Exploring citrus harvesters' exposure to pesticide contaminated foliar dust

The results of measurements in 32 citrus groves indicate that available and dislodgeable foliar dust measurements can predict aerosol mass concentrations produced during harvest with regression r2 values of 0.41 and 0.25, respectively. The pesticide content of these foliar measurements correlates with whole-body dermal dosing via the deposition of pesticide containing aerosols with similar regression r2 values of 0.63 and 0.75. Several lines of argument suggest that the wide range of particle size (< 1 microns to > 200 microns) underlies differences in foliar residue, aerosol, and dermal pesticide measurements. Significant implications of this report include the magnitude of the aerosols to which these workers are exposed (10-80 mg/m3) and the potential ability to set re-entry intervals based upon these predictable dermal dose estimates.