Pierce JS, Roberts B, Kougias DG, Comerford CE, Riordan AS, Keeton KA, Reamer HA, Jacobs NFB, Lotter JT. Pilot study evaluating inhalation and dermal glyphosate exposure resulting from simulated heavy residential consumer application of Roundup
®.
Inhal Toxicol 2020;
32:354-367. [PMID:
32892662 DOI:
10.1080/08958378.2020.1814457]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2020] [Accepted: 08/14/2020] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the individual contributions of inhalation and dermal exposures to urinary glyphosate levels following the heavy residential consumer application of a glyphosate-containing herbicide.
METHODS
A pilot study was conducted in which each participant mixed and continuously spray-applied 16.3 gallons of a 0.96% glyphosate-containing solution for 100 min using a backpack sprayer. Twelve participants were divided evenly into two exposure groups, one equipped to assess dermal exposure and the other, inhalation exposure. Personal air samples (n = 12) and dermal patch samples (n = 24) were collected on the inhalation group participants and analyzed for glyphosate using HPLC-UV. Serial urine samples collected 30-min prior to application and 3-, 6-, 12-, 24-hr (inhalation and dermal groups) and 36-hr (dermal group only) post-application were analyzed for glyphosate and glyphosate's primary metabolite (AMPA) using HPLC-MS/MS.
RESULTS
The mean airborne glyphosate concentration was 0.0047 mg/m3, and the mean concentrations of glyphosate for each applicator's four patch samples ranged from 0.04 µg/mm2 to 0.25 µg/mm2. In general, urinary glyphosate, AMPA, and total effective glyphosate levels were higher in the dermal exposure group than the inhalation exposure group, peaked within 6-hr following application, and were statistically indistinguishable from background at 24-hr post-application.
CONCLUSIONS
This is the first study to characterize the absorption and biological fate of glyphosate in residential consumer applicators following heavy application. The results of this pilot study are consistent with previous studies that have shown that glyphosate is rapidly eliminated from the body, typically within 24 hr following application.
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