Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Guthrie
Pesticidesand Humans
23.1. Introduction
The very fact that millions of pounds of toxic chenicals are apnlied directly for
control of noxious organisms, some of which have physiological ar-rdbiochemical
features not unlike those of humans, is sufficient reason for concern among
health authorities over possible acute and chronic effects of pesticides. The
recent trend toward greatly reducing the use of persistent, fat-soluble chemicals
and substituting morc transient ones has caused a drastic slrift in associated
health problems, although sizable quantities of toxaphene and endrin are still
used on agricultural crops and dieldrin-related compounds are used for termite
control. As chlorinated hydrocarbon insecticides are beine replaced by organophosphate and carbamateinsecticides(cholinesteraseinhibitors), the problems of acute toxicitv have tended to increase as the problerns of chronic toxicity
decrea:c. This change in potentla.lhazards has not received aCequateconrnent
in recent environmental texts, which report the health problems associatedwith
chlorinated hydrocarbons as a current rather than a rapidlv declining problem.
Health problems may be due to acute effects (primarily accidents)and chronic
effects (long-term exposure to small quantities, with food residues the primary
concern) of pesticicles.One or more Poison Control Centers (associatedwith
hospitais) in each state, EPA Community Pesticicle Safetv Programs (and
successc)rprogranis), which are regional progranrs clirccted to rL-search,and
federal ancl state agricultural extension F,rogramshavc beerr established to trea,t
th e s ep ro b l e rn s .
Important legislation concerning pesticide safetv hi,rsbeen passed bl' federal
anc-lstate governments. These regulations lvili be onlr brieflr' r.nentionedin this
chapter .rs thev relate to specific problems. Chapter 35 is ccrncerneclwith legal
aspectsof environrnental contamination, and the interesteclstr-rdcntshould also
coirsult the appropriate referenceat the end of this chapter.
F. E. Guthrie
300
Total
N o.
c,50
70
56
49
22
52
24
5
51-250
251-1254
Jt
23
24
50
1J
13
9
No. of Poisonings
.).)
303s
Pesticide combinations
InsecticiCes
Rodenticides
Fungicides
Herbicides
Animal repellents
Insect repellents
1535
119
267
198
LCO
Soura; Data from National Clearinghouse for Poisons Control Centers Bulletin, Sept.-Oct., 1972
Nofe: Nearly 70% of poisonings
reported
occurred
in children
under
5 years of age..
>1250
55
2
34
36
Pesticidesand Humans
23.2.L IndustrialWorkers
the protection
As the manufacture of pesticidesis controlled bv large industries,
as regulated
hygienists
industrial
bv
of workers is normally carefuily monitorecl
studies of
of
(osHA).
A
number
Act
by the occupational safety and Health
type,
(DDT,
dieldrin
insecticides
of
*lo.kers neavlty exposed to several groups
relatively
the
during
problems
any
reveal
to
u.,J o.gunophosphates) have failed
are carefully
short d5 years) iime period of those studies. Synthetic Processes
appreciable
against
guards
surveillance
health
controllei, and routinl safety and
is.enproblems
of
potential
detection
direct contact with pesticides. Prompt
workers
which
in
instances
rare
the
In
nature.
acute
sured, especially thoie of an
an element of
in controlled situations showecl adverse effects, there was usually
instructions'
adequate
had
received
carelessnessby a worker who
to
There have been some rather dramatic, although rare, exceptions
.this
poisonings
worker
50
nearly
of
case
well-authenticated
A
record in recent years.
insecticide,
in a poorly supervised factorv preparing a moderately toxic
of a
(15
workers)
episode
weli-documented
a
leis
and
chlordecone (Kepone),
(not
leptophos
more sophisticated plint operation invoiving the manufacture.of
cases,severe
In
both
reported.
been
have
ljnited
States)
in
the
fermitted for sale
were reporiect'
neurological symptoms occurred among workers, but no deaths
judge the record of safe
Despite"these"atypical episodes, one would have to
toxicity, especially in
manufacture of pesticid", u, u"ru goot-l in regard to acute
light of the potential hazards and the tollnage of chemical product.
"Th" probi"m of chronic toxicitv is not s6 well understood, although several
to both persistent
studies on the long-term health effects on persons exposed
results' Hownegativc
and nonpersistent insecticides har"e tvpicailf ieported
pesticidedirect
of
length
the
ever, the number of subjects in the siuclies and
to draw
sufficient
benot
may
associated work activity among these workers
in the
least
at
involved,
force
long-term conclusions.'the mJiiitY of the work
potential
this
of
examination
Crrit"a States, probably precludes an adequate
probably rely most heavily
chronic hazardund asslsi*ent ot this probiem will
on laboratory animal studies'
23.2.2.Formulators
A l th o u g h therew ereal argenunrber.ofsmal l formul ati ngpi antsft" :P .tl"q
majority of all finished
finished formulations durin[ the pc:iocl 1950-1965, the
industries'
large-formulating
few
a
bv
ur" ,-ro*, pro.1uce.1
festlciae concoctions
in eviprecautions
few
safety
relaiivelv
were
b.rri.,g the early period, there
to.appreciable.expodence, and in some cases these workers were subjected
defunct chlorinated
now
to
ihe
exposure
irom
sures. The possible chronic effects
F. E. Guthrie
302
23.2.3.Applicators
It is in this group of 5 x 106 plus individuals that the greatest acute hazards
exist, and the problem is primarily that of dermal toxicity. The education and
farmers, commercial
training of the members of this group-housewives,
applica-tors,regulatory workers, scientists, etc.-differ enormously. Recent EPA
regulation hal attempted to ban the more dangerous pesticides (category I
pe*sticides)from availability to some members of the group (particularly housewives and home owners), but there has been no workable solution to the
potential hazards manifest in applications of hrghly toxic compounds by many
poorly educated farm workers, even though they may be "certified applicators."
in or.ler to perrnit the farm workers to use the pesticides necessary to their
business enterprise, some method of registration was necessary, and, as many
of these persons have minimal formal education, certification procedures were
greatly simplified in many instances. A combination of extensive educational
prog.utnr and availability of less hazardous formulations is expected to reduce
icciilents in the coming years, but the potential is evicient. A recent study has
shorvn that nearly 3000 farmers and agricultural workers are hospitalized from
pesticide poisoning each year, orimarily due to organophosphate insecticides.
The study further showed that the incidence of hospitalized pesticide poisonings
in this group increased trom6.711.00,000in 197'1,to9.3in7972, and to 11.4 in
1973, probably a reflection of the shift from chlorinated hl,ilocarbon to organoohosohate insecticides.
The majority of agricultural lands are treated by aerial applicators, whose
level of education and training should make them a less accident-prone group'
Studies in past years showed that an alarming number of aerial applicators have
reduced cholinesterase levels (from exposure to organophosphate and carbamate insecticides) thai might preclude normal functioning during flying.
Strenuous legislation, especially by state governments, has reduced this potential prcblem. The workers loading the planes are exposed to high concentrations
of sbme very toxic insecticioes (particularly with low-volume applications), and
accidentsare not infrequent among this group.
t)ne large group of applicators that has been closely monitored over the past
30 years is the World Health Organizaiion (WHC) crews involved i;r sprai'ing
insecticides to reduce the incidence of insect-borne disease. Through careful
cholinesterase monitoring procedures, large-scale studies have distinguished
those compounds that can be safely applied and those that have tended to
reduce
Ievels; the latter are no longer used. During their earlier use of
"t'tiy*"
303
chlorinated hydrocarbons this group also received careful supervision; it was the
most closely monitored large applicator group in high contact with these
compounds with questionable chronic effects. Thus, through a large-scale
program supervised by adequate technology, this interuational group of
applicators experienced minimal deleterious effects from the use of insecticides.
Studies with these high-exposure groups are especially important in detecting
any adverse effects, as they would first be found in such groups. Using this as a
"sensor" population, possible adverse effects on the total population should be
quickly detected. Experience with this highly exposed grouP is a major reason
the official WHO policy has not favored the ban of chlorinated h;'drcqtt6..
insecticides.
23.2.4.NonapplicatorAgricuituralWorkers
Much concern has been expressed in recent years regarding worker exposure to
previously treated foliage during crop harvest or other work activities not
directly related to application per se. As a result of certain well-publicized
accidents on the west coast of the United States, the establishment of reentry
periods has been offered as a solution to the problem. Following apphcation, a
minimum number of days must pass before workers are permitted to enter fields
to harvest and perform other activities" Federal standards were established at 48
hr as the minimum period for the most toxic insecticides, and less dangerous
compounds have a 24-hr reentry intervai. However, in California (where over
90oh of the accidents have been reported) the reentry periods are much longer,
over 3 weeks in some instances. Worker activities that are most suspect when
pesticides are applied during critical cropping periods include citrus fruit, glaPe,
tobacco, and sweet corn harvesting, peach thinning, and professional scouting
in pest management programs. Although over 500 poisoning cases have beer-r
reported in the United Sta.tessince 1960, only 1 death has been reported. In this
case, reentry periods for parathion were ignored, and a grower permitted
tobacco harvesters to enter a fielc'l treated less than 24 hr before. The reentry
restrictions have been directed to cholinesterase-inhibiting insecticides only;
worker activity in the chlorir-iated hvdrocarbon era was never regulated by such
standards, although several monitoring stutlies were conducted (see Section
23.3.3.).
23.2.5. Accidental Poisonings
In a complex socie[,', a nurnber of poisons may become available to individuals
and groups who themselves are not actuaily involved in using the chemical.
Pesticidepoisoning acciclentsare somen,hat more common than food poisonings
i n th c U n i ted S tates.Th,,' scacci dt' rrtsrange from acci dentali ngesti on, spillage,
suicide attempts, anc-la varietv of cither exposure situations. Although srricide
attempts in the Uniter-i States represetlt Iess than 10o/oof fatal poisonings
(primirily in Florida), world r,vitlethere were 500 suicides involving parathion
annually during 1955-1960: this rate is now much reduced due to stringent
legislation. The number of poisonings with pesticides world wide was recentlv
estimated to be 500,000h,ear,ancl slightlv over 1% were believed to be fatal. This
estimate is not derived from verified records in most countries and can onl-v be
304
F. E. Guthrie
rypidemicsofAccidentalPoisoningsbyPesticides,1g4v1g75
Compound
Methylmercurl'
En d r in
Pa r a th io n
Parathioh
Pa r a th io n
Ethylmercun'
Sodium fluoride
Pa r a th io n
En d r in
Endrirr
Pe sticid e
cl:ss
F u n g icicle
In se cticid e
lrrsecticide
In se cticid e
ln secticide
F u n g icid e
In se cticid e
ln se cticid e
In stcticid e
I rrsecticide
Cause
Mixed with food"
Mlred with food
Mixed with food
lJncertain
Uncertain
Mixeci with food
Eeting formulation
Mixed with food
iVfixeci with food
Mixed with foodb
Total
poisonings
D eaths
vear
6530
697
600
559
350
327
260
200
183
159
459
24
88
16
102
35
17
8
2
0
Iraq,7973
Qatar,1970
Colornbia,1967
Mexico,1968
India,1958
lraq, i961
U.S A., 1943
Egvpt,1958
SaudiArabia,l9b7
Wales.1956
Location and
Soure: Data from lJaves,W. J. Toricology of Pesticides.@ 1975,The Williams & Wilkins Co.. Baltimore.Used with pemission.
"Seed grain (labeled "POISON") sold for consumption.
bFlour shipped
in railroarl cars contaminatecl 2 months eariier by insecticicle spill.
305
were treated with an organic mercury fungicide for control of soil diseases of
newly planted grain, they were sent to Mexico. The bags were clearly marked as
unfit for human consumption and bore the familiar skull and crossbtnes Doiso.r
designation. A number of bags entered iirternational tracie and were eventually
sold for human consumption in lraq. The final purchaser was unable to read the
warning labels, and the skull and crossbones were not a warning signal in that
culture.
It is predicted that pesticide use will increase appreciably with attempts to feed
a bwgeoning world population. This increase will undoubtedly result in
increased accidents, especially where populations are relatively ignorant of tne
hazard. There are areas of the world, Central America among ihe most studied
recently, where wealthy planters apply large quantities of toxic insecticides
within the immediate vicinitv of native premises. Thus, the problem appears to
be both ignorance on the part of the applicators and peasants, and apathy on the
part of those who should act more responsibly. For example, well-authenticated
statistics show that in El Salvador (a country of 4 x 106 people) the rate of
poisoning (Table 23.4) is over five times that in the United States, and
organophosphate insecticides are the primary offenders.
1,963
7964
1968
1969
1970
797r
7972
N onfatal cases
1104
965
938
5U3
141
586
2787
Fatalc as es
ll
7
I
7
7
10
5
Sourct: Daies, J. Proceedings of the 10th Inter-American Meeting on Foot and Mouth Diseases and Zymoses
Control. Pan American Health Orsanization Sci. Publ. 3::8, pp.79-t!6,7978
F. E. Guthrie
306
1900sand has been quite rigorous since 1960. The major international otganizations, FAO and wHO, have also been active in circumventing a possible
pesticide residue problem by providing guidelines and expertise to underdeveloped countries.
Although a sizable number of peopie are exposed to pesticides by virtue of
their wori activity, the vast majority-of the population will not be exposed to
(Table
appreciable q.runiiti"r of pesticides unless they consume treated food
ZS.S).It is very important to ensure that residues in food are in quantities known
to be safe. Titis discussion will be concerned with U.S. legislation, which is
similar to that of other developed countries. However, it must be recognized that
at least 50% (and more likely zso/o)of the world population is not protected by
such legal regulation. It is fortunate that many of these countries use little
insecticide bul unfortunate that some do use sizable quantitites of insecticides
without adequate governmental supervision.
23.3.L. PesticideResidueTolerances
In the United States, several federal agencies cooperate in establishing pesticide
these
residue tolerances on food (the EPA has final authority). Establishment of
are
tolerances is a very time-consuming and expensive task; specific details
the
available in the literature listed at the end of the chapter. Simply stated,
experigovernment permits a residue estimated to be safe, based on scientific
a
contain
tolerances
ir,rents, for consumption over a lifetime. Most residue
differanimal
and
f0O-foid (or greaterj safety factor to account for individual
ences. Contrary to the belief held by several well-meaning, but sometimes
a
cmotional, environmental groups, the steps leading to the granting of
background
of
years
5
at
least
tolerance are very carefully controlled and require
data. Tolerances are transiated for the farmei, who reads on the pesticide label
-fhus, the potentially
that he must wait a certain number of days before harvest.
by the time of
levels
to
nontoxic
toxic residue must dissipate after application
(Figure
23.1).
curve
harvest, as illustrated by the residue disappearance
The FDA enforces this legislation by periodically sampling a portion of food
Although most states also have residue laws,
shippecl in interstate .o-ttt"t.e.
Table 23.5
Source
Fooci
lr4iscellaneous (house dust,
co sm e tics,e tc.)
Atr
\{atcr
T o ta l
Acce p ta b leve a r ly
in ta ke ( F AO/WF iO) for 70-kg man
jj
l
D D T i ntake
(mg/year)
30
5
003
0.01
35
255
Source:Kraybill, H.F. Significance of pesticide residues in fmds in relation to total environmental stress. Originally
putlished in Can. Mcd. Assoc. J. 1'ffi:2M,Jantary25,1969.
r'
j
307
pplicotion
lf ioleronce
lo
2 ppm,
t h e g r o w e r m u s i d el o y
s o p p e or o n c e
for pesticide
R E SID U E
f o l l o w i n g o p p l i c o l i on
O N C R OP
l o m e e t t o l e r on c e
requirements.
(p p m)
5
lo
ll
D A Y S A FTE R TR E A TME N T
Figure 23.1 Translaiio;-rof pesticidedisappearancecun/e to han'est waiting period to
peimit growersto comply with federalpesticideresiduetolerances.
they are not as rigorously enforced, and food in intrastate commerce is less well
monitored.
F. E. Guthrie
308
Table 23.5
Pesticide
1965
Arsenlc
Br o m id e s
L in cla n e
DDT a n d DDE
Die ld r in
Carbarvl
Dia zin o n
Malathion
Parathion
2 ,1 - D
Dithiocarbamates
0.069
27
0.004
0.049
0.005
0.150
0.005
0.026
7966
0.005
15
0.004
0.069
0.007
0.026
0.001
0.009
<0.001
0.002
1968
0.03
20
0.005
0.043
0.004
0.007
<0.001
0.010
0.001
0.001
0.005
0.14
28
0.003
0 034
0.004
<0.001
0 003
<0.001
0.001
0 003
FAO/VVHO
1969
0.075
0.057
17
16
0.00
0.001
0.027
0.025
0.00s
0.005
0.003
<0.001
0.001
0.012
0.013
<0.001
0.001
<0.001 <0.001
<0.001
Source: Hayes, W. J. Toxicology of Pesticides. @ 1975, The Williams & Wilkins Co., Baltinore.
"ND:
1970
acceptable intake
(mg/70-kg marVday)
NDO
70
0.88
0.35
0.007
0.7
0.74
1.40
0.35
ND
7.75
not determined.
309
E
o
r
ul
2
z
F
E
r
s*{i,3,xig,"
t!,
(J
z
()
| 970
YEAR
in body fatof general
of concentration of DDT-derived materials
t*ieure 23.2 Trend
',i;'u;il;
DDT and DDE at no
;";i"fi"
.f
s;i";
of
and proiecteddisappearance
ir,take level.
23.3.3.EpidemiologicalStudies
310
F. E. Guthrie
Table23.7
Country
North America
Canada
U,S.A.
South America
Argentina
Venezuela
Europe
Denmark
England
France
West Germany
Italy
Netherlands
Middle East
Israel
Asia
India
Japan
Oceania
Australia
New Zealand
Year
BHC
isomers
7966
7962
1964
7967
7970
0.07
0.57
0.60
Dieldrin
Heptachlor
epoxide
0.14
0.10
0.22
0.11
0.29
0.27
0.18
1967
1.964
2.44
0.16
0.38
0.60
019
1965
1964
7969
1967
1970
7966
7967
0.02
0.29
1.79
0.45
0.08
0.11
0.68
0.20
c.47
0.72
<0 u001
1964
1972
7.43
0.72-1.28
0.04
0.13
0.02
1966
7966
0.68
0.67
002
'1968
0.20
0.21
0.16
0.21
0.08
;
0.03
;
0.01
0.3s
Source:Hayes, W. j. Toxicolc6;- of Pesticicies.@1975, The Williams & Wilkins Co., Baltimore. Used with permission
significanceof these small changes is controversial, but the data shoulci not
be
ignored.
TLl
lrl
F
Jl
trl
c
I
UJ
ol
9Y
oZ
HH
L
g.
ul
(D
f
z
1960
t965
t970
t975
YEAR
Figure 23.3
1950-1974.
'
Trend of mortality
in the United
States
SuggestedReading
Da vie s, J. E., Ed mundson, W. F. E pi cl enri ol ogr.'ofD D T. Mount K i sco, N .Y .: Futura, 1972.
Ed wa r d s, C.A. P ersi stent P esti ci des i rr the E rrvi ronmerrt, second edi ti on. C l evel and:C R C P res s ,
7974.
Environmental Protection Ageno'. Pesticrtles: A Legal Cornpilation, Vols. 1-4 plus supplements
Wa sh in g to n ,D .C .,7973 (and other vears).
F. E. Guthrie