonitoring techniques to determine exposure. The biomonitoring results likely provide the best estimate of absorbed dose of chlorpyrifos, and these have been compared to the acute and chronic no observed effect levels (NOELs) for chlorpyrifos. Standard margin-of-exposure (MOE) calculations using the geometric mean of the data are performed however, probability (Student s f-test) and distributional (Monte Carlo simulation) analyses are deemed to provide more realistic evaluations of exposure and risk to the exposed population. 

Note that, as a matter of precaution, greenhouses/closed rooms should be thoroughly ventilated after each treatment, regardless of whether the product is classified and labeled in regard to health protection or whether the risk assessment reveals a specific exposure risk for workers. In a similar sense, and whenever possible, crop maintenance activities should be finished before plant-protection products are applied. 

Methner, M.M. and R.A. Fenske (1994a). Pesticide Exposure During Greenhouse Applications, Part I. Dermal Exposure Reduction Due to Directional Ventilation and Worker Training, Appl Occup. Environ. Hyg., 9, 560-566. 

Waldron, A.C. (1985). The potential for applicator-worker exposure to pesticides in greenhouse operations, in Dermal Exposure Related to Pesticide Use, R.C. Honeycutt, G. Zweig and N.N. Ragsdale (Eds), ACS Symposium Series 273, American Chemical Society, Washington, DC, USA, pp. 311-319. 

Bazylewicz-Walczak, B., Majczakowa, W. and Szymczak, M. 1999. Behavioral effects of occupational exposure to organophosphate pesticides in female greenhouse planting workers. Neurotoxicology, 20 819-826. 

Otto DA, Soliman S, Svendsgaard D, et al Neurobehavioral assessment of workers exposed to organophosphorus pesticides, in Advances in Neurobehavioral Toxicol-ogy Applications in Environmental and Occupational Health. Edited by Johnson BL. Chelsea, MI, Lewis Publishers, 1990, pp 305-322 Parron T, Hernandez AF, Pla A, et al Clinical and biochemical changes in greenhouse sprayers chronically exposed to pesticides. Hum Exp Toxicol 15 957-963,1996a Parron T, Hernandez AF, Villanueva E Increased risk of suicide with exposure to pesticides in an intensive agricultural area a 12-year retrospective study. Forensic Sci Int 79 53-63,1996b... 

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