We investigated the accumulation of pesticide residues on rubber latex gloves that are used by strawberry harvesters to protect their skin, reduce pesticide exposure and promote food safety. Gloves accumulated residues of 16 active ingredients including azoxystrobin, bifenthrin, boscalid, captan, cyprodinil, fenhexamid, fenpropathrin, fludioxonil, hexythiazox, malathion, methomyl, naled, propiconazole, pyraclostrobin, quinoline, and quinoxyfen at different times. Glove residue accumulation (t(½) 2.8-3.7 d) was very similar to the dissipation of DFRs (t(½) 2.1-3.0 d) during the first 3 weeks after malathion applications. Dermal malathion dose was 0.2 mg/kg at the preharvest interval and declined to trace levels during the following 3 months. Glove accumulation of malathion indicated trace surface residue availability and was used to assess the relationship between dislodgable foliar residues and potential hand exposure.
Fruit harvesters' primary pesticide exposure results from direct dermal and clothing contact with foliar residues. The transfer of pesticide residues from foliage to strawberry harvesters' hands and their subsequent dissipation under normal occupational conditions in the field was examined. The effectiveness of latex gloves as sampling dosimeters was evaluated and compared with bare-handed harvester exposures. After application of malathion and fenpropathrin insecticides on strawberry fields, resulting harvester exposures using four independent methods were studied. Between d 4 (preharvest interval, PHI) and d 7 after pesticide application, (1) dislodgeable foliar residues, (2) pesticide residues accumulating on the gloves, and (3) end-of-shift harvester hand-wash residues decreased by 90, 75, and 85%, respectively. In contrast, the 7-d decline in excreted urine metabolites was only 43% for gloved harvesters and 29% for barehanded ones. In addition, gloved harvesters displayed 23% lower biomonitored exposures than barehanded ones, demonstrating that latex gloves are an effective protective barrier against surface residues. Since malathion and its metabolites are readily excreted, data indicated that there were likely other sources of excreted malathion breakdown products present on foliar surfaces after dissipation of malathion itself.
Pesticide exposure during harvesting of crops occurs primarily to the workers' hands. When harvesters wear latex rubber gloves for personal safety and hygiene harvesting reasons, gloves accumulate pesticide residues. Hence, characterization of the gloves' properties may be useful for pesticide exposure assessments. Controlled field studies were conducted using latex rubber gloves to define the factors that influence the transfer of pesticides to the glove and that would affect their use as a residue monitoring device. A novel sampling device called the Brinkman Contact Transfer Unit (BCTU) was constructed to study the glove characteristics and residue transfer and accumulation under controlled conditions on turf. The effectiveness of latex rubber gloves as sampling dosimeters was evaluated by measuring the transferable pesticide residues as a function of time. The validation of latex rubber gloves as a residue sampling dosimeter was performed by comparing pesticide transfer and dissipation from the gloves, with the turf transferable residues sampled using the validated California (CA) Roller, a standard measure of residue transfer. The observed correlation (Pearson's correlation coefficient R(2)) between the two methods was .84 for malathion and .96 for fenpropathrin, indicating that the BCTU is a useful, reliable surrogate tool for studying available residue transfer to latex rubber gloves under experimental conditions. Perhaps more importantly, these data demonstrate that latex gloves worn by workers may be useful quantifiable matrices for measuring pesticide exposure.
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