Dermal absorption of pesticides calculated by deconvolution.

Using published human data on skin-to-urine and blood-to-urine transfer of 12 pesticides and herbicides, the skin-to-blood transfer rates for each compound were estimated by two numerical deconvolution techniques. Regular constrained deconvolution produced an estimated upper limit on cumulative dermal absorption of the radiolabel, while minimized deconvolution produced an upper bound on cumulative dermal absorption of parent compound. Dermal absorption rate was largest within 8 h of dosing for all pesticides examined. Only carbaryl showed a lag (3.5 h) in penetration. This may indicate a prolonged transit time through skin or a chemical transformation in skin has occurred. After onset, absorption occurred rapidly with 45% of the 120 h cumulative absorption occurring in 8 h. For parathion and dieldrin, over 50% of the 120 h total absorption occurred in the first 4 h. The deconvolution technique described here permits the calculation of the temporal aspect of dermal absorption for linear systems.