Pesticide poisoning occupational

It is difficult to obtain figures that accurately reflect the incidence of pesticide poisoning, and the number of documented cases of direct human poisoning in the USA varies from source to source. It was estimated that there are 100,000 nonfatal cases of human poisoning each year from pesticide exposure (7). In 1973 there were 1,A7A cases of occupational illness associated with pesticide exposure in California (8). Organophosphate insecticides are a major cause of occupational poisoning. 

Mandni et al. Acute pesticide poisoning among female and male cotton growers in India. International Journal of Occupational Environmental Health (2005) ii 221-232... 

Estimates of the number of people injured by pesticides vary widely but may be 100-times the accidental death rate on a worldwide basis (j5, 6). In 1985, 2500 occupationally-related accidental pesticide poisonings were officially reported in California and the real number of injuries may be considerably higher. Neither is the record of safety in pesticide manufacturing in the USA unblemished. Serious injuries to workers involved in manufacturing the insecticide chlordecone, the nematicide dibromochloropropane (DBCP), and, possibly, the insecticide leptophos have been reported in the last 15 years (4, ). There is preliminary but disquieting epidemiological evidence that frequent users of some herbicides may have an elevated risk of contracting cancer, particularly if standard safety precautions are not observed (e.g. 7.,8). 

Willems JL, Nicaise M, DeBisschop HC Delayed neuropathy by the organophosphorus nerve agents soman and tabun. Arch Toxicol 55 76-77, 1984 Xintaras C, Burg JR, Tanaka S, et al NIOSH Health Survey of Velsicol Pesticide Workers Occupational Exposure to Leptophos and Other Chemicals. Cincinnati, OH, U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, 1978 Zwiener RJ, Ginsburg CM Organophosphate and carbamate poisoning in infants and children. Pediatrics 81 121-126, 1988... 

It is estimated that there are 3.8 million cases of occupational diseases due to exposure to chemicals in the world each year. Of these, acute pesticide poisoning accounts for about 3 million cases. About 220,ci00 of these are fatal. Over 90 % of exposure incidents and about 99% of deaths take place in the third world countries [13]. German Development expert reports on the careless use of pesticides, in Sri Lanka — there they spread DDT with bare hands, people are powdered white , On the Antilles island of Trinidad a total... 

In Sri Lanka, 700,(XX) kg a of pesticides ate imported to be used in food production. In 1986, pesticide poisoning was the 6th leading cause of mortality in major hospitals and accounted for 57% of hospital admissions [3]. Approximately 13,(XX) people a" present to government hospitals for treatment of pesticide poisoning (the number of deaths is around 1(X)0 a ). Among these, nearly 25% are occupational (V unintentional exposures. 

A total of 2359 new cases of acute occupational poisoning were reported in 1991, which was an increase when compared with 1990. Organophoqrhorus pesticides poisoning increased fiom being second in rank to first. 

Rosenthal, E. (2(X)3). The tragedy of Tauccamarca A human rights perspective on the pesticide poisoning deaths of 24 children in the Peruvian Andes. Ini. J. Occup. Envimn. Health 9,53-58. 

Dc Jesu.s. C.-C. T, Barro-Aragon, R.. and Haro-Gareia, I. (1998). Pesticide poisoning in Mexican seasonal farm wtirkers. Int. J. Occup. Environ. Health 4,202-203. 

Schnilzer, P. G., and Shannon, J. (1999). Development of a surveillance program for occupational pesticide poisoning Lessons learned and future dircetion.s. Public Health Rep. 114, 242-248. 

Occupational pesticide poisonings have been considered a serious problem in Costa Rica for many years (e.g. Thrupp, 1989). The number of registered poisoning cases can be assumed to be lower than the actual number of poisonings as monitoring is based on voluntary information provided by poison victims and physicians. 

In 1995, the National Statistics Bureau in China reported 49,311 pesticide poisoning cases (accidents and suicides) in 27 provinces, including 3204 deaths. Of these, 15,000 cases occuiTed during occupational pest control activities of which 91% involved OPs and a fatality rate of 0.5% (75 cases). The reporting system was only set up in 1992 and needs improving some areas have not established a reporting system while in other ai eas reporting is limited. It is... 

Figure 8. Occupational pesticide poisoning cases (1980 to 1994) (source Epidemiological Division, Ministry of Health, 1995).

Blondell J (1997) Epidemiology of pesticide poisonings in the United States, with special reference to occupational cases. In Keifer MC (ed) Occupational medicine state of the art reviews, vol 12, 1st edn. Hanley Belfus, Philadelphia, pp 209-220... 

Jeyaratnam J, Premawardewa LDKE, de Silva EXjH, Wijeratne U, Seneviratne KN. Occupational pesticide poisoning. Proceedings of the 10th Asian Conference on Occupational Health, vol 1. Singapore, September 1982 204-207. 

No data are available on platelet NTE activity in exposed subjects, and little data on lymphocyte NTE activity. In one reported case of suicidal poisoning with chlorpyrifos, inhibition of lymphocyte NTE was correlated with the enzyme inhibition in peripheral nerves (Osterloh et al., 1983). In another case of attempted suicide with the same compound, inhibition of NTE in peripheral lymphocytes was associated with the development of delayed neuropathy (Lotti, 1986). However, the threshold of NTE inhibition required for delayed neuropathy remains undetermined (Lotti, 1987). Observations in occupationally exposed subjects are limited in number, and more research is needed to investigate the applicability of NTE as a biomarker of exposure to OP pesticides. 

Exposure Levels in Humans. Metabolism of endrin in humans is relatively rapid compared with other organochlorine pesticides. Thus, levels in human blood and tissue may not be reliable estimates of exposure except after very high occupational exposures or acute poisonings (Runhaar et al. 1985). Endrin was not found in adipose tissue samples of the general U.S. population (Stanley 1986), or in adipose breast tissue from breast cancer patients in the United States (Djordjevic et al. 1994). Endrin has been detected in the milk of lactating women (Alawi et al. 1992 Bordet et al. 1993 Dewailly et al. 1993), but no data from the United States could be located. Data on the concentrations of endrin in breast milk from U.S. women would be useful. No information was found on levels of endrin, endrin aldehyde, or endrin ketone in blood and other tissues of people near hazardous waste sites. This information is necessary for assessing the need to conduct health studies on these populations. 

Occupational Exposure during the Manufacture and Formulation of Pesticides. PHEW (NIOSH) No. 78-174 US-GP0, Washington, DC (1978), 429 pp., 343 refs., 5 appendices. Bidstrup, P., J.A. Bonnell and A. Beckett, "Paralysis following Poisoning by a New Organic Phosphorus Insecticide (Mipafox)", Brit. Med. J.(l) 1068-1072 (1953). As cited in ref. 164. 

When dealing with human tissues, experimental dosing or feeding is not possible. Determination of pesticides in human samples taken from individuals poisoned or occupationally exposed can provide information useful in development of analytical methodology. These types of samples may contain biologically incorporated pesticides and metabolites. If human tissue samples containing the pesticides of interest are not available, the researcher must rely on animal models for establishing recovery data for pesticides and metabolites. 

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