toxicological profile for malathion - Agency for Toxic Substances and ...

MALATHION 202
6. POTENTIAL FOR HUMAN EXPOSURE
formulated malathion product. These data indicate that in addition to the formulation type of the
malathion product utilized and the activity performed by the worker, the type of protective materials or
equipment used will affect the potential worker exposure levels.
6.6 EXPOSURES OF CHILDREN
This section focuses on exposures from conception to maturity at 18 years in humans. Differences from
adults in susceptibility to hazardous substances are discussed in 3.7 Children’s Susceptibility.
Children are not small adults. A child’s exposure may differ from an adult’s exposure in many ways.
Children drink more fluids, eat more food, breathe more air per kilogram of body weight, and have a
larger skin surface in proportion to their body volume. A child’s diet often differs from that of adults.
The developing human’s source of nutrition changes with age: from placental nourishment to breast milk
or formula to the diet of older children who eat more of certain types of foods than adults. A child’s
behavior and lifestyle also influence exposure. Children crawl on the floor, put things in their mouths,
sometimes eat inappropriate things (such as dirt or paint chips), and spend more time outdoors. Children
also are closer to the ground, and they do not use the judgment of adults to avoid hazards (NRC 1993).
Children within the general population living in areas far from where malathion is sprayed are not likely
to be exposed to high levels of malathion. An exception to this may be at homes where malathion is used
extensively for home and garden use, particularly if inappropriately high application rates (relative to
label recommendations) are utilized and if backyard vegetables are not washed prior to consumption.
Children playing on turf following the application of malathion by means of a handgun sprayer may be
exposed to malathion via the dermal route at levels high enough to cause concern (EPA 2000a).
For those children living in areas where malathion is sprayed for public health use or at homes where
malathion is used extensively, children within the general population are likely to be exposed to
malathion in the same ways that adults are, including through contact with sprayed plants, soil, or other
surfaces; breathing contaminated air; eating contaminated foods; or drinking contaminated water.
Additionally, small children are more likely than adults to be in close contact with yard dirt or playground
dirt, lawns, and indoor (carpet) dust. Malathion residues bound to soil or dust particles in carpets or on
bare floors may present an exposure route for infants and toddlers through dermal contact and oral
ingestion. Children are known to participate in frequent hand-to-mouth activity and to have a tendency to
put foreign objects into their mouths. As a result of this behavior, children may ingest malathion present