Improved Pesticide Product Labeling Information for Household Lawn Management: Recommended Safe Durations in Support of Minimizing Children’s Exposure to Pesticides

Pesticide product labels are critical
for consumers to safely and
legally use pesticides. Because residue levels in the environment
are relatively high immediately after pesticide application, avoiding
contact with residues in the emitted area after the application could
help reduce pesticide exposure. However, the safety instructions on
pesticide product labels after pesticide application are insufficient.
To minimize pesticide exposure and promote integrated pest management,
we improved pesticide product labels by introducing recommended safe
durations (close windows and doors and stay off lawns after pesticide
application), which were proposed using screening models and specific
to individual active ingredients. The results showed that children’s
exposure to residues in the lawn environment can be reduced by over
30% for many currently used pesticides with a recommended safe duration
of 3 d. Rainfall or irrigation events can help reduce exposure to
hydrophilic pesticides, and high temperatures can further reduce the
exposure because of the enhanced overall dissipation process of pesticides
in the lawn environment. Based on the simulations, we improved the
pesticide product label by adding recommended safe durations and reducing
children’s exposure to residues, providing the effects of weather
conditions and irrigation activities on the reduced pesticide exposure,
and clarifying the difference between exposure and adverse health
risks. The proposed safety instructions can be customized for individual
active ingredients and easily understood/followed by consumers, which
can help minimize children’s exposure to residues and promote
integrated pest management.