Abstract
Dermal and respiratory exposures of workers to arsenic when mixing, loading, and applying lead arsenate as a maturity spray to Florida grapefruit were determined. Respiratory exposure contributed <0.01% of total body exposure. The average level of dermal arsenic exposure was higher for suppliers than for applicators. Exposure was significantly higher for the hands and legs than other areas of the body. Accumulated total body exposure to arsenic was correlated with the urinary arsenic concentration. The mean dermal exposure of workers using a spray mixture of 0.1% lead arsenate was significantly lower than the average dermal exposure of workers applying arsenic with a 0.3% spray mixture. Although suppliers excreted an average daily total arsenic concentration of 228 ppb, slightly greater than the 200 ppb threshold value suggestive of arsenic poisoning, the average daily excretion of total arsenic by the applicators was 83 ppb, less than the threshold value. Exposure to arsenic of all workers was lower than the shortterm no-effect level set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
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Florida Agricultural Experiment Stations Journal Series No. 2800
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Wojeck, G.A., Nigg, H.N., Braman, R.S. et al. Worker exposure to arsenic in Florida grapefruit spray operations. Arch. Environ. Contam. Toxicol. 11, 661–667 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01059152
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01059152