The storage of insecticides in the body-fat of persons has previously been studied in several countries (e.g., England, France, USA) and food has been shown to be the main source from which DDT and perhaps other insecticides are absorbed. In view of the differences in dietary habits in India, a study was made to determine whether there are differences in the storage of chlorinated hydrocarbon insecticides in persons in India from that in persons in other countries.It was found that civilians in the Delhi area with no occupational exposure to insecticides had a significantly greater deposit in their fat of DDT-related compounds and HCH than do comparable persons in the USA, but less dieldrin and heptachlor epoxide. Storage in military personnel in other Indian cities from which samples were obtained was similar to that in the USA for most DDT-related compounds and HCH but, as in Delhi, lower for dieldrin and heptachlor epoxide.

Adipose Tissue↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Mortality in 1969 from pesticides, including aerosols.

Among the 87 deaths in the United States in 1969 for which a causal relationship to pesticides could not be excluded, there were 62 valid accidents, 20 intentionally inflicted deaths, and five deaths incorrectly attributed to pesticides. The reduction in the number of such deaths compared to the decade and a half prior to 1962 probably involves a trend. As in the past, a disproportionate fraction of the victims were children, boys and men, and nonwhites. Findings in four cases (three in 1969) were consistent with the conclusion that intensive inhalation of an aerosol can sensitize the heart to fatal arrhythmia, even though there is no intentional misuse of the aerosol and no attempt to seek a thrill. Medical examiners should be alert to the possibility of such deaths associated with both pesticide and non-pesticide aerosols.

Accidents↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Severe organophosphate poisoning complicated by alcohol and turpentine ingestion.

A 52-year-old comatose white male was admitted to the hospital with what was later learned to be severe poisoning by a turpentine solution of dicrotophos, an organophosphorous insecticide he had ingested while drunk. The patient was treated effectively with atropine and pralidoxime chloride and required the largest doses of both agents reported to data. The case was complicated by difficulty in evaluating the response to therapy because of the effects of alcohol and turpentine. The patient was discharged from the hospital on the thirty-third day with no apparent sequelae.

Alcoholic Intoxication↗