Abstract
To estimate the danger of secondary poisoning, pesticide concentrations have been measured experimentally in the washings of pesticide-soiled clothes.
From the clothes exposed to pesticides about a year ago, 2 to 3% Bordeaux mixture (in terms of copper concentration) was eluted. The ratio of organophosphorous pesticides ranged from 7 to 14%.
The elution ratios varied depending on the material of clothes rather than the amount of the chemicals that had soaked into the fabrics. In the chemical fabrics, the elution ratios were high and the organophosphorous pesticides dissolved quickly. Even four weeks after exposure, the ratios came to 50% for Bordeaux mixtures and 7% for organophosphorous compounds.
In the clothes blotted with Bordeaux mixtures, the pH levels did not decrease, remaining high in four weeks.
From the above findings, it can be said that it would be injurious to health to wear pesticide-soiled clothes in a short period of time after exposure.
