Use of anticoagulant rodenticides in outdoor urban areas: considerations and proposals for the protection of public health and non-target species.

Rodent control operations represent an important tool for the prevention and management of infestations, in outdoor environments, by synanthropic rodents (Rattus rattus and R. norvegicus), which are a source of economic and environmental damage with significant sanitary implications. Although the use of anticoagulants is safer to humans and pets compared to the use of acute poisoning substances, an intrinsic hazard of the active ingredients exists, i.e. the possible poisoning of non-target organisms (e.g., children, pets and wildlife) following exposure. The risks arising from the use of anticoagulants for rodent control operations in anthropic contexts can therefore only be mitigated by a proper selection of the active ingredient, bait formulation and administration techniques, since an active ingredient with selective action towards non-target species does not currently exist on the market. This document lists practical proposals aimed at reducing the possibility of toxic exposure to anticoagulant rodenticides and mitigate the toxicological risk of human baits and non-target species.

[The problem of the presence of dangerous adjuvants in pesticide preparations used in agriculture or households]. / La problematica relativa alla presenza di coformulanti pericolosi nei preparati antiparassitari di uso agricolo o domestico.

Problems related to the presence of dangerous co-formulating agents and adjuvants in plant protection products and biocides are described. Usually, these kind of preparations are made including big quantities of different inerts (solvents, adhesives, wetting agents, surfactants, etc.), often more dangerous than the active ingredients. The obligatory declaration on the label about identity and concentration of some of these substances is not provided by the actual legislation. Sometimes, as in the case of accidental poisoning, the real nature of the toxicological damage is difficult to recognize. Also for the environmental compartment, the persistence of some preparation can be hugely increased by the presence of inerts added on purpose for lasting the efficacy.

Simultaneous quantitative determination of thirteen urea pesticides at sub-ppb levels on a Zorbax SB-C18 column.

A simple multi-residue method is described for simultaneously determining ten urea and three benzoylurea pesticides residues in drinking water with quantitation limits below the European regulatory limit of 0.1 microgram/l. The residues were extracted from drinking water with dichloromethane and analysed by HPLC on a Zorbax 5 microns SB-C18 column with diode array detection (DAD) at 240 nm. Recoveries were determined by spiking drinking water with 13 pesticides (benzthiazuron, metoxuron, monuron, fluometuron, isoproturon, diuron, linuron, chloroxuron, chlorbromuron, diflubenzuron, neburon, triflumuron and flucycloxuron) at the 0.05-0.50 microgram/l level.

Aluminum removal after chronic intoxication in rats.

Aluminum concentrations were measured in serum and in the bone, liver, spleen, kidney and brain of male Wistar rats treated with aluminum lactate. The administration was performed intraperitoneally over a period of 109 days, giving a total elemental aluminum dose of 128 mg per rat. After loading, a group of animals was killed together with blanks to verify the level of aluminum accumulation. Two groups of remaining rats were administered with deferoxamine over a period of six and fifteen weeks, respectively, receiving total doses of 270 and 675 mg of DFO. The concentrations of aluminum in serum and in tissues were compared with those found in other groups of animals undergoing aluminum suspension. The determination of iron in liver was also performed. Results indicate that in this experimental model the action of deferoxamine was preferential toward tone while it seemed lacking in the other examined tissues.

Mercury, cadmium and lead levels in marine organisms (Mytilus galloprovincialis Lmk.) collected along the Italian coasts.

The growing importance assumed in the last ten years by contamination of the marine environment caused by heavy metals has evidenced the necessity to constantly deepen the knowledge of pollutant concentration that can reach man through the food chain. Particularly interesting is the determination of potentially toxic elements in marine organisms which through accumulation and concentration processes can provide a direct correlation with the ecosystem's degree of contamination. The present study takes into account the determination of mercury, cadmium and lead in samples of Mytilus galloprovincialis Lmk. collected in 41 sites along the Italian coast, between August 1986-April 1987. Analyses were performed using both the electrothermal (cadmium and lead) and the cold vapour (mercury) atomic absorption spectrometry techniques. Results showed that, in general, the degree of contamination is low, with a few exceptions where the concentration values were greater than the mean values.