Abstract
In this work, 40 pesticides from different categories were analyzed in the air of 20 indoor places that have an intensive use of pesticides. Passive sampling was carried out by using semipermeable membrane devices (SPMDs) deployed for 7 days. SPMDs were analyzed using microwave-assisted extraction and GC/MS. PCB-195 was used as an internal standard. Recoveries ranged between 81 and 108 for many compounds, with RSD values <11. Typical LOD values for 7 days of sampling were from 0.1 to 3.1 ng/m. Propamocarb, propoxur, carbosulfan, pirimicarb, metribuzin, metalaxyl, pendimethalin, oxadiazon, phenothrin, and permethrin were detected in 11 sampling sites, with air concentrations in the range from 1 to 921 ng/m. However, the pesticide levels found cannot be considered a serious health problem according to results from other pesticide monitoring studies.