RESUMO
Pesticides are used for pest management and vector control in agricultural areas, but many farming communities are not adequately informed about the hazards associated with the chemicals. As a result, farmers use pesticides without full understanding of their impact on human health and the environment. Human contacts with pesticides, whether in the field, during pesticide application, weeding, pruning, harvesting, re-entry to collect fire wood, vegetables or in the houses for killing mosquitoes, cockroaches, fleas and flies. Storing pesticides may lead into acute and/or chronic exposures, with adverse health consequences. Although the inhalation, dermal and oral routes of exposure are the most common, pesticide residues in food and water may add to indirect exposures common in the general population. This study aimed to develop and evaluate a rapid automated screening method for determining pesticides residues in seven green vegetables [rocket, mint, parsley, leek, dill, lettuce and spinach] collected from different sources in Saudi Arabia markets. Thirty nine samples from green vegetables were used in this study. Six types of green vegetables were taken from the open markets [16 samples] and seven types were taken from supermarket [21 samples]. These samples were screened for pesticides residues by using Turbo Matrix Headspace Trap system in conjunction with a Perkin Elmer Clarus soo GC/MS. The classes of pesticides which are detected in this study are herbicides, rodenticides and fungicides. The obtained results revealed that the Dinitrotoluidine [l-hydroxy-4-[p-toluidine] anthraquinone] was detected in rocket and parsley, which are presents in supermarket but not found in mint, dill, lettuce and spinach. The oxadiazolinon [N, 0-dimethyloxos tephene] herbicide was found only in rocket purchased from open market. It was found that the dill obtained from the open market was the only plant which contains all kinds of rodenticides like cyano-phenolic [3-cyano-6-triflorom ethylphenantherine], sodium flouroacetate [3-methyI-1-phenyl-2- azafluorenone], hydrogen cyanide [l-cyano-6-trifloromethylphenantherine] and arsenical [arsine,l,2-phenylenebis dimethyl]. Hydrogen cyanides were detected in dill only. Identified types of pesticides have shown more occurrences in open market samples than the supermarket samples. The contamination level of pesticide residues considered a possible public health problem. Regular monitoring of a greater number of samples for pesticide residues, especially the imported is needed