Estimating the half-life of Ethylenethiourea from the urine of garlic farmers in northern Thailand: Characterizing the optimal window for biomonitoring to improve exposure assessment.

Authors

Navin Martin, Kanittharin Tipubon, Yutti Amornlertwatana, Rangsan Watcharakawin, Gabriella Hines, Grace E Lee, Priya E D'Souza, Volha Yakimavets, P Barry Ryan, Dana Boyd Barr, Churdsak Jaikang, Parinya Panuwet

Published in

International journal of hygiene and environmental health. Volume 271. Pages 114696. Oct 26, 2025. Epub Oct 26, 2025.

Abstract

Ethylenebisdithiocarbamates (EBDCs) such as maneb and mancozeb are a widely used class of fungicides essential to the protection of economically valuable crops and are believed to pose significant health risks to farmworkers. Ethylenethiourea (ETU) is a reliable biomarker of exposure to EBDC; however, currently information on the biological half-life of ETU is sparse, which has led to potential misclassification in exposure assessment. In this study, we address these limitations by evaluating the excretion profile and urinary half-life of ETU in farmworkers who applied EBDC fungicides during garlic cultivation in northern Thailand. Eleven farmers were recruited to participate in this study. Each participant was asked to self-collect their urine immediately after fungicide application and up to 28 h post-application. The participants provided 5-10 samples for subsequent analysis of ETU using solid-supported liquid extraction coupled with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Results showed a mean ETU half-life of 7.9 h (95 % CI: 3.7-12.1 h) using unadjusted ETU concentrations and 16.1 h (95 % CI: 10.6-21.5 h) using creatinine-corrected ETU concentrations. Based on the observed range of T_max values, we proposed an optimal time window of 3-16 h for use in biomonitoring, allowing for more accurate EBDC exposure estimates. The findings of this study provide important data that may improve exposure assessment of farmworkers exposed to EBDCs via biomonitoring of urinary ETU concentrations, ultimately informing more effective public health policies and interventions in agricultural safety.

PMID:
41145053
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 28 Oct 2025.

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