Monitoring of pesticide applicators for potential dermal exposure to malathion and biomarkers in urine

Malathion was applied to roses in three Finnish greenhouses by hand held lance sprayers. The potential dermal exposure of applicators to this insecticide was measured. Total urine production of each applicator was also collected up to 24 h post application. In the urine samples the specific metabolite of malathion, malathion monocarboxylic acid (MMA), and the creatinine content were determined. The potential dermal exposure results show that during the application of malathion, the applicators' lower limbs accounted, on average, for 48%, while the upper limbs accounted for 19% of the potential dermal exposure. Moreover, hands and chest and back and head regions accounted for 30 and 3%, respectively. Based on the urine measurements, it was observed that the excretion of MMA was very rapid reaching a maximum at about 6-7 h after the completion of the application. In the urine samples collected, MMA was found to be present in relatively small amounts. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.