Potential exposure to pesticides during amateur applications of home and garden products

Abstract

Volunteer "amateur" gardeners were observed, but not supervised, while they mixed, then applied carbendazim, and decontaminated their equipment. A whole body dosimetry method was used, including dosimeters on hands, feet and face. Personal air samplers collected airborne pesticide in the breathing zone. Analysis of the tank mixes prepared by volunteers indicated that the final concentration ranged from 55 to 177% of the intended concentration. Areas of body most heavily contaminated during mixing were the hands, with levels of up to 25 mg of active substance (a.s.) found due to spillages during measurement. Residues of pesticide within the measuring cap were up to 31 mg of a.s. During application the arms, hands, front torso and feet were most contaminated. Typical contamination rates during application were 20 ml h -1 of the diluted tank mix: up to 10 mg h-1 of active substance, with typical applications in these scenarios lasting 5 to 15 min. © 2005 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.