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

Tsakirakis, Angelos; Kasiotis, Konstantinos M.; Charistou, Agathi; Arapaki, Niki; Tsatsakis, Aristidis; Tsakalof, Andreas; Machera, Kyriaki

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2013.09.021

Cited by 45 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…The median skin deposition of mancozeb in our workers was 125 μg, while the median absorbed dose was 0.9 ng/kg of body weight. The low exposure (skin deposition) to pesticides seen in our group confirms similar findings in European studies (Mandic-Rajcevic et al, 2015; Tsakirakis et al, 2014). The modality of application, namely the use of closed and filtered tractors by the majority of our workers, also reduces the exposure to the active substance (Arbuckle et al, 2002; Hines et al, 2011).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Establishing health-based Biological Exposure Limits for pesticides: a proof of principle study using Mancozeb

Mandić‐Rajčević¹,

Rubino²,

Colosio³

2020

Preprint

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Pesticides represent an economical, labor-saving, and efficient tool for pest management, but their intrinsic toxic properties may endanger workers and the general population. Risk assessment is necessary, and biological monitoring represents a potentially valuable tool. Several international agencies propose biological exposure indices (BEI), especially for substances which are commonly absorbed through the skin. Biological monitoring for pesticide exposure and risk assessment seems a natural choice, but biological exposure limits (BEL) for pesticides are lacking. This study aims at establishing equivalent biological exposure limits (EBEL) for pesticides using real-life field data and the Acceptable Operator Exposure Level (AOEL) of mancozeb as the reference. This study included a group of 16 vineyard pesticide applicators from Northern Italy, a subgroup of a more extensive study of 28 applicators. Their exposure was estimated using "patch" and "hand-wash" methodologies, together with biological monitoring of free ethylene-bis-thiourea (ETU) excretion in 24-hour pre- and post-exposure urine samples. Modeling was done using univariate linear regression with ETU excretion as the dependent variable and the estimated absorbed dose as the independent variable. The median skin deposition of mancozeb in our study population was 125 μg, leading to a median absorbed dose of 0.9 μg/kg. The median post-exposure ETU excretion was 3.7 μg. The modeled EBEL for mancozeb was 148 μg of free ETU or 697 μg of total ETU, accounting for around 75% of the maximum theoretical excretion based on a mass balance model. Although preliminary and based on a small population of low-exposed workers, our results demonstrate a procedure to develop strongly needed biological exposure limits for pesticides.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Establishing health-based Biological Exposure Limits for pesticides: a proof of principle study using Mancozeb

Mandić‐Rajčević¹,

Rubino²,

Colosio³

2020

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The median skin deposition of mancozeb in our workers was 125 µg, while the median absorbed dose was 0.9 ng/kg of body weight. The low exposure (skin deposition) to pesticides seen in our group confirms similar findings in European studies (Mandic-Rajcevic et al, 2015;Tsakirakis et al, 2014). The modality of application, namely the use of closed and filtered tractors by the majority of our workers, also reduces the exposure to the active substance (Arbuckle et al, 2002;Hines et al, 2011).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

“…The size of our study population is similar to other real-life studies of pesticide applicators. Most studies conducted in Europe include between 10 and 15 workers, although even smaller numbers have been reported (Aprea, 2012;Rubino et al, 2012;Tsakirakis et al, 2014). Our study results are based on a group of low-exposed and well-protected workers, which is common for the North of Italy, and even Europe, but quite different from exposure in some developing countries.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 79%

Establishing health-based biological exposure limits for pesticides: A proof of principle study using mancozeb

Mandić‐Rajčević

Rubino

Colosio

2020

Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology

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Pesticides represent an economical, labor-saving, and efficient tool for pest management, but their intrinsic toxic properties may endanger workers and the general population. Risk assessment is necessary, and biological monitoring represents a potentially valuable tool.Several international agencies propose biological exposure indices (BEI), especially for substances which are commonly absorbed through the skin. Biological monitoring for pesticide exposure and risk assessment seems a natural choice, but biological exposure limits (BEL) for pesticides are lacking.This study aims at establishing equivalent biological exposure limits (EBEL) for pesticides using real-life field data and the Acceptable Operator Exposure Level (AOEL) of mancozeb as the reference.This study included a group of 16 vineyard pesticide applicators from Northern Italy, a subgroup of a more extensive study of 28 applicators. Their exposure was estimated using "patch" and "hand-wash" methodologies, together with biological monitoring of free ethylene-bis-thiourea (ETU) excretion in 24-hour pre-and post-exposure urine samples.Modeling was done using univariate linear regression with ETU excretion as the dependent variable and the estimated absorbed dose as the independent variable.The median skin deposition of mancozeb in our study population was 125 µg, leading to a median absorbed dose of 0.9 µg/kg. The median post-exposure ETU excretion was 3.7 µg.The modeled EBEL for mancozeb was 148 µg of free ETU or 697 µg of total ETU, accounting for around 75% of the maximum theoretical excretion based on a mass balance model. Although preliminary and based on a small population of low-exposed workers, our results demonstrate a procedure to develop strongly needed biological exposure limits for pesticides..

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“…Our a priori hypothesis was that for children living adjacent to cultivated fields, passive exposure to drift of the pesticides used for the specific crop types was not negligible (Lu et al, 2000; Rubino et al, 2012). We selected a 100-meter buffer around homes since it represents the distance where substantial pesticide drift occurs according to some studies (Wittich and Siebers, 2002; Siebers et al, 2003; Martin, 2008; Wolters et al, 2008; Cornelis et al, 2009; Garron et al, 2009), taking into account that in Italy agricultural fields are sprayed only by ground-based devices and therefore larger drifts are difficult to assume (Tsakirakis et al, 2014). In particular, for arable crops, sprayers’ devices are kept in a horizontal position, very close to the plants, so the dispersion of pesticides is very limited.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Passive exposure to agricultural pesticides and risk of childhood leukemia in an Italian community

Malagoli

Costanzini

Heck

et al. 2016

International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health

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Background Exposure to pesticides has been suggested as a risk factor for childhood leukemia, but definitive evidence on this relation and the specific pesticides involved is still not clear. Objective We carried out a population-based case-control study in a Northern Italy community to assess the possible relation between passive exposure to agricultural pesticides and risk of acute childhood leukemia. Methods We assessed passive pesticide exposure of 111 childhood leukemia cases and 444 matched controls by determining density and type of agricultural land use within a 100-m radius buffer around children’s homes. We focused on four common crop types, arable, orchard, vineyard and vegetable, characterized by the use of specific pesticides that are potentially involved in childhood induced leukemia. The use of these pesticides was validated within the present study. We computed the odds ratios (OR) of the disease and their 95% confidence intervals (CI) according to type and density of crops around the children’s homes, also taking into account traffic pollution and high-voltage power line magnetic field exposure. Results Childhood leukemia risk did not increase in relation with any of the crop types with the exception of arable crops, characterized by the use of 2.4-D, MCPA, glyphosate, dicamba, triazine and cypermethrin. The very few children (n=11) residing close to arable crops had an OR for childhood leukemia of 2.04 (95% CI 0.50–8.35), and such excess risk was further enhanced among children aged < 5 years. Conclusions Despite the null association with most crop types and the statistical imprecision of the estimates, the increased leukemia risk among children residing close to arable crops indicates the need to further investigate the involvement in disease etiology of passive exposure to herbicides and pyrethroids, though such exposure is unlikely to play a role in the vast majority of cases.

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

Cited by 45 publications

References 18 publications

Establishing health-based Biological Exposure Limits for pesticides: a proof of principle study using Mancozeb

Establishing health-based Biological Exposure Limits for pesticides: a proof of principle study using Mancozeb

Establishing health-based biological exposure limits for pesticides: A proof of principle study using mancozeb

Passive exposure to agricultural pesticides and risk of childhood leukemia in an Italian community

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