1.Studies on the Prevention of Pesticide Accident in the Farm Work
Journal of the Japanese Association of Rural Medicine 1974;23(1):1-7
Studies on the air concentration of the pesticide aerosol and its acute effects on the farm worker were done ; that is, the air concentration of spread ZINEB (Zinc ethylene-bisdithiocarbamate) in a vinyl greenhouse was determinated, and blood, urine of the operator and suboperator were tested serially.
Results
1) The maximum air concentration on spraying was 0.32mg/me ; and the concentration at 30min. after spraying was reduced to half. This was true for the time of ventilation working of facilities. That of the harvest time was about ten times compared with that of the growth time.
2) R.M.R. during spraying was 1.5-1.8 (operator) and 0.4-1.4 (suboperator). Inhalation of the pesticide was calculated at 0.27mg when R.M.R. was 1.8 ; air inhalation per minute was 15 ; spraying time was 60min.; and air concentration of the pesticide was 0.3mg/ms. This volume was not important compared with LD50 of ZINEB (=orally in mice: 686.3mg/kg).
3) Liver function data, blood and urine tests of the operator and suboperator were not significant compared with those at the end of spraying or an hour after spraying.
2.Studies on the Prevention of Pesticide Accident in the Farm Work
Journal of the Japanese Association of Rural Medicine 1974;23(1):8-14
An adhesion volume for the farm worker was determinated as a base line study considering accident prevention in case of contact pesticide by farm workers in vinyl greenhouses.
Results
1) Adhesion volume was found greatest on the leg part and then in decreasing volume as follows: upperarm, head, forearm part; in other words, the farther away from the body to the periphery, the higher the adhesion volume.
2) On the same crop, the adhesion volume to the farm worker on spraying in harvest time increased more in head, upperarm, and abdomen part compared with that in growth time.
3) On different crops (that is, tomato crop and cucumber crop), the adhesion volume on spraying in the cucumber crop was more in leg, chest, abdomen and back part than in the tomato crop.
3.Particles distribution of liquid-type pesticides inhaled by sprayer operators.
Journal of the Japanese Association of Rural Medicine 1986;35(2):111-114
Farmers usually inhale toxic chemicals when they are spraying their fields with pesticides.
To obtain basic data for estimating the extent to which their respiratory organs are exposed to risks, the size of droplets of the liquid-type pesticides was measured and the distribution of these particles by size was studied.
For this purpose, an MgO measuring plate (coated with MgO particles) as an agent to capture droplets of the pesticides was devised, and the impinger-man-respirator system was employed. The results were satisfactory.
The droplet-size distributions showed that the sizes of particles range from 1μ to 66μ. About 90% of the particles were less than 20p in size, and particles of 5μ to 15μ made up 70% of the whole.
4.Studies on the Evaluation Method of Respiratory Exposure to Pesticide Spray
Journal of the Japanese Association of Rural Medicine 1982;30(6):1034-1041
A filter pad-one respirator-per man measuring system (Filter pad system) has been devised as a method to evaluate the respiratory exposure to pesticide spray. This method was compared with a conventional method and results are as follows ;
1. Experiments to test the filter's efficiency in collecting both dust and mist pesticides demonstrated a high collecting efficiency level within the range of a simulated air flow, inhalation time, air concentration similar to actual working conditions. These materials thus appear to be sufficiently useful in evaluating the respiratory exposure to pesticide spray.
2. The experiments using the filter pad evaluation method (Filter pad method) of collecting sprayed pesticides and the experiments measuring the respiratory exposure to pesticides by employing the impinger tube evaluation method (Impinger method), resulted in the obtainment of a correlation between the two. The results from evaluating the respiratory exposure to pesticides by workers during spray work employing both methods, the Filter pad system and Impinger system (impinger-one respirator-per man measuring system) also gave values of similar levels.
3. When compared, Filter pad system has several advantages over the Impinger system. It is a more desirable Filter pad system in evaluating the respiratory exposure to pesticides by spraying wokers.
5.Particle Distribution of Dust-Type Pesticides Inhaled by Farmers
Journal of the Japanese Association of Rural Medicine 1982;31(2):59-63
To estimate the amount of particles which enter into the body by inhalation and rest on the wall of the respiratory tract when farmers are dusting crops with pesticides, I took the size of dust particles and plotted the measurements on distribution charts.
Results are as follows:
1. The particle distribution of dust type pesticides (original) showed that particles of 2 μ or smaller top all the rest. A steady downward curve was observed from 2 μ to 10 μ, but from 10 μ on, slight increases were noted. As a whole, particles of less than 10 μ accounted for 87%.
2. The particle distribution of pesticides inhaled by farmers during spraying work showed a significantly high ratio of particles of 2 μ or smaller when compared with that of the original. As for particles of 2 μ or larger, the distribution tendency was similar to that of the original.
3. In view of the fact that a relatively large quantity of particles of less than 2 μ was inhaled and that labor intensity of farmers dusting over paddy rice fields by use of powered sprayers is high, it is presumed that the amount of pesticide dusts entering deep into the respiratory tract and alveoli of the lung is large. Hence, it would be necessary to provide proper guidance to farmers for the prevention of pesticide-induced maladies.
6.Studies on the Amount of Exposure to Pesticides and Blood Levels of Organophosphorus Pesticides of Farmers Engaging in Joint Control Works over Apple Orchards
Saburo USUTANI ; Kunitaka NISHIYAMA ; Ikuo SATO ; Kimio MATSUURA ; Yukimasa SAWADA
Journal of the Japanese Association of Rural Medicine 1978;27(1):79-88
The concentration of pesticide that was inspired by speed sprayer (SS) operatorsin spraying a low toxic organophosphorus pesticide (800-fold to 1000-fold dilutions of wettable agent) were measured by the impinger-one respirator-per man measuring system. The mean ± standard error was 0.01116 ± 0.00191 mg/m3.
The operators were made to perform the spraying task every day, and the organophosphorus pesticide concentration in the serum was gas-chromatographically measured before and after the task on each day. The maximum concentration after daily task was 0.032μg/2ml in an operator, and 0.061μg/2ml in anassistant. The concentration was already trace or undetectable in many of them the following morning. No apparent tendency for the pesticide to be accumulated was observed even in the operators after spraying the pesticide for 2 consecutivedays.
The 24-hour urine was collected from each subject to measure the outputof PNMC (p-nitro-m-crezol). The output tended to be greater in the assistants than in the operators. This finding may be attributed to the fact that the assistants are trasiently exposed to high concentrations of the pesticide in powder form.
7.Studies on the Amount of Exposure to Pesticides and Blood Levels of Organophosphorus Pesticides of Farmers Engaging in Fixed Piping Joint Control Works of Disease and Insect Damages to Apples
Kunitaka NISHIYAMA ; Yukimasa SAWADA ; Yoshiaki HOSOKAWA ; Saburo USUTANI
Journal of the Japanese Association of Rural Medicine 1978;27(2):181-186
In application of organophosphorus pesticides (800-fold dilution of Sumithion and 1500-fold dilution of Diazinon) for the control of disease and insect damages to apples, the amount of exposure to the pesticides, blood levels of the pesticides, and liver function tests of the workers engaging in the application work were observed. Its summary was as follows;
1. The concentration of pesticides inhaled by each worker engaging in the fixed piping joint control was calculated as 0.030±0.042mg/m3 (mean±S. E.).
2 Analysis of the correlation between the inhaled amounts of pesticides and the air velocity disclosed that was a statistically significant positive correlation between the two parameters. Therefore, it will be necessary for the workers engaging in the application of pesticides to amply consider the factor of wind in actual application.
3. Both the serum levels of organophosphorus pesticides and the urinary excretion of p-nitro-m-crezol measured were low.
4. In view of the above-mentioned current amounts of exposure to pesticides, no acute effects of the pesticides were manifest on the liver function tests.
5. However, because the fixed piping joint control system employs the lance application (hand application), the applicator is more liable to be exosed to large amounts of pesticides, the exposure amount being 2.7 times that of speed sprayer (SS) operator.
6. It is not rare that women and the aged engage in the fixed piping joint control; therefore, it is necessary to educate ample care in the protection of workers from exposure to pesticides.
8.Epidemiological studies on apple pollinosis.
Saburo USUTANI ; Kazuyuki KIDA ; Kunitaka NISHIYAMA ; Shigeyuki NAKAJI ; Katsutoshi KARIYA
Journal of the Japanese Association of Rural Medicine 1986;35(1):1-8
The subjective symptoms, various blood components, radioallergosorbent test (RAST) and others were examined for the patients who developed nasal allergy each year during the time of artificial apple pollination (before artificial pollination, during the peak of pollination and one month after pollination) compared with those for a control group, and the following results were obtained.
1) The symptoms, the time of their appearance and the kind of symptoms were the same as those of the apple pollinosis.
2) The change in the pattern of the eosinophile count was the same as that of the subjective symptoms.
3) However, only 2 of the 11 patients had a RAST score of suspicious positive, and no difference was detected between these patients and the control group.
From these findings, the many cases of suspected apple pollen allergy were cosidered to have been sensitized by other pollen which have common antigenicity to apple pollen in addition to true apple pollinosis, or to be mistaken diagnosis of other pollen allerg.
9.Estimation of energy expenditure by heart rate. Application to apple working days.
Saburo USUTANI ; Kazuyuki KIDA ; Kunitaka NISHIYAMA ; Akihiro MATSUDA ; Mami MANABE ; Toshinobu IINUMA
Journal of the Japanese Association of Rural Medicine 1990;38(5):1008-1015
Utility of heart rate (HR)-oxygen consumption (VO2) method to estimate energy expenditure (EE) was studied for 5 main apple working days based on 24 hour HR recording and EE by this method partially was compared with RMR (relative metabolic rate) method currently used in Japan. Results were as follows:
1. Heart rate during the apple cultivating work were 90-110 beats per minute, that were ranked with moderate work classified by Rodahl.
2. The values of EE estimated by HR-VO2 method in every apple working days were almost suited for that of previous reports by RMR method.
3. Comparing EE by HR-VO2 and RMR method for an example in harvesting work, 2, 654 kcal in former was 376 kcal (16.5%) higher than latter. Correlation coefficient was 0.987 (p<0.001) between both method with EE estimated in every working contents.
4. The intense of activity in a working day from view point of daily activity index (1-EE/basal metabolism) followed the order of harvesting putting sack on≅pluking flower>thinning apple> pruning.
Consequently, estimation of EE by HR-VO2 method was precisely reflected metabolic state in human by comparison in spite of some defects. After this it was expected to use the HR-VO2 method instead of RMR method.