Correlation of environmental carbaryl measurements with serum and urinary 1-naphthol measurements in a farmer applicator and his family

In exposure or risk assessments, both environmental and biological measurements are often used. Environmental measurements are an excellent means for evaluating regulatory compliance, but the models used to estimate body burden from these measurements are complex. Unless all possible routes of exposure (i.e., inhalation, dermal absorption, ingestion) are evaluated, exposure to a toxicant can be underestimated. To circumvent this problem, measurements of the internal dose of a toxicant in blood, serum, urine, or tissues can be used singularly or in combination with environmental data for exposure assessment. In three separate laboratories, carbaryl or its primary metabolite, 1-naphthol, was measured in personal air, dermal samples, blood serum, and urine from farmer applicators and their families. The usefulness of both environmental and biological data has been demonstrated. For the farmer applicator, the environmental levels of carbaryl would have been sufficient to determine that an exposure had occurred. However, biological measurements were necessary to determine the absorbed dose of each member of the applicator's family. In addition, a correlation between serum and urinary 1-naphthol measurements has been shown; therefore, either matrix can be used to accurately evaluate occupational carbaryl exposure.