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A NEW TRACER METHOD FOR ASSESSING HAND-TO-MOUTH TRANSFERS OF PESTICIDES
Citation:
Nishioka, M. G., R. Barnes, W. Ivancic, J. Sowry, AND E A. CohenHubal. A NEW TRACER METHOD FOR ASSESSING HAND-TO-MOUTH TRANSFERS OF PESTICIDES. Presented at ISEA Annual Meeting, Monterey Pennisula, CA, October 24-27, 2000.
Impact/Purpose:
1. To identify those pesticides, pathways, and activities that represent the highest potential exposures to children;
2. To determine the factors that influence pesticide exposures to children;
3. To develop methods for measuring multimedia exposures to children, including methods that account for important activities that take place in home, school, and day care settings;
4. To generate data on multimedia pesticide concentrations, pesticide biomarkers, and exposure factors that can be used as inputs to aggregate exposure models for children.
Description:
A common food chemical with high fluorescence intensity is being used in an evaluation of dermal transfer efficiencies as a surrogate for indoor pesticides chlorpyrifos and synthetic pyrethroids. The fluorescence monitoring system is based on an Olympus digital camera and the Matrox data imaging software, the latter providing capabilites for both surface area integration and intensity quantification. Because of the fluorescence characteristics of the tracer compound, the monitoring system utilizes a standard fluorescent light bulb as the excitation source, thus eliminating concerns about the exposure of subjects to UVA and UVB radiation.
Sampling tools that are being used include J&J SOF-WICK gauze pads as deposition coupons, a modified PUF Roller tool with a removable PUF thin sleeve, and the EL Press sampler with Empore disks. Extraction of the tracer is accomplished using either ASE extraction with sub-critical water or manual squeeze techniques with water (for PUF) or a water:methanol mixture (for Empore). Recoveries are >80% with spike levels of 0.1-20 ug. Pesticides are extracted similarly and reconcentrated on a C18 cartridge before analysis.
This work has been wholly funded by the US Environmental Protection Agency under Contract No. 68-D-99-011 to Battelle. It has been subjected to Agency review and approved for publication.