Exposure of greenhouse workers to pesticides

Greenhouse workers constitute a particularly interesting group, as their exposure to pesticides is not only greater in comparison to outdoor agricultural workers, but also occurs continuously throughout the whole year. In the present paper the dermal and inhalation exposure of greenhouse workers after pesticides application was evaluated based on experimental data from a plastic round arch greenhouse with a tomato crop. For risk assessment of greenhouse workers, the internal exposure, which was estimated based on dermal and inhalation exposure values was compared with the systemic Acceptable Operator Exposure Level. For a greenhouse worker who works 3 h per day the risk index was high, indicating in this way safe re-entry period, after 36 h from the pesticide application. This value was increased to 86 h for a worker who works 6 h per day. The above values have been calculated assuming that the worker does not use any personal protective equipment. With the use of complete equipment for protection, for a worker who works 6 hours per day, the risk index becomes low 2 h after the pesticide application.