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Lee DY, Song JW, An JY, Kim YJ, Seo JS, Kim JH. Exposure and risk assessment for agricultural workers during chlorothalonil and flubendiamide treatments in pepper fields. Sci Rep 2024; 14:5338. [PMID: 38438437 PMCID: PMC10912086 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-55172-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2023] [Accepted: 02/21/2024] [Indexed: 03/06/2024] Open
Abstract
Pesticides are indispensable tools in modern agriculture for enhancing crop productivity. However, the inherent toxicity of pesticides raises significant concerns regarding human exposure, particularly among agricultural workers. This study investigated the exposure and associated risks of two commonly used pesticides in open-field pepper cultivation, namely, chlorothalonil and flubendiamide, in the Republic of Korea. We used a comprehensive approach, encompassing dermal and inhalation exposure measurements in agricultural workers during two critical scenarios: mixing/loading and application. Results revealed that during mixing/loading, dermal exposure to chlorothalonil was 3.33 mg (0.0002% of the total active ingredient [a.i.]), while flubendiamide exposure amounted to 0.173 mg (0.0001% of the a.i.). Conversely, dermal exposure increased significantly during application to 648 mg (chlorothalonil) and 93.1 mg (flubendiamide), representing 0.037% and 0.065% of the total a.i., respectively. Inhalation exposure was also evident, with chlorothalonil and flubendiamide exposure levels varying across scenarios. Notably, the risk assessment using the Risk Index (RI) indicated acceptable risk of exposure during mixing/loading but raised concerns during application, where all RIs exceeded 1, signifying potential risk. We suggest implementing additional personal protective equipment (PPE) during pesticide application, such as gowns and lower-body PPE, to mitigate these risks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Deuk-Yeong Lee
- Environmental Safety-Assessment Center, Korea Institute of Toxicology (KIT), Jinju, 52834, Republic of Korea
| | - Jong-Wook Song
- Environmental Safety-Assessment Center, Korea Institute of Toxicology (KIT), Jinju, 52834, Republic of Korea
| | - Ji-Young An
- Environmental Safety-Assessment Center, Korea Institute of Toxicology (KIT), Jinju, 52834, Republic of Korea
| | - Yeong-Jin Kim
- Environmental Safety-Assessment Center, Korea Institute of Toxicology (KIT), Jinju, 52834, Republic of Korea
| | - Jong-Su Seo
- Environmental Safety-Assessment Center, Korea Institute of Toxicology (KIT), Jinju, 52834, Republic of Korea
| | - Jong-Hwan Kim
- Environmental Safety-Assessment Center, Korea Institute of Toxicology (KIT), Jinju, 52834, Republic of Korea.
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Lee J, Lee J, Jung M, Shin Y, Kim J, Kim JH. Potential exposure and risk assessment of agricultural workers to the insecticide chlorantraniliprole in rice paddies. PEST MANAGEMENT SCIENCE 2023; 79:678-687. [PMID: 36229424 DOI: 10.1002/ps.7235] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2022] [Revised: 09/25/2022] [Accepted: 10/13/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Exposure of agricultural workers in rice paddies to the insecticide chlorantraniliprole and its subsequent potential health risks were investigated during two scenarios (mixing/loading and hand-held spraying). The exposure factors, such as the outer dosimeter, inner dosimeter, gauze, and nitrile gloves, were calculated using whole-body dosimetry to measure dermal exposure. The inhalation exposure was determined using a fiberglass filter which is set with an Institute of Occupational Medicine (IOM) sampler. A recovery test was performed to evaluate the accuracy of the analytical method. RESULTS The exposure amounts of various matrices were calculated from extraction volume and concentration of the target compound. The dermal exposure to chlorantraniliprole was 0.6 mg [0.001% of the total active ingredient (a.i.)] for mixing and loading, and 28.6 mg (0.066% of the total a.i.) for application. The inhalation exposure to chlorantraniliprole was 7.2 μg (1.3%, 1.2 × 10-5 % of the total applied a.i.) for mixing and loading, and 1.9 μg (0.006%, 4.4 × 10-6 % of the total applied a.i.) for application. The most exposed part of the body was the hand (90.4%) during mixing and loading, whereas the primary sites during application were the thighs (32.8%) and shins (22.6%). For mixing and loading, the amount of actual dermal exposure was 5.5 μg day-1 and that of actual inhalation exposure was 21.9 μg day-1 . By contrast, in the application, the amounts of actual dermal and actual inhalation exposures were 34 178.7 and 5.9 μg day-1 , respectively. CONCLUSIONS The risk assessment results demonstrated that the risk of chlorantraniliprole exposure in rice paddies was low during application than during mixing and loading. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiho Lee
- Department of Crop Sciences, Konkuk University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Junghak Lee
- Department of Agricultural Biotechnology and Research Institute of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Minwoo Jung
- Department of Agricultural Biotechnology and Research Institute of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Yongho Shin
- Department of Applied Biology, College of Natural Resources and Life Science, Dong-A University, Busan, Republic of Korea
| | - JiWoo Kim
- Forensic Genetics & Chemistry Division, Supreme Prosecutors' Office, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Jeong-Han Kim
- Department of Agricultural Biotechnology and Research Institute of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
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Lee J, Kim J, Shin Y, Park E, Lee J, Keum YS, Kim JH. Occupational exposure and risk assessment for agricultural workers of thiamethoxam in vineyards. ECOTOXICOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY 2022; 243:113988. [PMID: 36029578 DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2022.113988] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2022] [Revised: 05/11/2022] [Accepted: 08/14/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Dermal & inhalation exposure was examined and according to these results, risk assessment of agricultural workers to thiamethoxam was performed during pesticide mixing/loading and hand-held sprayer application (11 replicates, each of about 1000 L of spray suspension) in vineyards. For the whole body dosimetry (WBD), clothing (Outer and inner), gauze, and nitrile gloves were analyzed to determine dermal exposure using whole-body dosimetry exposure protocol. The inhalation exposure was measured using a glass fiber filter with an IOM sampler. Analytical method validation of exposure matrices was evaluated including the field recovery and breakthrough test. The dermal exposure amount during mixing/loading was 0.163 mg (0.0004% of the total mixed/loaded active ingredient [a.i.]), whereas there was no inhalation exposure. The gloves (0.154 mg, 94.5%) were the most exposed body parts followed by the chest and stomach (0.009 mg, 5.5%). During application, the dermal and inhalation exposure amounts were 32.3 mg (0.07% of the total applied a.i.) and 10.8 µg (2.4 × 10-6% of the total applied a.i), respectively. The shin (35.1%) had the highest exposure to pesticides, followed by the chest & stomach (15.6%) and pelvis (12.6%). In case of mixing/loading, the amounts of actual dermal exposure (ADE) and actual inhalation exposure (AIE) were 0.0 and 0.0 μg/day, while those of ADE and AIE were 4707.6 and 15.8 μg/day for application. In risk assessment of the two different scenarios, the risk index was much lower than 1 (mixing/loading:0.000, application:0.014), indicating that vineyard workers are at low risk of thiamethoxam exposure. To determine the validity of the risk assessment using WBD method, the urinary metabolite was analyzed. Comparison of biomonitoring data and WBD exposure data show a reliable correlation (r = 0.885, p = 0.0003), suggesting that these are suitable methods to estimate exposure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiho Lee
- Department of Crop Sciences, Konkuk University, Seoul 05029, Republic of Korea
| | - JiWoo Kim
- Forensic Genetics & Chemistry Division, Supreme Prosecutors' Office, Seoul 06590, Republic of Korea
| | - Yongho Shin
- Department of Applied Biology, College of Natural Resources and Life Science, Dong-A University, Busan 49315, Republic of Korea
| | - Eunyoung Park
- Department of Agricultural Biotechnology and Research Institute of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea
| | - Junghak Lee
- Department of Agricultural Biotechnology and Research Institute of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea
| | - Young-Soo Keum
- Department of Crop Sciences, Konkuk University, Seoul 05029, Republic of Korea
| | - Jeong-Han Kim
- Department of Agricultural Biotechnology and Research Institute of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea.
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Noh HH, Lee JY, Park HK, Lee JW, Jo SH, Kim JH, Kwon H, Kyung KS. Risk of dermal and inhalation exposure to chlorantraniliprole assessed by using whole-body dosimetry in Korea. PEST MANAGEMENT SCIENCE 2019; 75:1159-1165. [PMID: 30375145 DOI: 10.1002/ps.5255] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2018] [Revised: 10/05/2018] [Accepted: 10/24/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
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.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hyun H Noh
- Department of Agro-food Safety and Crop protection, National Institute of Agricultural Science, Rural Development Administration, Wanju, Republic of Korea
| | - Jae Y Lee
- Residue Research Team, Research Institute, NongHyup Chemical, Okcheon, Republic of Korea
| | - Hyo K Park
- Department of Environmental and Biological Chemistry, College of Agriculture, Life and Environment Science, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju, Republic of Korea
| | - Jung W Lee
- Department of Environmental and Biological Chemistry, College of Agriculture, Life and Environment Science, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju, Republic of Korea
| | - Seung H Jo
- Department of Environmental and Biological Chemistry, College of Agriculture, Life and Environment Science, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju, Republic of Korea
| | - Jeong-Han Kim
- Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Hyeyoung Kwon
- Department of Agro-food Safety and Crop protection, National Institute of Agricultural Science, Rural Development Administration, Wanju, Republic of Korea
| | - Kee S Kyung
- Department of Environmental and Biological Chemistry, College of Agriculture, Life and Environment Science, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju, Republic of Korea
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Atabila A, Sadler R, Phung DT, Hogarh JN, Carswell S, Turner S, Patel R, Connell D, Chu C. Biomonitoring of chlorpyrifos exposure and health risk assessment among applicators on rice farms in Ghana. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2018; 25:20854-20867. [PMID: 29766419 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-018-2259-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2018] [Accepted: 05/07/2018] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
Chlorpyrifos is a neurotoxic insecticide that is widely used in the agricultural sector of Ghana. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the levels of chlorpyrifos exposure and health risk among applicators (n = 21) on irrigated rice farms in Ghana, based on a typical application event. Pre- and post-application urine samples (24-h) were collected from the applicators and analysed for 3,5,6-trichloro-2-pyridinol (TCP), using LC-MS/MS. The levels of chlorpyrifos-absorbed dose with the applicators were estimated from the urinary TCP levels. Prior to application, the median absorbed dose of chlorpyrifos (background exposure) with the applicators was 0.2 μg/kg/day (range 0.05 to 2 μg/kg/day). Following application, the median absorbed dose of chlorpyrifos (application exposure) increased 30-fold to 6 μg/kg/day (range 0.7 to 74 μg/kg/day). The mean elimination half-life (t1/2) of chlorpyrifos was calculated to be 50 h. Hazard quotient (HQ) values (HQ > 1) obtained with the chronic (10 μg/kg/day) and acute (100 μg/kg/day) guideline values of the WHO suggested no risk of chronic or acute health effects, respectively, among both the median and 5% highly exposed groups. However, HQ values (HQ > 1) obtained with the chronic (0.3 μg/kg/day) and acute (5 μg/kg/day) guideline values of the USEPA suggested risk of chronic and acute health effects, respectively, among both the median and 5% highly exposed groups. The quantity of chlorpyrifos formulation applied, spraying duration, and the number of spray tanks applied significantly correlated with the absorbed dose levels of chlorpyrifos from application exposure. Therefore, these factors suggest means to reduce exposure and consequent health risk among the applicators.
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Affiliation(s)
- Albert Atabila
- Centre for Environment and Population Health, Griffith School of Environment, Griffith University, 170 Kessels Road, Nathan, QLD, 4111, Australia.
| | - Ross Sadler
- Centre for Environment and Population Health, Griffith School of Environment, Griffith University, 170 Kessels Road, Nathan, QLD, 4111, Australia
| | - Dung Tri Phung
- Centre for Environment and Population Health, Griffith School of Environment, Griffith University, 170 Kessels Road, Nathan, QLD, 4111, Australia
| | - Jonathan N Hogarh
- Department of Environmental Science, College of Science, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana
| | - Stewart Carswell
- Queensland Health Forensic and Scientific Services, 39 Kessels Road, Coopers Plains, QLD, 4108, Australia
| | - Scott Turner
- Queensland Health Forensic and Scientific Services, 39 Kessels Road, Coopers Plains, QLD, 4108, Australia
| | - Renu Patel
- Queensland Health Forensic and Scientific Services, 39 Kessels Road, Coopers Plains, QLD, 4108, Australia
| | - Des Connell
- Centre for Environment and Population Health, Griffith School of Environment, Griffith University, 170 Kessels Road, Nathan, QLD, 4111, Australia
| | - Cordia Chu
- Centre for Environment and Population Health, Griffith School of Environment, Griffith University, 170 Kessels Road, Nathan, QLD, 4111, Australia
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Atabila A, Phung DT, Hogarh JN, Osei-Fosu P, Sadler R, Connell D, Chu C. Dermal exposure of applicators to chlorpyrifos on rice farms in Ghana. CHEMOSPHERE 2017; 178:350-358. [PMID: 28340457 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2017.03.062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2016] [Revised: 03/14/2017] [Accepted: 03/14/2017] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
Studies evaluating dermal exposure to pesticides among applicators in tropical countries have largely been conducted using the patch dosimetry and hand wiping/washing techniques. This study used the more accurate whole-body dosimetry technique to evaluate dermal exposure to chlorpyrifos among applicators on rice farms in Ghana. The exposure levels were plotted as Cumulative Probability Distribution (CPD). Total Dermal Exposure (TDE) of chlorpyrifos among the median exposed and the 5% highly exposed groups during a spray event were 24 mg and 48 mg, respectively. When these were converted as a percentage of the quantity of active ingredient applied (Unit Exposure, UE), UE values of 0.03% and 0.06% were found among the median exposed and the 5% highly exposed groups, respectively. Overall, the hands were the most contaminated anatomical regions of the applicators, both in terms of proportion of TDE (39%) and skin loading (13 μg/cm2). Also, the lower anatomical region was more contaminated (82% of TDE) compared to the upper anatomical region (18% of TDE). The levels of chlorpyrifos TDE among the applicators were found to be influenced by the quantity of insecticide applied and the height of the crops sprayed (p < 0.05). The pesticide UE data of the present study can be used to estimate the levels of dermal exposure under similar pesticide use scenarios among applicators. The findings of the present study suggest that protecting the hands and the lower anatomical regions with appropriate PPE may significantly reduce exposure among applicators.
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Affiliation(s)
- Albert Atabila
- Centre for Environment and Population Health, Griffith School of Environment, Griffith University, 170 Kessel Road, Nathan, QLD, 4111, Australia.
| | - Dung Tri Phung
- Centre for Environment and Population Health, Griffith School of Environment, Griffith University, 170 Kessel Road, Nathan, QLD, 4111, Australia
| | - Jonathan N Hogarh
- Department of Environmental Science, College of Science, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana
| | - Paul Osei-Fosu
- Pesticide Residues Laboratory, Ghana Standards Authority, Accra, Ghana
| | - Ross Sadler
- Centre for Environment and Population Health, Griffith School of Environment, Griffith University, 170 Kessel Road, Nathan, QLD, 4111, Australia
| | - Des Connell
- Centre for Environment and Population Health, Griffith School of Environment, Griffith University, 170 Kessel Road, Nathan, QLD, 4111, Australia
| | - Cordia Chu
- Centre for Environment and Population Health, Griffith School of Environment, Griffith University, 170 Kessel Road, Nathan, QLD, 4111, Australia
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