title: Determination of chlorinated insecticides in blood samples of agricultural workers.
abstract: Lindane, aldrin and p,p'-DDT were determined in blood samples from 71 farmers by means of an analytical method which combines a direct whole-blood extraction with n-hexane and gas chromatography (GC)-electron-capture detection (ECD), using a capillary column, applied to the organic extract. This technique allowed the determination of pesticides at levels varying from 0.1 to 180 micrograms per l of blood, the detection limit for every pesticide being 0.1 microgram/l. GC-mass spectrometry was used to confirm the identity of each pesticide. The advantage of capillary column GC-ECD for pesticide determination is its sensitivity and high resolution, which makes it possible to separate pesticides from a complex n-hexane extract obtained in a very simple pretreatment of the blood sample, which is itself a very complex matrix.
authors.affiliation: Instituto Nacional de Seguridad e Higiene en el Trabajo, Centro Nacional de Condiciones de Trabajo, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: M G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Rosell
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Obiols
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Berenguer
authors.forename: X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Guardino
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: López
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Brosa
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000382:Agricultural Workers' Diseases / Q000097:blood*; D002849:Chromatography, Gas; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D006801:Humans; D006843:Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated; D007306:Insecticides / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D006843:Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated; D007306:Insecticides