Sources of exposure to and public health implications of organophosphate pesticides
Kushik Jaga,Chandrabhan Dharmani +1 more
TLDR
Organophosphate pesticides continue to pose a risk to human health in the United States and among the public there should be an increased awareness of environmental exposure to organophosphates as well as of the threat of chemical warfare or terrorism.Abstract:
OBJECTIVE: To review the public health significance of organophosphate pesticide exposure in the United States of America. Since the situation of high organophosphate pesticide exposure and the concomitant health risks in the developing countries of the world is well known, this article seeks to highlight the public health significance of organophosphate exposure in the United States, where it is less common than in many other nations. Looking at the situation in the United States would serve to further emphasize the seriousness of organophosphate pesticide-related health issues in developing countries. METHODS: A search for journal articles on organophosphate pesticides and organophosphate exposure was done on the PubMed electronic bibliographic database system of the National Library of Medicine of the United States. To supplement that search, information on organophosphate toxicity, biological monitoring, and regulation of pesticides was obtained from other published articles, textbooks, and relevant Internet sites. RESULTS: Organophosphate pesticides are a group of chemicals that are mainly used in agriculture. Organophosphates inhibit the activity of both the cholinesterase (ChE) enzymes-red blood cell (RBC) ChE and serum ChE-resulting in the cholinergic features of organophosphate toxicity. A 50% reduction in serum ChE activity from the baseline is an indication of acute organophosphate toxicity. The RBC ChE activity, which is less rapidly depressed than the serum ChE activity, is a measure of chronic exposure to organophosphates. Exposures to organophosphates are broadly classified into two categories: occupational and environmental. Occupational exposures occur among agricultural workers (including migrant farmworkers), industrial workers, pest control exterminators, and other workers. Nonoccupational exposure affects a large segment of the general population in the United States. Residential exposures come from organophosphate pesticide use by exterminators and by household residents as well as from dietary and accidental exposures. Other environmental exposures occur in public places and areas close to farms, and exposures could also happen from organophosphate use in chemical warfare or terrorism. In the United States some organophosphate pesticides are restricted by the Environmental Protection Agency in order to protect humans, animals, and the environment. In addition, the Food Quality Protection Act regulates dietary exposure to pesticides, particularly for infants and children. CONCLUSIONS: Organophosphate pesticides continue to pose a risk to human health in the United States. Biological monitoring should be used to strictly regulate occupational exposures to organophosphates and thus protect the health and safety of workers. Among the public there should be an increased awareness of environmental exposure to organophosphates as well as of the threat of chemical warfare or terrorism.read more
Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
Pesticide Exposure, Safety Issues, and Risk Assessment Indicators
TL;DR: New tools or techniques with greater reliability than those already existing are needed to predict the potential hazards of pesticides and thus contribute to reduction of the adverse effects on human health and the environment.
Journal ArticleDOI
Chemical Pesticides and Human Health: The Urgent Need for a New Concept in Agriculture.
P. Nicolopoulou-Stamati,Sotirios Maipas,Chrysanthi Kotampasi,Panagiotis J. Stamatis,Luc Hens +4 more
TL;DR: It is more obvious than ever that the society needs the implementation of a new agricultural concept regarding food production, which is safer for man and the environment, and to this end, steps such as the declaration of Nyéléni have been taken.
Journal ArticleDOI
Nanoencapsulation, Nano-guard for Pesticides: A New Window for Safe Application
TL;DR: This critical review investigated the potential of nanotechnology, especially the nanoencapsulation process for pesticide delivery, to reduce the dosage of pesticides and human exposure to them and provides fundamental and critical information for researchers and engineers in the field of nantechnology.
Journal ArticleDOI
Studying health outcomes in farmworker populations exposed to pesticides.
Linda A. McCauley,W. Kent Anger,Matthew C. Keifer,Rick Langley,Mark G. Robson,Diane S. Rohlman +5 more
TL;DR: The most common health end points that have been studied are reviewed and the epidemiologic challenges encountered in studying these health effects of pesticides among farmworkers are described, including the difficulties in accessing the population and challenges associated with obtaining health end point data.
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Pesticide Knowledge and Safety Practices among Farm Workers in Kuwait: Results of a Survey
TL;DR: In this article, the authors assess the levels of knowledge, attitude and practices of Kuwaiti farmers regarding the safe use of pesticides and find that over 70% of the farmers did not read or follow pesticide label instructions, and 58% did not use any personal protective equipment (PPE) when handling pesticides.
References
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2003 annual report of the American Association of Poison Control Centers Toxic Exposure Surveillance System.
William A. Watson,Toby L. Litovitz,Wendy Klein-Schwartz,George C. Rodgers,Jessica Youniss,Nicole E. Reid,Wayne G. Rouse,Rebecca S. Rembert,Douglas J. Borys +8 more
TL;DR: AAPCC's 2003 fatality verification process involved the preparation and review of abstracts on 1,390 fatalities reported to poison centers, some of which were eventually determined to be unrelated to a poison exposure.
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Chronic central nervous system effects of acute organophosphate pesticide intoxication
TL;DR: The findings of a persistent decrease in neuropsychological performance among individuals with previous intoxication emphasise the importance of prevention of even single episodes of organophosphate poisoning.
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Organophosphate pesticides: biochemistry and clinical toxicology.
TL;DR: Patients who receive treatment promptly usually recover from acute toxicity but may suffer from neurologic sequelae.