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Various health risk assessment models have been developed to evaluate occupational pesticide exposure in China. However, there has been limited investigation into the relationship between health risks and pesticide spraying in orchards. In this study, we analyzed pesticide exposure of applicators while spraying with a stretcher-mounted sprayer in orchards located in four different climatic regions. All garments’ unit exposure (UE) demonstrated a right-skewed distribution, with gloves and shins accounting for the highest proportion of dermal pesticide exposure. We observed little difference in dermal and inhalation UE levels between apple and citrus orchards, except for pesticide exposure levels on wipes and faces. While 57% of the inhalation UE distribution variance was attributed to clustering and location effects, no significant differences were observed in dermal exposure levels. We evaluated the impact of different levels of protective clothing on pesticide exposure levels, according to applicators' working habits in China. Our findings revealed that improved levels of protection significantly reduced dermal exposure to pesticides, particularly when wearing gloves during spraying with a stretcher-mounted sprayer. Based on our empirical data, we utilized a simple random sampling model and an intercept-only lognormal mixed model to estimate dermal and inhalation exposure levels. The estimated dermal UE was accurate to within 3-fold with 95% confidence, and half of the estimated inhalation UE was acceptable according to the fold relative accuracy (fRA). Our established and verified statistics for dermal and inhalation UE can be utilized to evaluate the potential pesticide exposure to applicators during spraying in orchards with a stretcher-mounted sprayer.

Triazide herbicides were widely used in China. Triazine herbicides belong to the environmental hormone and mainly affect the endocrine system, which have potential carcinogenic effects. Low content of triazine compounds in the environment was detected by isotope dilution mass spectrometry more sensitive and accurate than others. Therefore, prometryn-13C3, simetryn-13C3, terbuthylazine-13C3 and terbutryn-13C3 were first successfully synthesised with good yield and high purity. A reliable and sensitive isotope-labelled internal standard method was developed for simultaneous determination of prometryn, simetryn, terbuthylazine and terbutryn in soil using ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry was developed. Isotope-labelled internal standards could effectively overcome the matrix effect. The recoveries in the soil at three spiking levels (10, 20, 50 μg·kg−1) ranged from 92.3% to 105.2%, with all relative standard deviations being less than 9.6% for all analytes. The limits of detection and the limits of quantification were below 0.06 and 0.2 μg·kg−1, respectively. The method was demonstrated to be convenient and accurate for the routine monitoring of prometryn, simetryn, terbuthylazine and terbutryn in the soil to provide a reference to the environmental management of China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND To date, no research has been conducted to establish exposure levels for occupational pesticide operators under typical use scenarios in China. Through surrogate skin techniques (the whole-body method), the authors monitored dermal and inhalation exposure of pesticide applicators in China. In addition, the exposure of pesticide mixers was analysed. RESULTS The total dermal exposure of inexperienced and experienced applicators was respectively 4037 and 536 mg kg−1 of active ingredient ( AI) handled for application to maize that was <80 cm in height. The exposure level was highest on hands; the closer to the hands, the lower arms and the upper legs, the higher the exposure. The unit exposure of mixers differed according to the formulation; exposure to emulsifiable concentrate ( EC) and oil-in-water emulsion ( EW) was greater than exposure to wettable powder ( WP) or wettable dispersible granules ( WG). The unit exposure of mixers via inhalation was significantly greater than that of applicators when chlorpyrifos (48% EC) was used ( P < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS The main objectives of this study were to provide an indication of the realistic exposure risk of mixers and applicators, and to contribute useful information for risk mitigation and management and epidemiological studies in China. © 2013 Society of Chemical Industry [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present study, a series of novel benzimidazole derivatives containing chrysanthemum acid moieties was designed and synthesized. Preliminary investigation of biological activity indicated that all of the compounds exhibited lower activity than that of beta-cypermethrin against Plutella xylostella and Lipaphis erysimi ; meanwhile, they showed good inhibitory activity against Botrytis cinerea and Sclerotinia sclerotiorum in vitro . The fungicidal activity of compound 8a against B. cinerea was approximately equal to that of thiabendazole and was twice as active against S. sclerotiorum as was thiabendazole. In addition, compound 9e displayed the most potent inhibitory activity against both fungi and was almost twice as potent as thiabendazole.