Residues of some organochlorine pesticides in human blood in the Fadasi Area, Sudan

For many years, organochlorine pesticides [OCPs] have been of interest, because of their toxicity and high persistence .In developing countries, [OCPs] were used in large quantities to control agricultural pests and vectors of endemic diseases. In Sudan [OCPs] were restricted to public health purposes in 1981. This study was conducted to asses the residue levels in the human blood. A randomized population sample from Fadasi Village, which is located in a rural area where pesticides have been used for over 35 years were examined. Analysis of human blood revealed the presence of gamma HCH, aldrin, heptachlor epoxide and DDE in varying concentrations. Statistical correlation was found to exist between the pesticide concentration and age, weight and duration of exposure. DDE was present in high concentrations, ranging between 0.38 - 6.88 ppm

Risk Assessment on Carcinogenic Pesticides of Vegetables in Korea / 예방의학회지

OBJECTIVES: The study was conducted to estimate the carcinogenic risks from the ingestion of some carcinogenic pesticides (CPs) in vegetables sampled at a local agricultural product market in Seoul. METHODS: After applying a hazard identification step, we selected four pesticides, such as DDT, dieldrin, folpet, and heptachlor epoxide, for this risk assessment. Concentrations of each pesticide were measured from randomly sampled vegetables. In order to estimate the human exposure levels, we combined the concentration of pesticides in the vegetables with consumption rate of those vegetables. Three scenarios were hypothesized for human exposure assessment. Scenario I was the most conservative which supposed the undetected CPs would be the detection limit values. Scenario II was assumed that the undetected CPs would be a half of the detection limit values, and finally scenario III merely considered only values greater than the detection limit values. We finally presented the estimated carcinogenic risks on the basis of the traditional risk assessment procedure suggested by U.S. EPA. RESULTS: Pesticides including DDT, dieldrin, folpet and heptachlor epoxide were detected in 9 samples (6%) in the range of 0.0006~0.09ppm. The daily intake levels of carcinogenic pesticides were estimated in the range of 0.0009~0.0079 microgram/day. As we expected, excess cancer risks based on scenario I was also the highest (1.1x10-8~ 5.5x10-5). CONCLUSIONS: We found that the estimated risks from the pesticides we investigated were not serious. We, however, propose that a continuos monitoring is needed to make sure for the protection of public health.