Investigation on health status of workers exposed to glyphosate / 中华劳动卫生职业病杂志

Objective: To analyze the concentrations of glyphosate and its metabolites in occupational exposed workers and their possible effects on human health, so as to provide a reference for improving the safe use of glyphosate and toxicity research. Methods: From April to December 2020, 247 workers directly exposed to glyphosate in 5 enterprises were selected as the contact group, and 237 workers who were not exposed to glyphosate and other pesticides in the same enterprise were selected as the control group. Questionnaire survey and occupational health examination were conducted on objects, and the concentrations of glyphosate and its metabolites in the air of workplaces and biological samples were detected. The correlation between the concentrations and the difference of health examination between the two groups were analyzed. Results: The urine glyphosate concentration (0.022-47.668 mg/L), the rate of exceeding the standard (60.32%, 149/247) and the urine aminomethyl phosphonic acid concentration (<0.010-1.624 mg/L) in the contact group were higher than those in the control group [urine glyphosate concentration (<0.020-4.482 mg/L), the rate of exceeding the standard (2.53%, 6/237) and the urine aminomethyl phosphonic acid concentration (<0.010-0.524 mg/L) ], respectively (P<0.001). The exceeding standard rate of glyphosate concentration in the workplace was 33.67% (33/98). The concentration of glyphosate in the workplace was positively correlated with the concentrations of glyphosate and aminomethylphosphonic acid in urine (r(s)=0.804, 0.238, P<0.001), and the concentration of glyphosate in urine was positively correlated with the concentration of aminomethylphosphonic acid in urine (r(s)=0.549, P<0.001). The alanine aminotransferase (ALT), white cell ratio, creatinine, uric acid, the abnormal rates of ALT and total protein (TP) in the contact group were higher than those in the control group, and TP was lower than that in the control group, the differences were statistically different (P<0.05). The abnormal rates of overall liver function, overall renal function, blood routine test, urine routine test, electrocardiogram, liver B ultrasound and blood lipid in the contact group were significantly higher than those in the control group (P<0.05) . Conclusion: The concentration of glyphosate in the workplace is related to the concentrations of glyphosate and aminomethyl phosphonic acid in the urine of workers, and exposure to glyphosate may have some harmful effects on human health.

Determination of acetochlor and its metabolites in urine using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry / 中华劳动卫生职业病杂志

Objective: A method for the determination of acetochlor and its metabolites in urine by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) was established. Methods: After cleaned-up by a HLB extraction cartridges, the urine was eluted with 1% acetic acid acetonitrile solution. The target compounds were separated by ACQUITY UPLC®HSS T3 Column (2.1 mm×100 mm×1.8 μm) by using 1% formic acid solution and acetonitrile as mobile phase with gradient elution program, and analyzed in positive electrospray ionization mode by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. Results: All the target compounds showed good linear relationships in the range of 1-50 μg/L, and the correlation coefficients (r) were higher than 0.997. The recoveries rates at three different spiked levels for all target compounds in blank matrices were 107.6%-129.1%, and the relative standard deviations (RSD) were 1.5%-9.9% (n=6) . The limits of detection and quantitation of the method were 0.04-0.11 μg/L and 0.15-0.42 μg/L, respectively, and target substances were detected in all urine samples from occupational exposure workers to acetochlor. Conclusion: This method is suitable for rapid screening and analysis of acetochlor and metabolites in urine with the advantages of accuracy, rapidity, simplicity, high sensitivity and good specificity.

Determination of glyphosate in air of workplaces by ion chromatography / 中华劳动卫生职业病杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To establish a method for determining glyphosate in the air of workplaces by ion chromatography.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Ultra-fine glass fiber filter paper was used to collect glyphosate from the workplace air. After being ultrasonically eluted with deionized water, samples were determined by ion chromatography using a conductivity detector.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Within the range of 0.05-1.00 mg/L, a linear relationship was found with a limit of detection of 0.003 mg/m(3). The minimum detectable concentration was 0.000 41 mg/m(3) (calculated by sampling 75 L of air). For three different concentrations of glyphosate, the intra-batch relative standard deviations (RSDs) were 1.8%, 1.6%, and 0.8%, respectively, and the inter-batch RSDs were 1.9%, 2.1%, and 2.2%, respectively. The recovery rate ranged from 94.8% to 97.4%. The elution efficiency ranged from 94.5% to 96.7%. The sampling efficiency was 100%. Samples could be stored at room temperature for at least 7 days.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>This presented method meets the requirements of Guide for establishing occupational health standards-Part 4: Determination methods of air chemicals in workplace and is feasible for determination of glyphosate in the air of workplaces.</p>