A pilot study of workplace dermal exposures to cypermethrin at a chemical manufacturing plant.

Exposure during the manufacture of pesticides is of particular concern due to their toxicity and because little is known about worker exposure, since most studies have focused on end-use application within agriculture or buildings. Even though dermal exposure can be expected to dominate for pesticides, little is known about workplace dermal exposures or even appropriate methods for their assessment. The current study begins to address this gap by evaluating alternative methods for assessing dermal exposure at a chemical manufacturing plant.

Sampling and analytical method development and hand wipe measurements of dermal exposures to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.

This article describes the laboratory assessment of a hand and surface wipe sampling method for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The analytical method employed extraction of the wipe samples into dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) flourometric detection of pyrene, a predominant PAH in used gasoline engine oils (UGEO). Recovery of pyrene was evaluated for two different sampling media by first contaminating the hands of a small number of volunteers with UGEO, followed by applying a small amount of corn oil to the palms, and by wiping the skin with a Whatman cellulostic filter paper or a polyester fabric wipe (i.

Community-based intervention to reduce pesticide exposure to farmworkers and potential take-home exposure to their families.

The US EPA Worker Protection Standard requires pesticide safety training for farmworkers. Combined with re-entry intervals, these regulations are designed to reduce pesticide exposure. Little research has been conducted on whether additional steps may reduce farmworker exposure and the potential for take-home exposure to their families.

DNA adducts in granulocytes of hospital workers exposed to ethylene oxide.

Background: Ethylene oxide (EtO), an important industrial chemical intermediate and sterilant, is classified as a human carcinogen. Occupational EtO exposure in many countries is regulated at 1 ppm (8-hr TWA), but levels of EtO-DNA adducts in humans with low occupational EtO exposures have not been reported.

Methods: We examined the formation of N7-(2'-hydroxyethyl)guanine (N7-HEG), a major DNA adduct of EtO, in 58 EtO-exposed sterilizer operators and six nonexposed workers from ten hospitals.

A comparison of surface wipe media for sampling lead on hands.

Hand contamination by toxic agents such as lead presents a potentially significant health hazard to workers if the contamination is transferred to the mouth by food, smoking, or touching the mouth. One method to sample the mass of contamination on hands is to wipe the skin and analyze the wipe media for the analyte. Several commercially available, prewetted wipe media were evaluated and compared.