Biological Indices in Formulators Exposed to a Combination of Pesticides
2002
Bhatnagar, V. K. | Karnik, A. B. | Suthar, A. M. | Zaidi, S. S. A. | Kashyap, R. | Shah, M. P. | Kulkarni, P. K. | Saiyed, H. N.
Pesticides are toxic chemicals but their benefits to society are undeniably great. These chemicals enhance the economic potential in terms of increased agricultural output and eradication of vector borne diseases but the success has extricated a price in terms of adverse effects on human and environmental health (White 1990; Koh and Jeyaratnam 1996). Production of technical grade pesticides and their formulation products in industrial settings and their application in field conditions involve substantial potential risk as the various processes and activities are unlikely to be risk free. In formulation process, active ingredients are mixed with inert substances to yield different forms of the product (dust powder, emulsifiable concentrates etc). During this process, workers are exposed to various toxic chemicals including technical grade pesticides, various solvents and adjuvants that are known to exert deleterious effects on the health of workers (WHO 1992; Kashyap and Bhatnagar 1996).Certain industrial and persistent environmental chemicals termed as endocrine disruptors are known to elicit their adverse effects by mimicking or antagonizing natural hormones in the body which are responsible for maintaining homeostasis and controlling normal development (Crisp et al. 1998). The effects of some of these chemicals are well documented in wildlife and laboratory animals, however, very little information is available on humans (Bolt et al. 1998; Crisp et al. 1998). Although, the regulatory approach pertaining to different activities on pesticides does exist in a developing country like India, however upon screening the existing data base on surveillance studies in high risk population which mainly include the production workers, formulators, spraymen, mixer, loader, applicators, and farmers, we still find paucity of data (Bhatnagar et al. 1980; Bhatnagar et al. 1982; Rita et al. 1987; Srivastava et al. 1991; Saiyed et al. 1992; Karnik et al. 1993; Zaidi et al. 2000). Pesticide formulators seem to be a good model for the evaluation of biological indices as they are intermittently exposed to low and/or high concentration of various toxic chemicals present in working environment.This report deals with a cross sectional study in terms of laboratory investigations on the workers of a unit of organized sector, associated with formulation of various insecticides (endosulfan, lindane, quinalphos, chlorpyriphos, monocrotophos, parathion, phorate and fenvalerate) to quantify the magnitude of risk, if any, and to suggest appropriate preventive measures to ensure safety to the workers. Selection of these pesticides was based on their usage pattern in agriculture and public health program in this country.
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