Loaders dermal exposure monitoring

Appendix One Dermal Exposure Monitoring of Mixers, Loaders, and Applicators of Pesticides in California... 

The calculation of potential total dermal exposure of mixer-loaders and re-entry workers using dosimetry data and calculation of the internal dose using biological monitoring data is complex but will be discussed briefly. 

In several studies carried out during aerial agricultural applications, a large portion of the total exposure was also seen on the hands, especially for mlxer/loaders. Peoples (15) monitored the potential dermal and Inhalation exposure of mlxer/loaders, pilots... 

Maddy (16) monitored dermal and Inhalation exposures for mlxer/loaders, flaggers and pilots associated with the aerial application of mevlnphos, using Che methods described In Peoples (15). In this study the mlxer/loaders operating closed transfer systems wore gloves but others associated with the spray operation did not. The mlxer/loaders received 74% of their total dermal exposure on Che hands, flaggers received 42% and pilots received 27%. Pilots received a considerably lower proportion of Che total exposure Co the hands Chan In the study by Peoples (15). 

Everhart (17) monitored 8 mlxer/loaders who each prepared one tankful of benomyl for aerial application. Five gauze pads and cotton gloves were used to measure exposure. Most workers wore additional protective gloves over the cotton gloves. Regardless of this additional precaution 96% of the total dermal exposure was found on Che cotton gloves. In almost all other cases Che forearm patches had the highest levels of contamination. 

The actual biological monitoring of workers to detect evidence of exposure such as a drop in blood cholinesterase levels or the presence of a urinary metabolite is superior to the indirect techniques employed in this study. Realizing the difficulties in accurately determining the dermal exposures of mixers, loaders, and applicators to pesticides, the employment of simpler monitoring techniques than the ones performed by CDFA in this report might... 

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