• español
    • English
    • português
  • English 
    • español
    • English
    • português
  • IRIS PAHO Home
  • PAHO website
  • Indexes
  • All Collections
  • About IRIS
  • Institutional Memory
  • Contact
JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.
View Item 
  •   IRIS PAHO Home
  • 1.PAHO Headquarters / Sede de la OPS
  • Scientific Journals and Newsletters / Revistas Científicas y Boletines
  • Pan American Journal of Public Health
  • View Item
  •   IRIS PAHO Home
  • 1.PAHO Headquarters / Sede de la OPS
  • Scientific Journals and Newsletters / Revistas Científicas y Boletines
  • Pan American Journal of Public Health
  • View Item

Sources of exposure to and public health implications of organophosphate pesticides

Thumbnail
View/Open
a04v14n3.pdf (126.5Kb)
Date
2003
Author
Jaga, Kushik
Dharmani, Chandrabhan
Metadata
Show full item record
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To review the public health significance of organophosphate pesticide exposure in the United States of America. Since the situation of high organophosphate pesticide exposure and the concomitant health risks in the developing countries of the world is well known, this article seeks to highlight the public health significance of organophosphate exposure in the United States, where it is less common than in many other nations. Looking at the situation in the United States would serve to further emphasize the seriousness of organophosphate pesticide-related health issues in developing countries. METHODS: A search for journal articles on organophosphate pesticides and organophosphate exposure was done on the PubMed electronic bibliographic database system of the National Library of Medicine of the United States. To supplement that search, information on organophosphate toxicity, biological monitoring, and regulation of pesticides was obtained from other published articles, textbooks, and relevant Internet sites. RESULTS: Organophosphate pesticides are a group of chemicals that are mainly used in agriculture. Organophosphates inhibit the activity of both the cholinesterase (ChE) enzymes-red blood cell (RBC) ChE and serum ChE-resulting in the cholinergic features of organophosphate toxicity. A 50 percent reduction in serum ChE activity from the baseline is an indication of acute organophosphate toxicity. The RBC ChE activity, which is less rapidly depressed than the serum ChE activity, is a measure of chronic exposure to organophosphates. Exposures to organophosphates are broadly classified into two categories: occupational and environmental. Occupational exposures occur among agricultural workers (including migrant farmworkers), industrial workers, pest control exterminators, and other workers. Nonoccupational exposure affects a large segment of the general population in the United States. Residential exposures come from organophosphate pesticide use by exterminators and by household residents as well as from dietary and accidental exposures. Other environmental exposures occur in public places and areas close to farms, and exposures could also happen from organophosphate use in chemical warfare or terrorism. In the United States some organophosphate pesticides are restricted by the Environmental Protection Agency in order to protect humans, animals, and the environment...(AU)
Series
Rev Panam Salud Publica;14(3),set. 2003
Subject
Exposição Ambiental; Inseticidas; Exposição Ocupacional; Compostos Organofosforados; Saúde Pública; Colinesterases; Monitoramento Ambiental
URI
http://www.scielosp.org/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1020-49892003000800004&lng=pt&nrm=iso&tlng=en
https://iris.paho.org/handle/10665.2/8333
Citation
Jaga, Kushik,Dharmani, Chandrabhan (2003) Sources of exposure to and public health implications of organophosphate pesticides. Rev Panam Salud Publica;14(3) 171-185,sept. 2003. Retrieved from http://www.scielosp.org/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1020-49892003000800004&lng=pt&nrm=iso&tlng=en
Collections
  • Pan American Journal of Public Health

Browse

All of IRIS PAHOCommunities & CollectionsBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsSeries TitleType of materialLanguageCategoryTechnical Unit/Country OfficeThis CollectionBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsSeries TitleType of materialLanguageCategoryTechnical Unit/Country Office

Statistics

View Usage Statistics

Pan American Health Organization
World Health Organization. Regional Office for the Americas
525 Twenty-third Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20037, United States of America
Tel.: +1 (202) 974-3000 Fax: +1 (202) 974-3663
email: libraryhq@paho.org

Links

  • PAHO Featured Publications
  • WHO Digital Library (IRIS)
  • Virtual Health Library (VHL)
  • Global Index Medicus (GIM)