Risk assessment of imidacloprid and dichlorvos associated with dermal and inhalation exposure in cucumber greenhouse applicators: A cross-sectional study in Hamadan, Iran

ABSTRACT

A complex mixture of organic pollutants (EOPs) enters the environment, which has potential impacts on aquatic life and human health.This cross-sectional study investigated dermal and inhalation exposure to the pesticides imidacloprid and dichlorvos and evaluated the health risk in cucumber greenhouses applicators in the Amzajerdagriculturalarea, Hamadan Province, western Iran. A patch method and a personal air sampler with XAD-2 absorbent were used to measure potential exposure. In mixing and loading, dermal exposure on the hands was 1.15 mg for imidacloprid and 2.27 mg for dichlorvos. During the application of imidacloprid and dichlorvos, total dermal exposure was 8.49 and 16.21 mg, respectively. The calculated absorbable quantities of exposure (AQE) during mixing/loading were 0.0017 mg/day for imidacloprid and 0.0054 mg/day for dichlorvos, whereas AQE during application were 0.159 and 0.437 mg/day, respectively. The arms were the most contaminated anatomical regions of the applicators. The potential inhalation exposure contributed to <7% of the total exposure for both pesticides. For risk assessment, the margin of safety (MOS) was calculated. The MOS for imidacloprid was higher than 1, indicating that the possible risk associated with imidacloprid was low, whereas the MOS for dichlorvos was <1, which indicates a potential risk to the human body that merits concern from policy makers in pest management.

KEYWORDS:

• Emerging pollutants
• pesticide
• dermal exposure
• patch method
• greenhouse
• margin of safety

Acknowledgments

We express our gratitude to all the individuals who volunteered to participate in this study. We also thank the Agriculture Organization of Hamadan Province personnel, especially Mr. H. Dastjerdi, for their help in contacting the greenhouse workers. We thank K. Shashok (AuthorAID in the Eastern Mediterranean) for improving the use of English in the manuscript.

5. Disclosure statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Vice Chancellery for Research at Hamadan University of Medical Sciences [Grant No. 9808216067]; the Iran National Science Foundation (INSF) [Grant No. 98002691]; and the National Institute for Medical Research Development (NIMAD) [Grant No. 988769].