Air, Dermal, and Urinary Metabolite Levels of Backpack and Tractor Sprayers Using the Herbicide Acetochlor in Thailand

Abstract

Acetochlor is a chloroacetanilide selective pre-emergent herbicide used for controlling grass and broadleaf weeds in crops. This study compared the acetochlor exposures of backpack and tractor sprayers and assessed whether dermal or air exposures were more important contributors to the overall body burden as measured by urinary metabolites. Sixty sugarcane farmers in Nakhonsawan province, Thailand participated in the study, and breathing zone air and dermal patch samples were collected during spraying. Urine samples were collected before spraying, at the end of the spraying task, and on the day after spraying. For backpack and tractor sprayers, there was no significant difference in their breathing zone air concentrations, total body dermal samples, or urinary 2-methy-6-methyaniline (EMA) concentrations on the day after spraying. In addition, although most backpack and tractor sprayers wore long pants and long sleeve shirts, they were still exposed to acetochlor, as evidenced by a significant increase in the urinary EMA from before spraying (GM = 11.5 µg/g creatinine) to after spraying (GM = 88.5 µg/g creatinine) to the next day (GM = 111.0 µg/g creatinine). Breathing zone air samples were significantly correlated with those of total body dermal patch samples and with urinary EMA concentrations after spraying. This suggests that both air and dermal exposure contribute to urinary EMA levels.

Keywords: acetochlor; backpack sprayer; breathing zone air sample; dermal patch sample; herbicide; sugarcane farmer; tractor sprayer; urinary metabolite.

Figure 1

Patches were placed in different locations on bare skin.

Figure 2

Structural formulae of acetochlor, acetochlor metabolites, and 2-ethyl-6-methylaniline (EMA).

Figure 3

The backpack and tractor sprayers while mixing and spraying acetochlor. (a) The backpack sprayer; (b) the tractor sprayer.