Ethylenethiourea in air and in urine as an indicator of exposure to ethylenebisdithiocarbamate fungicides.

Abstract

KURTIIO P, SAVOLAINEN K. Ethylenethioureain air and in urineas an indicatorof exposure to ethylenebisdithiocarbamate fungicides. Scand J Work Environ Health 1990;16:203-7. Ethylenethiourea (ETU) is a ubiquitous impurity of the ethylenebisdithiocarbamate (EBDC) fungicides widely used in agriculture and forestry. In the present study, ETU was used as a measure of the exposure to EBDC on potato farms and in pine nurseries during the application of EBDC fungicides and the weeding of the sprayed vegetation. Biological and hygienic monitoring was carried out through the analysis of ETU in the breathing zone and the urine of exposed workers. Even if the concentrations of ETU in the ambient air of pine nurseries exceeded those of potato farms, the concentrations of ETU in the urine of potato farmers exceeded those of pine nursery workers. This result may have been due better protective equipment in the pine nurseries. The excretion rate was 6-10 ng/h during the first 60 h after the cessation of exposure, and it diminished thereafter to 0.2 ng/h over a 22-d observation period.

Application of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry for the determination of urinary ethylenethiourea in humans

“…Due to the lack of biological limit values for urinary ETU, these values represent terms of reference for comparison with urinary ETU levels in samples collected in workers after exposure. The urinary ETU levels found in the investigated subjects are in line with those reported in previous studies performed on agriculture workers and/or general population, obtained using analytical procedures based on HPLC/UV or LC/MS [9][10][11][12][13][14][15]19].…”

“…For the assessment of occupational and non-occupational exposure to ETU and/or EBDTC in humans, the determination of ETU in urine was proposed [9][10][11][12][13][14][15]. In this context, concentrations ranging from <1 to hundreds of micrograms of ETU/L of urine were detected.…”

A nursery sprayer with the recycling principle

“…In this study, the exposure of the workers to maneb or ETU was lower or at the same level as in previous studies on forestry nurseries (Kangas et al, 1980;Kurttio & Savolainen, 1990). The results of biological monitoring proved that the exposure of the workers to maneb is low and there is practically no difference in exposure between the tested spraying methods.…”

Case Report: Three Farmworkers Who Gave Birth to Infants with Birth Defects Closely Grouped in Time and Place—Florida and North Carolina, 2004–2005

“…ETU has a biologic half-life of approximately 34 hr to 4 days (Kurttio and Savolainen 1990). During the period of limb development, the mother of case 1 may have worked up to 4 days in fields in violation of the REI for this fungicide.…”