Dermatitis Among Stone Fruit Harvesters in Tulare County,1988

Abstract

In June 1988, the Department of Food and Agriculture (Worker Health and Safety Branch), received a report regarding an outbreak of dermatitis among three crews of nectarine harvesters in Tulare County, CA. On interview, 46 (80.7%) of 57 workers in the three affected crews reported experiencing a rash between June 13 and June 27. Of the 46 rashes reported on questionnaire, 42 (91.3%) were found to be contact dermatitis on medical examination. No cases were reported among members of a comparison crew employed by the same grower and none were identified on examination. Significant negative associations were noted between rash reported on questionnaire and exposure to Bacillus thuringiensis, environmental heat, and work in untreated orchards; positive associations were noted for exposures to propargite and iprodione. The results of skin examinations performed on June 27 and June 28 demonstrated a similar pattern of association between the rash score for individual workers and exposures between June 13 and June 27. Although exposures to iprodione and propargite were highly correlated and could not be separated on multivariate analysis, only 34 (74%) of the reported cases were preceded by exposure to iprodione whereas all of the cases were preceded by exposure to propargite. Propargite was thus the only exposure that could have accounted for all of the reported cases and also had a positive association with the occurrence of dermatitis. Contact dermatitis in the present episode was associated with levels of dislodgeable propargite residue ranging from 0.55 to 1.91 μg/cm², with median values for the three affected crews equal to 0.61, 0.64, and 0.69 μg/cm², respectively. Median dislodgeable propargite residue to which the unaffected crew was exposed during the same time interval was 0.15 μg/cm². This data thus yielded an estimated No Observed Effect Level for repeated dermal exposure to propargite of approximately 0.2 μg/cm².