Potential chlorpyrifos exposure to residents following standard crack and crevice treatment

Abstract

Multipathway exposures were evaluated for residents of houses over a 10-day period following a crack and crevice application of a chlorpyrifos-based formulation. Three multiroom houses with two adults each were treated. Air concentration, total deposition, and dislodgeable residues on horizontal surfaces were measured to assess potential respiratory, oral, and dermal exposures, respectively, in treated and untreated high activity rooms. In addition, urine samples collected from the adults were analyzed for the primary metabolite of chlorpyrifos, 3,5,6-trichloropyridinol, to determine absorbed dose. The maximum chlorpyrifos air concentration observed was 2.3 microgram/m3, with air concentrations generally decreasing to levels ranging from 0.1 to 0.3 microgram/m3 within 10 days. Carpet dislodgeable residues, used to evaluate the amount of residues potentially transferred upon contact, were less than the analytical method limit of quantitation (1.6 microgram/m2). Hard plastic balls placed in the homes on the day before application contained no detectable dislodgeable residues (<6.5 microgram/m2). Ten-day cumulative nontarget residues deposited on surfaces, as determined by deposition pads, were less than 2.3 microgram/100 cm2. Deposition samples from all living area floors collected 2 hr after application contained less than 9.9 microgram/100 cm2. Therefore, contact with household surfaces and subsequent hand-to-mouth activity are not expected to significantly contribute to overall exposure. Estimated exposures to children, based on the passive dosimetry measurements, ranged from 0.26 to 2.1% of the no observed effect level for plasma cholinesterase depression. In addition, potential exposures to the adult residents, as indicated by the urinary 3,5,6-TCP biomonitoring, did not increase as a result of the application.