[Urinary alkylphosphate levels as an index of exposure to organophosphorus insecticides in pest control operators].
In pest control operations, organophosphorus compounds (OP) have been sprayed as insecticides, blood cholinesterase (ChE) activities and urinary alkylphosphate levels were measured for both OP-sprayers (n = 102) and non-sprayers (n = 35) in pest control companies, and the relationship between the analytical results and spraying conditions was investigated. Plasma ChE activities of the OP-sprayers and of the non-sprayers, as well as blood cell ChE activities of the OP-sprayers, were significantly lower than those of employees of chemical factories who served as controls (n = 103). Urinary alkylphosphates were not detected in the controls at all but were detected in 83% of the sprayers and in 57% of the non-sprayer employees of pest control companies. A significant negative correlation (r = -0.34, n = 137, p less than 0.01) between the plasma ChE activities and urinary total alkylphosphate levels was observed in employees of pest control companies. In the case of the employees whose urinary total alkylphosphate levels were 0.1 mumol/g creatinine or more, the plasma ChE activities were 25% decreased compared to the control group. The OP-sprayers showed significantly higher urinary total alkylphosphate levels than the non-sprayers. The OP-sprayers were further divided into two groups. One was sprayers engaged in both cockroach- or fly-control and termite-control operations (sprayers I, n = 54) and the other was sprayers engaged in only cockroach- or fly-control operations (sprayer II, n = 48).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Sunaga
M
M
Yoshida
M
M
Ueda
T
T
Kosaka
M
M
Endo
Y
Y
Yasui
I
I
Hayashi
S
S
Yoshikawa
H
H
Hashimoto
M
M
Hara
I
I
D000328:Adult; D002802:Cholinesterases / Q000097:blood; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D006801:Humans; D007306:Insecticides / Q000032:analysis*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009943:Organophosphorus Compounds / Q000652:urine*; D010571:Pest Control
D007306:Insecticides; D009943:Organophosphorus Compounds; D002802:Cholinesterases