8287240 Pesticide exposure during cleaning of sowing equipment

<h3>Objectives</h3> In most high-income countries, commercial workers are increasingly involved in various tasks on farms. We have recently shown that sowing pesticide-treated corn and wheat seeds leads to pesticide exposure especially during the filling of sowing equipment. At the end of the sowing season, these workers are also involved in equipment cleaning task. The aim of the present study was to quantify pesticide exposure during this cleaning task. <h3>Material and Methods</h3> Dermal pesticide exposure was measured using 21 cotton pads placed on different parts of the body, both inside and outside clothing, and on cotton gloves for hands Respiratory exposure was measured with XAD-2 filters. Prothioconazole (PTC) fungicide commonly used to treat corn seeds, and its environmental degradation product desthio-prothioconazole (DPTC), and ziram, a fungicide used as a crow repellent were analyzed. Limits of quantification ranged from 20 to 200 ng/sample. Additional pads were used to measure pesticide contamination on different parts of the sowing equipment before and after the cleaning task. <h3>Results</h3> The field study was conducted in Brittany between 2022 and 2023. All 18 included workers were male with an average age of 46 years. Cleaning task durations ranged from 18 to 85 minutes. Most workers (83%) wore protective or cotton coveralls and 67% used chemical or mechanical resistant gloves. Dermal exposure was measured on all pads with a median total level of 554 µg for ziram and 220 µg for PTC and dPTC combined. Lower exposure levels were observed among workers who were more experienced, used water rather than compressed air for cleaning, wore protective coveralls, and cleaned sowers with smaller sowing areas. Finally, pesticide contamination levels on the sower remained similar before and after cleaning. <h3>Conclusion</h3> The cleaning task resulted systematically in pesticide exposure and was ineffective in removing pesticide residues from the sowing equipment.