2017 journal article

Protocols for Quantifying Transferable Pesticide Residues in Turfgrass Systems

JOVE-JOURNAL OF VISUALIZED EXPERIMENTS, (121).

By: M. Jeffries n, T. Gannon n  & P. Maxwell n

co-author countries: United States of America πŸ‡ΊπŸ‡Έ
author keywords: Environmental Sciences; Issue 121; 2,4-D; athletic field; golf course; modified California roller; off-target movement; pesticide dislodge; pesticide exposure; residential lawn
MeSH headings : Environmental Exposure; Environmental Pollution; Humans; Pesticide Residues / analysis; Pesticides / pharmacology; Poaceae / chemistry; Reproducibility of Results; United States
Source: Web Of Science
Added: August 6, 2018

Plant canopies in established turfgrass systems can intercept an appreciable amount of sprayed pesticides, which can be transferred through various routes onto humans. For this reason, transferable pesticide residue experiments are required for registration and re-registration by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). Although such experiments are required, limited specificity is required pertaining to experimental approach. Experimental approaches used to assess pesticide transfer to humans including hand wiping with cotton gloves, modified California roller (moving a roller of known mass over cotton cloth) and soccer ball roll (ball wrapped with sorbent strip) over three treated turfgrass species (creeping bentgrass, hybrid bermudagrass and tall fescue maintained at 0.4, 5 and 9 cm, respectively) are presented. The modified California roller is the most extensively utilized approach to date, and is best suited for use at low mowing heights due to its reproducibility and large sampling area. The soccer ball roll is a less aggressive transfer approach; however, it mimics a very common occurrence in the most popular international sport, and has many implications for nondietary pesticide exposure from hand-to-mouth contact. Additionally, this approach may be adjusted for other athletic activities with limited modification. Hand wiping is the best approach to transfer pesticides at higher mowing heights, as roller-based approaches can lay blades over; however, it is more subjective due to more variable sampling pressure. Utility of these methods across turfgrass species is presented, and additional considerations to conduct transferable pesticide residue research in turfgrass systems are discussed.