Biological monitoring for pesticide absorption.

This paper reviews the development of biological monitoring as a method of assessing absorption of pesticides during occupational exposure. An approach to human volunteer studies to estimate the relationship between exposure to pesticides and excretion of metabolites is described and practical aspects of applying biological monitoring to field studies are considered. Case studies are used to illustrate some of the pitfalls of extrapolating from animals to man and to demonstrate the importance of human volunteer studies in establishing a sound basis for biological monitoring for pesticides.