Pesticides indoors

The use of pesticides indoors can lead to very large concentrations not only of the pesticide but of the additional VOCs used as a matrix for the pesticide, which represent most (>95%) of the mass of the material as purchased. For example, Bukowski and... 

The environment, then, is much more than the oceans and the ozone layer. It is air, soil, water, plants, animals, houses, restaurants, office buildings, and factories and aU that they contain. Anyone who uses a pesticide— indoors or outdoors, in a city or in the country— must consider how that pesticide will affect the environment. 

Pesticide movement away from the release site in the air is usually called drift. Pesticide particles, dusts, spray droplets, and vapors all may be carried offsite in the air. People who mix, load, and apply pesticides outdoors usually are aware of the ease with which pesticides drift offsite. People who handle pesticides indoors may not realize how easily some pesticides move offsite in the air currents created by ventilation systems and by forced-air heating and cooling systems. 

Abstract Indoor contamination is one source of exposure to toxic pollutants and has been classified as a high environmental risk. Epidemiological research linked health effects including childhood leukemia and neuroblastoma to the indoor occurrence of pesticides. Pesticides in indoor environments contribute to human exposure via inhalation, non dietary ingestion and dermal contact. Sources for pesticides indoors are direct applications, pesticides used in varnishes, colors, adhesives, etc., or in finishing textiles, leather, carpets, etc., and pesticides brought in from outdoors. Results for pesticides in indoor environments from different countries and obtained under different conditions are compiled in this chapter. They are discussed by applying two approaches (1) the comparison with reference values... 

The following are some of the data that may be required by CDFA to assist in making exposure estimates of persons involved in various activities involving the use of pesticides indoor exposure field reentry mixer, loader, and applicator exposure, dermal absorption, and dermal dose response data. 

Hawthorne, A., et al. (1987) Models for estimating organic emissions from building materials formaldehyde example. Atmos. Environ. 21, No. 2. Lewis, R. G., et al. (1986) Monitoring for non-occupational exposure to pesticides in indoor and personal respiratory air. Presented at the 79th Annual Meeting of the Air Pollution Control Association, Minneapolis, MN. 

Limited to residents in BRA s weatherization program Adopted OSHA standards Indoor air exposures considered in determining drinking water levels Restricts use and sales of pesticides which may cause indoor air pollution Bans on use of some potential indoor pollutants in consumer products Restricts smoking in specified indoor environments Restricts use of asl estos in VA buildings... 

Problems that rank relatively high in cancer and non-cancer health risks but low in ecological and welfare risks include hazardous air pollutants, indoor radon, indoor air pollution other than radon, pesticide application, exposure to consumer products, and worker exposures to chemicals... 

In areas of agricultural methyl parathion usage, both outdoor and indoor air levels of methyl parathion of approximately 12 ng/m have been measured, and household dust was found to contain 21 ppb of methyl parathion. Outdoor and indoor air concentrations of methyl parathion as high as 0.71 and 9.4 pg/m, respectively, have been measured at the homes of individuals employed as pesticide formulators. 

Samples of the indoor and outdoor air at the homes of workers occupationally exposed to pesticides, farmers and pesticide formulators, were taken monthly and analyzed for methyl parathion. Methyl parathion was found in 13 of 52 indoor air samples of formulators homes at a mean concentration of 0.26 pg/m (range of 0.04-9.4 pg/m ). Outdoor air samples of formulators homes showed that 3 of 53 samples contained methyl parathion at concentrations ranging from 0.15 to 0.71 pg/m. Methyl parathion was not detected in the indoor and outdoor air samples from farmers homes (Tessari and Spencer 1971). 

If you buy over-the-counter pesticide products to apply yourself, be sure the product is in an unopened pesticide container that is labeled and has an EPA registration number. You should be careful to follow the instructions on the label. If you plan to spray inside a building or your home, check to see if the pesticide is intended for indoor use. If you feel sick after a pesticide has been used in your home, see your doctor or call the local poison control center. 

Pesticide exposure assessment Jazzercize activities to determine extreme case indoor exposure potential and in-use biomonitoring... 

In 1985, Berteau and Mengle (1985) of the California Department of Health Services and Maddy of the Department of Food and Agriculture conducted a preliminary review of pesticides used indoors. They noted several cases (six) from the Pesticide Illness Surveillance system in which illness was reported after structural pest control. Hypothetical exposure estimates for infants, children, and adults following label use for propoxur, DDVP, and chlorpyrifos were sometimes greater than toxic levels. In 1987, Berteau et al. (1989) reiterated the concern about the potential magnitude of indoor exposures, particularly for children. 

A 1982 guidance document of the World Health Organization (WHO, 1982) suggested use of loose-fitting, cotton, whole-body dosimeters (WBD) to overcome inefficient sample collection. The California Department of Food and Agriculture recognized the limited usefulness of patch dosimeters for determination of ADD in handler, harvester, and indoor pesticide exposure studies (Maddy et al., 1989). Whole-body dosimeters worn outside or inside standard work clothing may be a suitable means to quantitatively collect... 

Ross, J., Thongsinthusak, T., Fong, H.R., Margetich, S., and Krieger, R. (1990) Measuring potential dermal transfer of surface pesticide residue generated from indoor fogger use an interim report, Chemosphere, 20 349-360. 

From the above it can be concluded that the risk for lung cancer induction from chronic indoor exposure to Rn-d is unlikely to be higher than 1.10 4/mSv. in order to understand the magnitude of this risk it has to be emphasized that man can be exposed to a multitude of different hazardous materials in the indoor atmosphere besides Rn-d, such as formaldehyde, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrosamines, polyaromatic hydrocarbons, volatile organic compounds, asbestos and pesticides (Gammage and Kaye, 1985). 

Indoor and outdoor exposure to many chemical substances (formaldehyde, asbestos, PVC, many metals, like Cr, As, Be, Ti, V, pesticides and nitrosoamines) can also spur the development of cancer. Here we can only state that the International Agency for Research of cancer has identified 60 environmental agents that can aggravate cancer for humans during exposure to polluted urban air (Misch, 1994). 

ASTM. 1991. Standard practice for sampling and analysis of pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyis in indoor atmospheres. American Society for Testing and Materials. ASTM designation D4861-91. p366-379. 

Humans can be exposed to POPs through diet, occupational exposures (for example, farmworkers may be exposed to POPs through pesticides), industrial accidents and the environment (including indoor exposure). Exposure to POPs, either acute or chronic, can be associated with a wide range of adverse health effects, including illness and death (L. Ritter et al., 1995). Laboratory animal studies and wildlife studies have associated POPs with endocrine disruption, reproductive and immune dysfunction, neurobehavioral disorders and cancer. More recently, some POPs have also been connected to reduced immunity in infants and children and a concomitant increase in infections. Other studies have linked POPS concentrations in humans with developmental abnormalities, neurobehavioral impairment and cancer and tumor induction or promotion.4... 

Robertson, G. Lebowitz, M. Needham, L. O Rourke, M.K. Rogan, S. Petty, J.D. Huckins, J.N. 2002, Distribution of Residential Organochlorine Pesticide Residuals along the Arizona/Mexico Border. Proceedings 9th International Conference on Indoor Air Quality and Climate Monterey, CA, June 2002 pp. 63-68. 

Anderson DJ, Hites RA. 1989. Indoor air Spatial variations of chlorinated pesticides. Atmos Environ 23 2063-2066. 

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