Longitudinal trends in organophosphate incidents reported to the National Pesticide Information Center, 1995-2007.
BACKGROUND
Regulatory decisions to phase-out the availability and use of common organophosphate pesticides among the general public were announced in 2000 and continued through 2004. Based on revised risk assessments, chlorpyrifos and diazinon were determined to pose unacceptable risks. To determine the impact of these decisions, organophosphate (OP) exposure incidents reported to the National Pesticide Information Center (NPIC) were analyzed for longitudinal trends.


METHODS
Non-occupational human exposure incidents reported to NPIC were grouped into pre- (1995-2000) and post-announcement periods (2001-2007). The number of total OP exposure incidents, as well as reports for chlorpyrifos, diazinon and malathion, were analyzed for significant differences between these two periods. The number of informational inquiries from the general public was analyzed over time as well.


RESULTS
The number of average annual OP-related exposure incidents reported to NPIC decreased significantly between the pre- and post-announcement periods (p < 0.001). A significant decrease in the number of chlorpyrifos and diazinon reports was observed over time (p < 0.001). No significant difference in the number of incident reports for malathion was observed (p = 0.4), which was not phased-out of residential use. Similar to exposure incidents, the number of informational inquiries received by NPIC declined over time following the phase-out announcement.


CONCLUSIONS
Consistent with other findings, the number of chlorpyrifos and diazinon exposure incidents reported to NPIC significantly decreased following public announcement and targeted regulatory action.
Stone
David L
DL
National Pesticide Information Center, Department of Environmental and Molecular Toxicology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon 97331, USA. Dave.Stone@oregonstate.edu
Sudakin
Daniel L
DL
Jenkins
Jeffrey J
JJ
D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000032:analysis; D005161:Facility Regulation and Control; D033161:Government Regulation; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D010755:Organophosphates / Q000009:adverse effects*; D018570:Risk Assessment
D010755:Organophosphates