Loaders potential exposure

Nigg and Stamper (1983) conducted potential exposure and actual exposure measurements during three weekdays over three consecutive weeks for applicators and mixer-loaders, one week using normal work clothes, the second week disposable coveralls in addition to their work clothes, and the third week disposable coveralls and NIOSH-approved respirators. In conjunction, urinary excretion of a metabolite of the active ingredient was... 

Pesticide usage factors include those factors needed to characterize the amount of pesticide an individual is potentially exposed to each day, as well as the duration, frequency and interval of potential exposures. For example, for mixer/loaders/ applicators, this would include hectares typically treated per day, typical application rates, types of equipment used, and whether application is conducted by the farmer or a custom applicator. 

There are many more exposure studies done in private industry and by government agencies than the number available In the published literature. It Is the data In these studies which offers the best hope for constructing a viable data base for predicting mlxer-loader/applicator exposures. The benefits are clear In cost and time savings. There Is a limit In any society to the amount of resources that can be spent on risk assessment. It would be far better to Jointly apply those resources to areas where data Is Inadequate or where the data will provide more usable information for risk assessment. Mlxer-loader/applicator data offers a special opportunity to test this premise because It can be reported and used on a generic basis which would Improve the quality of risk assessments while at the same time minimize the potential loss of proprietary Information and cost to companies. 

C. Conrad, D. Cooper, C. Monitoring of Potential Exposures of Mixer-Loaders, Pilots, and Flaggers During Application of tributyl phosphorotrlthloate (DEF) and trlbutyl phosphorotrithl-olte (FOLEX) to Cotton Fields in the San Joaquin Valley of California in 1979. California Department of Food and Agriculture, 1981. 

Applicators, mixers, loaders, and others who mix, spray, or apply pesticides to crops face potential dermal and/or inhalation exposure when handling bulk quantities of the formulated active ingredients. Although the exposure periods are short and occur only a few times annually, an estimate of this exposure can be obtained by quantifying the excreted polar urinary metabolites. Atrazine is the most studied triazine for potential human exposure purposes, and, therefore, most of the reported methods address the determination of atrazine or atrazine and its metabolites in urine. To a lesser extent, methods are also reported for the analysis of atrazine in blood plasma and serum. 

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. 

May displace chemicals that pose potential human health concerns or reduce exposures to mixers, loaders, applicators, and reentry workers... 

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... 

California regulations require daily provision and use of clean coveralls or other clean outer clothing to mixers, loaders, flaggers, and applicators of any pesticide in toxicity Categories I and II (12). These requirements serve to reduce the potential dermal exposure of workers to pesticides by decreasing the area of bare skin available for contact with the chemicals. 

T IS GENERALLY RECOGNIZED that a potential health risk exists for agricultural workers (applicators, mixer-loaders, harvesters, and Held workers) who are exposed to pesticides. Thus, since 1980, various symposia, including the one upon which this book is based, have been held to examine various parameters involved in the risk assessment of these workers due to dermal exposure from pesticides. 

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