The penetration of formulated Guthion spray through selected fabrics

A technique for comparing pesticide penetration through fabric was devised. It involved passing fabric swatches through a controlled spray system and measuring the pesticide residue transferring on and through the tested fabric. Six variations in fabric were selected for testing: 100% cotton woven chambray, Scotch-guard treated chambray, Tyvek, Crowntex, and two variations of Gore Tex. Guthion (azinphos-methyl) was chosen as the insecticide for controlled use in this experiment because of its widespread use and relatively high toxicity. Gas chromatographic analysis of the amount of Guthion transferred through the outer fabric was made by the use of analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Duncan's multiple range test. The ANOVA for experiment replication showed no significant difference among the replications of each fabric. The treatment ANOVA was highly significant at the 0.01 level. Duncan's multiple range test further analyzed the differences in the treatment, and three groups were found to be significantly different from each other. The two types of Gore Tex, Tyvek and Crowntex comprised the group permitting the least penetration Scotch-guard treated chambray followed, and untreated chambray allowed the greatest penetration.