Fieldworkers?? Response to Weathered Residues of Parathion

Abstract

Since the introduction of parathion in California [USA] agriculture in 1948, sporadic incidents of illness have occurred among fieldworkers exposed to residues of this pesticide on crop foliage or in the soil. Investigations were made to determine the route of exposure of orange harvesters to parathion residues, identifying the important toxic constituents of the foliar residue and determining the residue levels at which biochemical responses would occur. Preliminary investigations suggested that the principal route of exposure was dermal and that, in the orange groves of the Central Valley of California, paraoxon was the principal intoxicant. It appears that the mechanisms of parathion residue poisoning involve the exposure of the whole body to paraoxon residues which are then absorbed through the skin in sufficient quantities to lead to intoxication. This would seem to be 1 of the relatively rare cases in occupational health where the toxicant is absorbed into the body from a particulate material deposited on the intact skin.