Agricultural workers have the potential for prolonged extensive contact with pesticide residues.
Unfortunately, dermal absorption of these compounds can significantly impair the health of the worker. Therefore regulators and public health professionals frequently rely on dermal absorption models to predict the risks that result from an occupational exposure. Although there are a number of models available to estimate the magnitude or rate of dermal absorption, there is very little data to evaluate the predictions. We have used both field and laboratory data to evaluate the predictions of dermal exposure models. We evaluated the standard and a novel re-entry model using data collected from a University of Washington field study of apple thinners.