Potential exposure to flubendiamide and risk assessment in Kimchi cabbage field, Gangneung, Gangwon-do, Republic of Korea: the protective role of PPE (personal protective equipment)

Abstract In the present study, dermal and inhalation exposure of agricultural workers to insecticide, flubendiamide were determined during pesticide mixing/loading, and hand-held sprayer application in Kimchi cabbage fields, and the potential health risk was assessed. Dermal exposure amount during mixing/loading was 0.8 mg, whereas there was no inhalation exposure (0.0 µg) during similar procedures. Among several different body parts, the hands were the most prominent exposure area (84.5%), followed by the chest and stomach (10.1%). The protective role of PPE (personal protective equipment) during application was determined by comparative experiments with- and without-PPE. The dermal and inhalation exposure with PPE was 3.7 mg and 12.0 µg, respectively. The Forearms (29.6%) and pelvis (18.7%) showed the highest pesticide exposure, followed by the chest and stomach (18.4%). However, the exposure amount of without-PPE was 47.7 mg, and 22.9 µg, respectively, where shins were the most prominent exposure area (83.0%). For the risk assessment of the mixing/loading and application, the AOEL (acceptable operator exposure level) of flubendiamide was used as the reference dose to calculate that the RI (risk index) was much lower than 1 (mixing/loading:0.0, application with PPE:0.2), indicating that agricultural workers are at low risk of exposure to flubendiamide. On the other hand, in the case of an application without PPE, RI is higher than 1 (9.8), suggesting that it can be at risk.