Pesticides can enter the body through the mouth, the respiratory system and the skin. The greatest amount of pesticide enters the body by absorption through the skin. Covering the body can reduce exposure to pesticides. Use protective clothing and equipment to reduce skin exposure. Use the pesticide label as a guide to which chemicals are more toxic.
Hazards are less pronounced in handling clothing exposed to low toxicity pesticides.
The level of residue remaining was enough to kill insects, and to cause major health hazards to humans. Skin exposure may be reduced appreciably by proper laundering to remove pesticide residues from washable protective apparel and allow reuse of contaminated clothing. Since many pesticides vary in chemical composition, it is only practical to generalize suggestions for the most appropriate laundering procedures. Certain chemicals are idiosyncratic in their response to laundering conditions. Paraquat is an example of this idiosyncratic response, as the presence of salt ions in the water facilitates paraquat removal in the laundering.