Use of a Crocking Test Method to Measure the Transfer of Pesticide from Contaminated Clothing

Abstract

Crocking tests methods and equipment are proposed as a method to study pesticide transfer from contaminated clothing. An AATCC crockmeter was used to stimulate the action of skin rubbing against a contaminated fabric surface. Fabrics commonly worn by agricultural workers were contaminated with ¹⁴C- labelled methyl parathion and mounted on the crockmeter. The mechanical finger was covered with clean, dry, unfinished fabric and rubbed against the contaminated specimen. The amount of pesticide transferred to the clean fabric was measured by liquid scintillation counting of the radiotracer. Tests showed that more pesticide was transferred from contaminated 65% polyester/35% cotton fabric than from 100% cotton fabric. More pesticide was transferred from heavier weight cotton denim than from lighter weight cotton denim. The nondurable starch finish reduced the pesticide transfer from both the 100% cotton fabric and the 65% polyester/35% cotton shirtweight fabric. These cloth-to-cloth transfer studies have demonstrated that pesticides can be transferred from contaminated garments by mechanical rubbing and suggest that fabric parameters play an important role in pesticide transfer. To use this to select or develop clothing to reduce the health risk from secondary pesticide exposure, further work is needed to relate the fabric-to-fabric transfer to that observed for fabric to skin in field conditions.