title: Dermal & inhalation exposure of operators during fungicide application in vineyards. Evaluation of coverall performance.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Pesticides Toxicology, Benaki Phytopathological Institute, 8 St. Delta Street, Kifissia 14561, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Angelos N
authors.initials: AN
authors.lastname: Tsakirakis
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Pesticides Toxicology, Benaki Phytopathological Institute, 8 St. Delta Street, Kifissia 14561, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Konstantinos M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Kasiotis
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Pesticides Toxicology, Benaki Phytopathological Institute, 8 St. Delta Street, Kifissia 14561, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Agathi N
authors.initials: AN
authors.lastname: Charistou
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Pesticides Toxicology, Benaki Phytopathological Institute, 8 St. Delta Street, Kifissia 14561, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Niki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Arapaki
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Toxicology, Department of Medicine, University of Crete, 71409 Heraklion, Greece.
authors.forename: Aristidis
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tsatsakis
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Biochemistry, Medical School, University of Thessaly, Greece.
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tsakalof
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Pesticides Toxicology, Benaki Phytopathological Institute, 8 St. Delta Street, Kifissia 14561, Athens, Greece. Electronic address: k.machera@bpi.gr.
authors.forename: Kyriaki
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Machera
mesh_terms: D000383:Agriculture; D000395:Air Pollutants, Occupational / Q000032:analysis*; D000397:Air Pollution / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000032:analysis* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005659:Fungicides, Industrial / Q000032:analysis*; D006115:Greece; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000032:analysis / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014230:Triazoles / Q000032:analysis*; D014920:Wine
chemical_list: D000395:Air Pollutants, Occupational; D005659:Fungicides, Industrial; D014230:Triazoles; C087058:penconazole
keywords: Exposure; Fungicide; GC–ECD; Personal protection; Vineyard