Pesticides Applicator Exposure Assessment: A Comparison between Modeling and Actual Measurement

Abstract

The use of pesticides throughout the world over the years has attracted public attention and concerns regarding their impacts on human health and the environment. This has led to the institution of regulations in both industrialized and developing countries to manage their use and to reduce their negative impacts on the environment and human health. Usually risk assessments are conducted to identify the potential risks associated with any new a product for registration or an existing product for re-registration. Exposure assessment is a critical part of the risk assessment process, which is mostly done through laboratory based biological monitoring studies. These biological monitoring studies are expensive and time consuming, hence the need for computer based exposure assessment models which are perceived to be quick and less expensive and can be handily used by pesticides regulators throughout the world, especially in developing countries where there is low technology and weak financial muscle for those rigorous and highly sophisticated laboratory based biological monitoring studies. The purpose of the paper therefore, was to conduct exposure assessment using two recognized occupational exposure models (UK-POEM and the German Model) and to make a comparison between the results of the models and that of measured results from biological monitoring studies from open literature. The paper observed that these two exposure models under estimate exposure compared to the biological monitoring. It is therefore, recommended that for regulatory purposes these models could be used with caution, taking into account the conditions under which pesticides sprayings are done in a particular country for compliance with the conditions used as input for the development of these models. Keywords: Pesticides, Applicators, Exposure Assessment, UK-POEM, German Model