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PubMed1998

Pesticide poisoning and its related factors among Korean farmers.

This study has been carried out to assess the health damages due to pesticide use and its related risk factors among Korean farmers. Data regarding pesticide handling and poisoning symptoms were collected by means of a questionnaire filled in by 1,032 farmers from two provinces. The results showed that during summer farming 21.9% of the subjects experienced suspected pesticide poisoning. 18.8% mild poisoning, and 2% more serious poisoning. Univariate and logistic regression analyses between "no poisoning", including the "suspected poisoning" and "poisoning" groups, were performed to select significant variables related to pesticide poisoning. Four variables were significantly associated: sex, days of consecutive pesticide use, hours of pesticide use per day, having received safety education (weakly associated), and compliance with safety guidelines for application. Safety education was weakly associated with poisoning, while age, education, wearing protective gear, and compliance with safety guidelines for personal hygiene after pesticide use were not significant risk factors to determine pesticide poisoning.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Pesticide-related illness: are poison centers reporting to the state health department?

Pesticide-related illness should be reported by physicians to state health departments. Since poison centers (PC) are involved in the management of many of these cases, it may be assumed that they should report these cases. A 5-y audit of pesticide related illness reported to a centralized state pesticide oversight agency (PARC) was conducted. During the 5-y period the PC received 5,828 calls involving exposures to reportable pesticides; 1,011 of these were for organophosphates. Eight organophosphates cases were treated with antidotes, but ony 2 were reported as a pesticide-related illness. During this same time PARC reviewed 540 cases of persons suspected of being exposed to pesticides. The largest percent of referrals (19.6%) came from the PC, however only 1% of all PC pesticide exposure cases were reported as pesticide-related illnesses.

Databases, Factual↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Reaction of freshwater phyto- and zooplankton to pesticides.

The reaction of plankton to the toxic effect of pesticides is considered at four levels: the cell, the organism, the population, and the biocenosis. The basis for the methodological approach to evaluation of response at the cell level was the principle of phase reactions. Depending on concentration, the pesticides may either suppress or stimulate the plankton organisms. Temperature may be decisive intoxic effects (pesticides are effective in a range of 15 to 25 degrees C). Most pesticides having algacidal activity are effective in a range of concentrations of 1-10 mg/liter. Phytoplankton as a whole has a high buffer capacity with respect to pesticides. Changes in ratios of basic components of phytoplankton effected by pesticides most often lead to a change of the dominant. Analogical changes are characteristic also for zooplankton; pesticides lead to the elimination of water fleas from its composition. The stimulating effect of a low concentration of pesticides, changes in the functional activity of the components of bacterial plankton, and changes coupled with this in biogeochemical cycles of nitrogen and phosphorous as well as elimination of water fleas from the plankton promotes the development of "secondary" eutrophication, that is, an increase in the biomass of the phytoplankton.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

Trimethylpentane-containing passive samplers for predicting time-integrated concentrations of pesticides in water: laboratory and field studies.

A laboratory continuous-flow system delivering known aqueous concentrations of pesticides to passive samplers was used to examine the kinetics of pesticide uptake and release. The passive samplers were constructed of low-density polyethylene membrane bags containing 2.2.4-trimethylpentane solvent (TRIMPS). Both uptake and release experiments were run in triplicate. Each experiment involved four treatments, including a control and three fivefold dilutions of a pesticide mixture that included the usual range of these pesticides as measured in the riverine environment of cotton-growing regions of Australia. The results indicated that for nonpolar pesticides with a log K(ow) > 3.5. uptake was linear over the 42-d exposure time and was independent of the treatment concentration. The half-lives for release of these pesticides from the TRIMPS varied from 26 to 130 d in clean water. The relatively polar pesticides with a log K(ow) < 3.5 had lower uptake rates into the TRIMPS because of their affinity for water. Release of trimethylpentane from the TRIMPS placed in 0.85-mm mesh nylon bags in river water was used as an indicator for chemical diffusion across the aqueous boundary to examine the effect of environmental factors. Most variability in solvent release in the field-deployed TRIMPS across all sites was explained by time of deployment and was not significantly influenced by river flow or water temperature. This suggests that river flow and water temperature may not be important in influencing uptake rates of pesticides into TRIMPS when employed in the field.

Environmental Monitoring↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Stereo- and enantioselective determination of pesticides in soil by using achiral and chiral liquid chromatography in combination with matrix solid-phase dispersion.

The separation of enantiomers and diastereomers of 8 commonly used pesticides was investigated by liquid chromatography (LC) using a Chiralcel OD column (cellulose tris-3,5-dimethylphenylcarbamate as the chiral stationary phase) and a Pirkle-type Chirex 3020 column (urea derivative from the reaction of (R)-1-(alpha-naphthyl)ethylamine with (S)-tert-leucine, chemically bonded to 3-aminopropylsilanized silica as the chiral stationary phase). The pesticides studied included one organophosphorus insecticide (phenthoate), 3 triazole fungicides (uniconazole, diniconazole, and propiconazole), and 4 pyrethroids (fenpropathrin, beta-cypermethrin, beta-cyfluthrin, and alpha-fenvalerate). The enantiomers were separated within 20 min with a resolution of > or = 1.5 using a mixture of n-hexane and 2-propanol as the mobile phase for all the pesticides studied except propiconazole, for which only the 2 diastereomers were baseline separated. This method allows determination of the enantiomers or stereoisomers of the above pesticides in soil. The strategy was as follows: (1) First, the total concentration(s) of the enantiomer pair(s) of a chiral pesticide in soil was (were) determined by a newly developed matrix solid-phase dispersion (MSPD) procedure, followed by silica-based LC quantification. The recoveries ranged from 76.5 to 93.6% with relative standard deviations of 6.0%. (2) Second, the enantiomeric ratio(s) (ER(s)) of the chiral pesticide was (were) determined by LC with a chiral stationary phase after fractionation of the MSPD extract by silica-based LC. The determined ERs or stereoisomeric ratio(s) (SR(s); for propiconazole, only the SR of the 2 diastereomers was determined) in soil samples spiked with the above 8 racemic pesticides agreed with those of the corresponding standard solutions. (3) Third, based on the total concentrations and the corresponding ERs, the concentration of each enantiomer in soil was calculated. The proposed method is rapid, precise, and sensitive, and is appropriate for the investigation of the stereo- and enantioselective degradation of pesticides in environmental media.

Chromatography, Liquid↗
PubMed2003

Pesticides and your children: a randomized controlled evaluation of a pamphlet.

BACKGROUND: Maternal and pediatric residential pesticide exposure has been identified as a risk factor for birth defects, pediatric cancers, and neurological damage, and it may play a role in other disease processes. OBJECTIVE: To examine whether the use of a pamphlet with a brief educational message in a clinic setting would increase the knowledge and/or change the attitudes of pregnant women and mothers about pesticide use and alternatives, as well as promote pesticide safety. METHODS: A group of 103 women currently pregnant and/or with children less than 6 years of age were recruited at 2 Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) clinics for the study. Participants were given a 16-question true/false oral survey testing their baseline knowledge about pesticide safety and safer alternatives to pesticide use. Participants were then randomly assigned to a control group or to the intervention group, which received the pamphlet and a 2-minute scripted overview of its contents. Approximately 2 to 3 weeks later, all participants received a follow-up telephone call by a researcher blinded to the original group assignment, and the original survey questions were repeated. RESULTS: Follow-up assessments were completed for 73 (71%) of the participants. The mean improvement in correct responses on the follow-up survey was +0.39 for the control group and +3.1 for the intervention group (P<.001). Item analysis revealed that the intervention produced a significantly higher number of correct answers to 9 of the 16 survey questions. Providing mothers and pregnant women CONCLUSIONS: Providing mothers and pregnant women with a pamphlet and a brief message about pesticide safety and safer alternatives to pesticides in a clinic setting may be effective in improving knowledge and beliefs about pesticides.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Transportation pathways of pesticides in two major watersheds of Istanbul, Turkey.

The study covers the investigation of pesticides in terms of consumption, toxicological classification and various intrinsic physical and chemical properties like DT50, KOC, GUS, solubility that describe the important mechanisms prevailing in soil, namely persistence and mobility. These mechanisms help to estimate the transportation pathways of pesticides on soil till they reach the receiving water after being applied on land. Classification is done in three groups, those likely to appear in surface flow, those that appear in groundwater and those that present transient conditions. Such an approach that also takes into account toxicological levels and annual consumption values of pesticides will act as a tool to prepare the priority list of pesticides that need special care during their transportation. The fate of pesticides is a difficult task to solve, however, such a methodology, puts forth a rough estimate on their behavior in spite of uncertainties in many of the parameters describing mechanisms like persistence and mobility. The agricultural areas of two watersheds of Istanbul are selected as target areas to describe the approach, which is also checked with another approach estimating pesticide pollution potential that considers various other properties of pesticides. Almost similar findings are depicted with 85% proximity. The methodology presented in the paper illustrates and emphasizes the significant role of pesticide properties in determining their fate in soil after being applied.

Cities↗
PubMed2004

Endocrine disrupting pesticides: a leading cause of cancer among rural people in Pakistan.

Evidence on the relationship between cancer and occupational exposure to pesticides and endocrine disrupting chemicals is reviewed. In animal studies it has been proved that majority of endocrine disrupting pesticides are carcinogenic. In humans, pesticides have been classified as carcinogens by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. Farmers may therefore be at higher risk for acute and chronic health effects associated with pesticides. Human data, however, are limited by the small number of studies that evaluate individual endocrine disrupting pesticide. Cancer of the breast, ovary, prostate, testis, and thyroid are hormone-dependent, which fostered research on the potential risk associated with occupational and environmental exposure to the so-called endocrine-disrupting pesticides. Professional as well as public exposure to pesticides raises cancer risk. Interaction with adjuvant and with other toxicants increases the actual risk. On the other hand, organochlorine pesticides and triazine herbicides require further investigation for a possible etiologic role in some hormone-dependent cancers.

Agriculture↗
PubMed2005

Cancer among pesticide manufacturers and applicators.

There are hundreds of studies of cancer and agriculture chemicals. However, few have focused on a single pesticide or class of pesticide. While cancer studies of nonspecific pesticide exposure among populations may provide hypotheses for additional testing, they contribute little to the understanding of the health risks of specific agricultural chemicals. This review concentrates on both the cancer findings and the exposure parameters in cohort studies of workers who manufacture or apply pesticides. Occupational studies of pesticide manufacturers and applicators provide important contributions to the causal assessment of the carcinogenicity of specific pesticides because the exposure is often longer, more intense, and better defined than for other study populations. Among the studies reviewed, there is little indication of increased cancer risk among pesticide manufacturers or sprayers. Limitations in sample size, exposure assessment, and the small number of studies make causal inference difficult. Additional methodological improvements with respect to exposure would contribute significantly to the understanding of the potential cancer risk from individual pesticides.

Agricultural Workers' Diseases↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Macrophage functional activities versus cellular parameters upon sublethal pesticide exposure in mice.

The toxicity of selected organochlorine, organophosphate, and carbamate pesticides on the functions and cellular parameters of peritoneal macrophages was examined in inbred C57Bl/6 mice. Effects of single, sublethal pesticide exposure on macrophages were determined by analysis of the cell viability, cell adherence capacity, generation of superoxide anion (O2-), antigen processing, phagocytosis of Salmonella typhimurium, and resistance to in vitro virus-induced cytopathic effects (cpe) after infection with mouse hepatitis virus 3 (MHV3). Most of the studies were done for the organochlorine pesticide dieldrin, which inhibited several macrophage functions, such as phagocytosis of S. typhimurium, release of the single processed protein antigen avidin, and resistance to MHV3 virus-induced cpe. The virus-induced cytolysis in macrophage cultures was significantly increased after in vivo exposure to single sublethal doses of other selected pesticides, such as guthion, carbofuran, sevin, and matacil. However, none of the selected pesticides, used in sublethal (0.4 less than or equal to LD50 less than or equal to 0.6) doses appeared to be a factor impairing the O2- -generating system in chemically elicited or immunologically activated peritoneal macrophages. In conclusion, sublethal pesticide exposure can induce a significant impairement of several macrophage functions, such as phagocytosis, antigen processing, and resistance to virus-induced cytolysis. Inhibition of the O2- -generating system by sublethal pesticide exposure, however, can be excluded as a mechanism of potential suppressory action of these pesticides on antiviral and antibacterial host defence systems in which macrophages play a primary role.

Animals↗
PubMed1988

Selected incidents of illnesses and injuries related to exposure to pesticides reported by physicians in California in 1986.

California collects data on most occupational and many non-occupational illnesses and injuries related to pesticide exposure. Most of the occupational incidents are investigated by local agencies. A thorough investigation is conducted on all pesticide-related cases that meet "priority" guidelines: death; hospitalization of 1 or more persons for more than 24 hours with treatment; or 5 or more people with symptoms seeking medical care as a result of the same incident. This report summarizes the priority cases determined to be related to pesticide exposure during 1986. Of the 67 described incidents, involving 583 people ill, 26 (38%) were related to exposure to pesticides applied indoors (residences, offices), either by commercial pest control companies, employees or homeowners. Nearly 200 people (33%) became ill and more than 200 people were evacuated as a result of these types of applications. Most of these incidents were a result of careless application techniques and not following label instructions. Four other incidents, with 33 people ill, were the result of spills in retail stores. In all 4 cases, store employees tried to clean the spill without wearing protective clothing. Two other cases involved exposure via a pesticide being put in a food container. Nineteen of these type of incidents involved a pesticide product containing an organophosphate; most often chlorpyrifos (8 incidents), diazinon (3 incidents), and malathion (5 incidents). There were also 10 cases that resulted from suicide; eight different pesticides were involved. Five incidents involving agricultural workers, as well as 4 incidents involving non-agricultural workers, were primarily the result of allowing pesticides to drift from the target field.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

An analysis of 190 cases of suspected pesticide illness.

BACKGROUND: The diagnosis of mild to moderate pesticide exposure presents a challenge because the signs and symptoms of exposure are similar to those of many other diseases. We reviewed all alleged pesticide injuries seen in a single office during a 6-year period to determine which findings were useful in discriminating between a pesticide-related illness and other causes. METHODS: We reviewed retrospectively the charts of 190 patients alleging pesticide illness who were treated in a standardized manner. RESULTS: One hundred sixteen (116) patients (61.1 percent) were found to have pesticide illness. Important predictors of pesticide illness were anxiety, vertigo, nausea, vomiting, tearing, and weakness. Seventy-four patients (38.9 percent) were found to have nonpesticide-related illness, with nonspecific irritant contact dermatitis and scabies the most common diagnoses. Rash was the only significant predictor of nonpesticide related illness. CONCLUSIONS: It is difficult to relate signs and symptoms to pesticide poisoning, and exposure history is very important. Alternative diagnoses need to be considered. Laboratory tests are not nearly as valuable as many might expect, and skin rash is not a common finding in mild to moderate pesticide poisoning.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Monitoring of pesticide residues in human milk, soil, water, and food samples collected from Kafr El-Zayat Governorate.

Pesticide residues in human milk and environmental samples from Kafr El-Zayat Governorate in Egypt were analyzed. This governorate is located near one of the biggest pesticide factories in Egypt. Organochlorine and organophosphorus pesticides were monitored, including those that have been prohibited from use in Egypt. Human milk samples (31 samples) from Kafr El-Zayat were compared with 11 samples collected from Cairo. Data were compared with results from studies performed in 1987 and 1990. The present study showed that aldrin and dieldrin, heptachlor and heptachlor epoxide, and endrin residues have been eliminated from human milk. Estimated daily intakes (EDIs) of DDT complex and gamma-HCH by breast-fed infants in Kafr El-Zayat were 85.96 and 3.1% of the respective acceptable daily intakes (ADIs). beta-HCH residues showed an increasing pattern, especially in human milk samples from Cairo. DDT complex and HCH isomers in orange, spinach, lettuce, potatoes, and clover samples ranged from undetectable to very low concentrations. Higher levels of DDT and HCH were detected, but aldrin, dieldrin, endrin, and the heptachlors were not detected in food of animal origin. Residues in fish samples were below maximum residue limits established by some developed countries. Those in animal milk samples approached the extraneous residue limits of the Codex Committee on Pesticide Residues. HCH residues in soil were negligible, but DDT residues in soil were somewhat higher. Among water samples, groundwater samples had the highest residues of HCHs and DDTs, followed by Nile River water and then tap water. However, the organochlorine pesticide residues were found at concentrations below the maximum allowable limits set by the World Health Organization for drinking water. Among 12 organophosphorus pesticides monitored as parent compounds, dimethoate, malathion, methamidophos, and chlorpyrifos residues were detected in low concentrations in soil samples from a pesticide factory. No organophosphorus pesticide residues were found in plant samples, except for very low residues of dimethoate in an orange sample. Water samples were devoid of organophosphorus residues as parent compounds.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Dietary exposure from pesticide application on farms in the Agricultural Health Pilot Study.

As part of total human exposure measurements performed on six farms in Iowa and North Carolina during the Agricultural Health Pilot Study, a household duplicate diet, several locally grown foods, an applicator meal, a child duplicate diet, and drinking water samples were collected. The pilot study was designed to test refined and newly developed protocols and analytical methods for collection and analyses of dietary samples to evaluate dietary exposure to farmers and their families in the household associated with current and former applications of pesticides. The household duplicate diet protocol was generally effective as a first step in measuring potential exposures of household members. The analytical methods used were capable of measuring 29 of the 33 targeted Agricultural Health Pilot Study pesticides in dietary samples. Collections were made during a pesticide nonapplication and application monitoring period. Pesticides in the foods and beverages of the participants were quantified at sub-ppb to 30-ppb levels in both the Iowa and North Carolina farms. Increased levels (20 ppb) of the pesticide being applied during the monitoring period were found in the applicator's meal. Dieldrin was persistent in the foods consumed on one Iowa farm. No pesticides were found in drinking water samples. The results show potential dietary exposures exceeding expected values exist to the farmers and their families for several of the pesticides in this study, particularly to those being applied and to the persistent pesticides in the environment.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Telephone toxicological information service on pesticide poisonings.

The problem of pesticide poisonings has been discussed with reference to the records of the toxicological information provided in 1993-1995 by the staff of the National Poison Information Centre and the physicians of the Clinic of Acute Poisonings in Lódź. Based on those data, pesticide poisonings occupy second place among the categories of chemical most frequently responsible for acute poisonings, while the first place is occupied by drugs. In the pesticide category, most of the information related to poisonings with pyrethroids, followed by organophosphorous compounds, coumarine derivatives, carbamates. Pesticide poisonings in children continue to be a serious problem. Coumarine derivatives and zinc phosphide found in rodenticides constitute the most frequent source of pesticide poisoning among children. Considering the circumstances of pesticide poisoning, accidental poisonings are the most frequent. The high incidence of pesticide poisoning shows that it is a serious problem and the steps should be taken to prevent poisonings with pesticides.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Common mechanism of toxicity: a case study of organophosphorus pesticides.

The Food Quality Protection Act of 1996 (FQPA) requires the EPA to consider "available information concerning the cumulative effects of such residues and other substances that have a common mechanism of toxicity ... in establishing, modifying, leaving in effect, or revoking a tolerance for a pesticide chemical residue." This directive raises a number of scientific questions to be answered before the FQPA can be implemented. Among these questions is: What constitutes a common mechanism of toxicity? The ILSI Risk Science Institute (RSI) convened a group of experts to examine this and other scientific questions using the organophosphorus (OP) pesticides as the case study. OP pesticides share some characteristics attributed to compounds that act by a common mechanism, but produce a variety of clinical signs of toxicity not identical for all OP pesticides. The Working Group generated a testable hypothesis, anticholinesterase OP pesticides act by a common mechanism of toxicity, and generated alternative hypotheses that, if true, would cause rejection of the initial hypothesis and provide criteria for subgrouping OP compounds. Some of the alternative hypotheses were rejected outright and the rest were not supported by adequate data. The Working Group concluded that OP pesticides act by a common mechanism of toxicity if they inhibit acetylcholinesterase by phosphorylation and elicit any spectrum of cholinergic effects. An approach similar to that developed for OP pesticides could be used to determine if other classes or groups of pesticides that share structural and toxicological characteristics act by a common mechanism of toxicity or by distinct mechanisms.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

The development of a new method to estimate total daily dose of pesticides in professional turf applicators following multiple and varied exposures in occupational settings.

The evaluation of absorbed dose of pesticides in humans requires a knowledge of the kinetics and dynamics of the compound. In some circumstances, data that allow for the estimation of dose may be available from human volunteer studies, although often, it will be based on results from animal studies. If human metabolism data are available, estimates of dose may be more accurate, but it should be recognized that pesticide exposure in an occupational setting may differ from that in a controlled laboratory study. In this study, data from previously published studies are used to evaluate the urinary excretion of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D), following single dermal applications to human volunteers. These studies are evaluated with the objective of determining the best method of predicting total absorbed dose following multiple and varied exposures in occupational settings. Further, an alternative to laboratory-controlled human volunteer studies is presented. Data from a third previously published biological monitoring study on six professional pesticide applicators over a 2-week period were used to generate estimates of the urinary excretion of the pesticide 2,4-D that would result from a single dose. The method used to estimate the urinary excretion parameters is a variation of an overlay technique used in pharmacology, and may provide information on the kinetics of other pesticides when it is not possible to conduct human studies. The generated estimates of 24-h urinary excretion of 2,4-D over a 6-day period were remarkably similar to those obtained in controlled studies. Finally, a method was developed to use the generated estimates to determine total absorbed dose of pesticides for an independent group of 95 professional pesticide applicators. This method requires information on the amount of pesticide used for 6 days prior to the collection of two, 24-h urine samples.

2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic Acid↗
PubMed1997

Pesticides in canals of South Florida.

Atrazine, ametryn, bromacil, simazine and norflurazon were the most frequently detected pesticides in surface water samples and DDE, DDD and ametryn were the most frequently detected pesticides in sediment samples collected over the period November 1991 to June 1995 in a monitoring network that includes 27 stations in south Florida canals. The 744 pesticide detections during this time period represent about 2% of the total number of analytical determinations. Many of the most frequently detected compounds were used in large amounts in the monitoring area based on pesticide usage estimates included in this study. Spatial trends in pesticide detections followed use patterns. The maximum atrazine detections occurred in winter to late spring and were associated with usage on turfgrass and agricultural products. Endosulfan residues above the Florida water quality criterion were occasionally observed in surface water in the Homestead area and most of the exceedences occurred in confined waters. Methods with lower MDLs have recently been developed and should increase the number of detections in future sampling. Pesticides which bind strongly to soil, pesticides that are highly persistent and those used in large amounts were some of the more frequently found pesticides in sediments.

Environmental Monitoring↗