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POST-APPLICATION EXPOSURE POTENTIAL TO PESTICIDES IN THE RESIDENTIAL ENVIRONMENT
Citation:
Falconer, R L., R G. Lewis, C. R. Fortune, F. T. Blanchard, AND A. Y. Yau. POST-APPLICATION EXPOSURE POTENTIAL TO PESTICIDES IN THE RESIDENTIAL ENVIRONMENT. Presented at 220th ACS National Meeting, Washington, DC, August 20-24, 2000.
Impact/Purpose:
The goal of this task is to contribute to a better understanding of human exposure to pesticides, especially for small children by developing methods to characterize sources and pathways in and around the residential environment. We will support the science behind FQPA and assist the Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) in the development of guidelines for the assessment of residential exposure to pesticides. Specific research objectives include: (i) to evaluate and develop methods for measuring pesticides in air using passive/diffusive samplers. Assess and refine devices for the collection of surface transferable pesticide residues and to establish transfer efficiencies; (ii) to develop and apply analytical methods for new and emerging pesticides using both gas and liquid chromatographic methods in support of the National Exposure Research Laboratory's (NERL) Human Exposure Measurement Project; and, (iii) to conduct pilot studies investigating chiral chromatographic methods.
Description:
A study to investigate the temporal and spatial distributions of pesticides applied by homeowners and commercial applicators for indoor crack and crevice treatments was initiated by the U.S. EPA in 1999. In participating households, pre- and post-application samples of indoor air at 10-cm and 75-cm above the floor (child's breathing zone), surface transferable and vacuum-dislodgeable floor residues, deposition on table tops and dinnerware, absorption by surrogate food, and residues on children's hands and toys were measured for pesticide levels. Results from the study demonstrate the nature and magnitude of translocation of pesticides from the areas of application to surfaces accessible for human contact. The post-application redistribution of pesticides within the home as well as sampling and analytical problems will be discussed. Results of enantiomeric analysis for chiral pesticides in the samples will be presented.
This work has been wholly or in part funded by the United States Environmental Protection Agency under contract 68-D5-0049 to ManTech Environmental Technology, Inc. It has been subjected to Agency review and approved for publication.