Hazardous workplace chemicals can be absorbed through the skin and produce acute or chronic illness. Current methods of assessing skin exposure and adsorption are limited in their accuracy, do not incorporate adsorption kinetics, and do not provide a means of evaluating the effectiveness of such interventions as post-exposure hand washing and bathing. This proposal is designed to bridge the gap between a theoretical understanding of dermal adsorption as a complex, dynamic process and the need for practical, accurate tools to access occupational exposures and exposure reduction strategies in the workplace. This project will 1) develop a novel tool to measure dermal exposure to pesticide residues and dermal adsorption of these residues, 2) determine dermal adsorption kinetics of chemical mixtures on time sales that are relevant to the workplace, and 3) evaluate the accuracy of current exposure assessment methods, and the effectiveness of hygienic practices in reducing pesticide exposure among agricultural workers.
Carden, Angela; Yost, Michael G; Fenske, Richard A (2005) Noninvasive method for the assessment of dermal uptake of pesticides using attenuated total reflectance infrared spectroscopy. Appl Spectrosc 59:293-9 |