Effectiveness of personal protective equipment: relevance of dermal and inhalation exposure to chlorpyrifos among pest control operators

Evaluation of Personal Protective Equipment Usage Habit of Mining Employees Using Structural Equation Modeling

Background

In occupational studies, it is a known situation that technical and organizational attempts are used to prevent occupational accidents. Especially in the mining sector, if these attempts cannot prevent occupational accidents, personal protective equipment (PPE) becomes a necessity. Thus, in this study, the main objective is to examine the effects of the variables on the use of PPE and identify important factors.

Methods

A questionnaire was implemented and structural equation modeling was conducted to ascertain the significant factors affecting the PPE use of mining employees. The model includes the factors that ergonomics, the efficiency of PPE and employee training, and PPE usage habit.

Results

The results indicate that ergonomics and employee training have no significant effect (p > 0.05) on the use of PPE. The efficiency of PPE has a statistically meaningful effect (p < 0.05) on the use of PPE. Various variables have been evaluated in previous studies. However, none of them examined the variables simultaneously.

Conclusion

The developed model in the study enables to better focus on ergonomics and employee training in the PPE usage. The effectiveness of a PPE makes its use unavoidable. Emphasizing PPE effectiveness in OHS training and even showing them in practice will increase employees’ PPE usage. The fact that a PPE with high effectiveness is also ergonomic means that it will be used at high rates by the employee.

Risk of dermal and inhalation exposure to chlorantraniliprole assessed by using whole-body dosimetry in Korea

BACKGROUND

We determined the characteristics and evaluated associated risks of sprayed pesticide exposure among workers cultivating Korean cabbage. The test pesticide, a mixture of 3% chlorantraniliprole and 4% indoxacarb wettable granules diluted 2000 times, was sprayed on Korean cabbage within a 3000 m² area in Goesan, Korea. Dermal exposures were measured using a whole-body dosimetry method.

RESULTS

Exposure to chlorantraniliprole was observed among ten individuals, ranging from 140.4 to 4234.0 µg person^-1 . The legs were the most prominent exposure area (86.35%), with the face being the least exposed (0.06%). Exposure risk was assessed by calculating the margin of safety (MOS) on the exposure amount for each body part. The MOS based on dermal and inhalation exposure doses ranged from 59 to 1765.

CONCLUSION

Exposure was the greatest for the legs, probably as a result of the low height of the crop and the use of a long-wand sprayer. An MOS value >1 indicates a low risk for applicators using this method of application. However, with tall crops, exposure level and MOS values can vary widely, as MOS increases or decreases based on exposure dose. Therefore, future research is needed to better understand appropriate safety precautions when working with potent pesticides. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry.

An Occupational Health Education Program for Thai Farmers Exposed to Chlorpyrifos

The majority of the farmers in this sample of Thai farmers did not use sufficient self-protective behaviors when using the organophosphate insecticide chlorpyrifos. Most were directly exposed to chlorpyrifos, potentially leading to illnesses. The aim of this study was to improve safety behaviors when using chlorpyrifos by an occupational health education program. A controlled trial (n = 70) of an occupational health education program was undertaken in rural Thailand prior to the occupational health education program. There were no differences in behavior between experimental and control groups. Completion of the program led to a significant improvement in safe working practices and in the amount of the metabolite. However, significant differences were noticed after participating in the occupational health education program on both safety behaviors and the amount of the metabolite 3,5,6-trichloro-2-pyridinol present in urine.

Dermal & inhalation exposure of operators during fungicide application in vineyards. Evaluation of coverall performance

In the present study the dermal and the inhalation exposure of five operators during fungicide applications in vineyards were determined. The produced exposure datasets can be used as surrogate for the estimation of the actual and the potential dermal as well as inhalation operator exposure levels for this application scenario. The dermal exposure was measured using the whole body dosimetry method while the inhalation exposure with the use of personal air sampling devices with XAD tubes located on the operator's breathing zone. Ten field trials were carried out by 5 different operators using a tractor assisted hand-held lance with spray gun at the Tanagra region of Viotia, Greece. An in-house GC-ECD analytical method was developed and validated for the determination of penconazole, which was the active substance (a.s.) of the fungicide formulation used in field trials. The mean recovery of field-fortified samples was 81%. The operator exposure results showed expected variability and were compared to those derived from the German model for prediction of operator exposure. The comparison of the 75th percentile values for an operator wearing personal protection equipment has shown that the measured levels were 2.2 times lower than those estimated by the German model. The levels of actual dermal exposure ranged from 2 to 19 mg/kg a.s. applied. The protection provided by the two types of coveralls was evaluated and in comparison to the existing reduction factors used for other types of PPE (coveralls) was found satisfactory for the operator under the conditions of the specific applications.

Work-related risk factors by severity for acute pesticide poisoning among male farmers in South Korea

The objective of this study was to explore work-related risk factors of acute occupational pesticide poisoning among male farmers according to the severity of the poisoning. A nationwide sampling survey of male farmers was conducted in South Korea in 2011. A total of 1,958 male farmers were interviewed. Severity of occupational pesticide poisoning in 2010 was evaluated according to symptoms, types of treatment, and number of pesticide poisoning incidents per individual. A multinomial logistic regression model was used to estimate the odds ratio with 95% confidence intervals for risk factors of acute occupational pesticide poisoning. We found that the risk of acute occupational pesticide poisoning increased with lifetime days of pesticide application (OR = 1.74; 95% CI = 1.32–2.29), working a farm of three or more acres in size (OR = 1.49), not wearing personal protective equipment such as gloves (OR = 1.29) or masks (OR = 1.39). Those who engaged in inappropriate work behaviors such as not following pesticide label instructions (OR = 1.61), applying the pesticide in full sun (OR = 1.48), and applying the pesticide upwind (OR = 1.54) had a significantly increased risk of pesticide poisoning. There was no significant risk difference by type of farming. In addition, the magnitude of these risk factors did not differ significantly by severity of acute pesticide poisoning. In fact, our findings suggest that work-related risk factors contributed to the development of acute occupational pesticide poisoning without relation to its severity. Therefore, prevention strategies for reducing occupational pesticide poisoning, regardless of severity, should be recommended to all types of farming and the level of poisoning severity.

Pattern of use of personal protective equipments and measures during application of pesticides by agricultural workers in a rural area of Ahmednagar district, India

Background:

Pesticides, despite their known toxicity, are widely used in developing countries for agricultural purposes.

Objectives:

To find various patterns of hardware use for spraying of insecticides, prevalent storage practice adopted by the user, types of personal protective equipments used for the handling of chemicals; to detect dangerous practices and the extent to which safety norms being followed by the users during the application/treatments, and finally their knowledge concerning the risks of pesticides.

Materials and Methods:

The agriculture workers who had been involved in pesticide application for agricultural purpose were interviewed face-to-face to gain information on the following determinants of pesticide exposure: Types, treatment equipment, use of personal protection and safety measures during the application/treatments and knowledge of the risks of pesticide exposure.

Results:

Hundred workers, aged between 21 and 60 years old, were included. Pesticides were mostly applied with manual equipment using Knapsack (70%) and only 5% farmers were using Tractor-mounted sprayer. Workers frequently performed tasks involving additional exposure to pesticides (mixing chemicals, 66%, or washing equipment, 65%). Majority of the workers/applicators used no personal protection measures or used it defectively/partially. Most of the workers/respondents (77%) did not bother for safety and health risks of pesticide exposure.

Conclusions:

Workers involved in pesticide application use personal protection measures very poorly and defectively. Almost half of the applicators were not following right direction with respect to wind direction while spraying, thus it increase the risk of exposure. There is a clear need to develop specific training and prevention programs for these workers. The determinants of pesticide exposure in agricultural workers described in this study should be properly assessed in epidemiological studies of the health effects of pesticides on agricultural workers at national level.

Occupational determinants of serum cholinesterase inhibition among organophosphate-exposed agricultural pesticide handlers in Washington State

OBJECTIVE

To identify potential risk factors for serum cholinesterase (BuChE) inhibition among agricultural pesticide handlers exposed to organophosphate (OP) and N-methyl-carbamate (CB) insecticides.

METHODS

We conducted a longitudinal study among 154 agricultural pesticide handlers who participated in the Washington State cholinesterase monitoring program in 2006 and 2007. BuChE inhibition was analysed in relation to reported exposures before and after adjustment for potential confounders using linear regression. ORs estimating the risk of BuChE depression (>20% from baseline) were also calculated for selected exposures based on unconditional logistic regression analyses.

RESULTS

An overall decrease in mean BuChE activity was observed among study participants at the time of follow-up testing during the OP/CB spray season relative to pre-season baseline levels (mean decrease of 5.6%, p<0.001). Score for estimated cumulative exposure to OP/CB insecticides in the past 30 days was a significant predictor of BuChE inhibition (beta=-1.74, p<0.001). Several specific work practices and workplace conditions were associated with greater BuChE inhibition, including mixing/loading pesticides and cleaning spray equipment. Factors that were protective against BuChE inhibition included full-face respirator use, wearing chemical-resistant boots and storing personal protective equipment in a locker at work.

CONCLUSIONS

Despite existing regulations, agricultural pesticide handlers continue to be exposed to OP/CB insecticides at levels resulting in BuChE inhibition. These findings suggest that modifying certain work practices could potentially reduce BuChE inhibition. Replication from other studies will be valuable.

Potential dermal pesticide exposure affected by greenhouse spray application technique

BACKGROUND

Operator safety is still one of the main problems concerning greenhouse spray applications in South European horticulture. The main objective of this study was to compare potential dermal exposure (PDE) between traditional handheld spray application techniques (i.e. a standard spray gun walking forwards, a spray lance walking forwards and backwards) and novel spray application techniques with spray booms (i.e. a trolley, the Fumimatic and the Fumicar).

RESULTS

PDE varied from 19.7 mL h(-1) for the Fumimatic to 460 mL h(-1) for the spray lance walking forwards. Walking backwards reduced PDE by a factor 7. With the trolley, Fumimatic and Fumicar, PDE was respectively 20, 60 and 8 times lower than with the standard spray gun. With the spray lance, PDE was about 2.5 times higher than with the spray gun. Pesticide distribution over the operator's body was non-uniform and correlated strongly with the application technique. With the traditional techniques, exposure to the legs and feet represents 60-80% of the total exposure.

CONCLUSIONS

Novel spray application techniques using spray booms greatly decrease operator exposure because the operator is not walking directly into the spray cloud and the sprayed crop, and because of their higher capacity. Depending on the type of spray application, different parts of the body need to be protected most.

Para niños saludables: a community intervention trial to reduce organophosphate pesticide exposure in children of farmworkers

BACKGROUND

Exposure to organophosphate (OP) pesticides is an occupational hazard for farmworkers and affects their children through the take-home pathway.

OBJECTIVES

We examined the effectiveness of a randomized community intervention to reduce pesticide exposure among farmworkers and their children.

METHODS

We conducted a baseline survey of a cross-sectional sample of farmworkers (year 1) in 24 participating communities. Communities were randomized to intervention or control. After 2 years of intervention, a new cross-sectional survey of farmworkers was conducted (year 4). Farmworkers with a child 2-6 years of age were asked to participate in a substudy in which urine was collected from the farmworker and child, and dust was collected from the home and the vehicle driven to work.

RESULTS

The median concentration of urinary metabolites was higher in year 4 than in year 1 for dimethylthiophosphate (DMTP) and dimethyldithiophosphate in adults and for DMTP for children. There were significant increases within both the intervention and control communities between year 1 and year 4 (p < 0.005); however, the differences were not significant between study communities after adjusting for year (p = 0.21). The dust residue data showed azinphos-methyl having the highest percentage of detects in vehicles (86% and 84% in years 1 and 4, respectively) and in house dust (85% and 83% in years 1 and 4, respectively). There were no significant differences between intervention and control communities after adjusting for year (p = 0.49).

CONCLUSIONS

We found no significant decreases in urinary pesticide metabolite concentrations or in pesticide residue concentrations in house and vehicle dust from intervention community households compared with control community households after adjusting for baseline. These negative findings may have implications for future community-wide interventions.

Comparative evaluation of absorbed dose estimates derived from passive dosimetry measurements to those derived from biological monitoring: validation of exposure monitoring methodologies

Passive dosimetry (PD) methods for measuring and estimating exposure to agricultural workers (i.e., persons handling agricultural chemicals and working in treated crops) have been in use since the 1950s. A large number of studies were conducted in the 1950s through 1970s to characterize exposure. Since the 1980s quantitative dermal PD methods are used in conjunction with inhalation PD methods to measure whole-body exposure. These exposure or absorbed dose estimates are then compared to "no effect" exposure levels for hazards identified in toxicology studies, and have become the standard for risk assessment for regulatory agencies. The PD methods used have never been validated. Validation in the context of human exposure monitoring methods means that a method has been shown to measure accurately a delivered dose in humans. The most practical alternative to isolating parts of the body for validating recovery methods is to utilize field exposure studies in which concurrent or consecutive measurements of exposure and absorbed dose have been made with PD and biomonitoring in the same cohorts of individuals. This ensures that a direct comparison can be made between the two estimates of absorbed dose, one derived from PD and the other from biomonitoring. There are several studies available (published and proprietary) employing both of these approaches. Reports involving 14 concurrent or consecutive PD-biomonitoring studies were quantitatively evaluated with 18 different methods of application or reentry scenarios for eight different active ingredients for which measured human kinetics and dermal absorption data existed. This evaluation demonstrated that the total absorbed dose estimated using PD for important handler and reentry scenarios is generally similar to the measurements for those same scenarios made using human urinary biomonitoring methods. The statistical analysis of individual worker PD:biomonitoring ratios showed them to be significantly correlated in these studies. The PD techniques currently employed yield a reproducible, standard methodology that is valid and reliably quantifies exposure.

Endocrine disrupting pesticides: implications for risk assessment

Endocrine disrupting (ED) chemicals are compounds that alter the normal functioning of the endocrine system, potentially causing disease or deformity in organisms and their offspring. Pesticides are used widely to kill unwanted organisms in crops, public areas, homes and gardens and medicinally to kill parasites. Many are proven or suspected to be EDs. Ancient physiological similarities between different vertebrate groups suggest that disorders observed in wildlife may indicate risks to humans. This makes accurate risk assessment and effective legislation difficult. In this paper, the hazardous properties of pesticides which are known to have ED properties are reviewed in order to assess the implications for risk assessment. As well as data on sources of exposure in the United Kingdom (UK) an assessment of the evidence on the health effects of ED pesticides is also included. In total, 127 have been identified from the literature and their effects and modes of action are listed in this paper. Using the UK as a case study, the types and quantities of pesticides used, and their methods of application are assessed, along with their potential pathways to humans. In the UK reliable data are available only for agricultural use, so non-agricultural routes of pesticide exposure have been poorly quantified. The exposure of people resident in or visiting rural areas could also have been grossly under-estimated. Material links between ED pesticide use and specific illnesses or deformities are complicated by the multifactorial nature of disease, which can be affected by factors such as diet. Despite these difficulties, a large body of evidence has accumulated linking specific conditions to ED pesticides in wildlife and humans. A more precautionary approach to the use of ED pesticides, especially for non-essential purposes is proposed.

Derivation of single layer clothing penetration factors from the pesticide handlers exposure database

Quantitative characterization of the penetration of chemical residues through various types and configurations of clothing is an important underpinning of mitigation strategies to reduce dermal exposure to occupational cohorts. The objective of the evaluation presented herein is the development of pesticide clothing penetration (or conversely protection) factors for single layer clothing (i.e., long-sleeved shirt, long pants; gloves are not included) based on dermal exposure monitoring data (passive dosimetry) included in the Environmental Protection Agency's Pesticide Handlers Exposure Database (PHED). The analysis of penetration per replicate was conducted by comparison of the inside and outside (total deposition), expressed as mug/cm(2), for each replicate pair of dermal dosimeters. Clothing penetration was investigated as a function of job classification, dosimetry sampling method, body part, application method, and type of formulation. Grand mean single layer clothing penetration values for patch (n=2029) and whole-body (n=100) dosimeter samples from PHED were 12.12 (SE=0.33; SD=15.02) and 8.21 (SE=1.01; SD=10.14) percent, respectively. Linear regression was used to evaluate clothing penetration as a function of outer dosimeter loading. The regression analysis supports the hypothesis that single layer clothing penetration increases with decreasing outer dosimeter loading.

Exposure to pesticides and childhood cancer risk: has there been any progress in epidemiological studies?

OBJECTIVES

In Europe and the United States, cancer is a major cause of death among children aged 5-14 years. The role of environmental exposure to pesticides in carcinogenesis, although strongly postulated, is still unknown. Pesticides have been used since the early days of modern agriculture. They are biologically active compounds, which may pose health risk during or after their use.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Epidemiological studies focused on childhood cancer and exposure to pesticides, conducted over the last seven years, were identified through searching PUBMED, MEDLINE and EBSCO literature bases. From each study, the following information was abstracted: type of cancer, type of exposure, study design, risk estimate, and study population. This review will try to answer the question on whether any further progress in epidemiology of childhood cancer due to pesticide exposure has been made.

RESULTS

Leukemia, brain cancer, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and neuroblastoma are mentioned as potentially associated with pesticide exposure among children. Despite an increasing evidence in support of this finding, it is still limited because of the weakness of research methodology. The substantial weak points of numerous epidemiological studies of pesticide-related health effects are problems faced in exposure assessment, small numbers of exposed subjects, a limited number of studies focused on the majority of cancers, and difficulties in estimating critical windows of exposure.

CONCLUSION

In the light of existing, although still limited evidence of adverse effects of pesticide exposure, it is necessary to reduce exposure to pesticides. The literature review suggests a great need to increase awareness among people occupationally or environmentally exposed to pesticides about their potential negative influence on health of their children.

Adverse health effects of children's exposure to pesticides: what do we really know and what can be done about it

Children may be exposed to pesticides in several ways, such as by transplacental transfer during foetal life, by intake of contaminated breast milk and other nutrients, or by contact with contaminated subjects and areas in the environment such as pets treated with insecticides, house dust, carpets and chemically treated lawns and gardens. Exposure early in life, and particularly during periods of rapid development, such as during foetal life and infancy, may have severe effects on child health and development by elevating the risk of congenital malformations, cancer, malabsorption, immunological dysfunction, endocrine disease, and neurobehavioural deficiencies. As pesticides can also interfere with parental reproductive health, exposure of parents may have consequences for the offspring leading to reduced chance of male birth and increased risk of childhood cancer.

CONCLUSIONS

Current knowledge about tolerable levels and consequences of toxic exposure to pesticides during human development is rather scarce. Owing to the high risk of exposure to pesticides, particularly in less developed countries, further elucidation by well-controlled epidemiological studies in this field it is urgently needed. The Policy Interpretation Network on Children's Health and Environment (PINCHE), which is financed by the EU DG research has suggested actions against pesticide exposure. They have been presented and discussed in this paper. Several suggestions of PINCHE concerning action needed regarding pesticides were presented in the paper.