Risk profile and health vulnerability of female workers who pick cotton by organanochlorine pesticides from southern Punjab, Pakistan.
The present study was conducted to highlight the existing level of organochlorine-pesticides (OCPs) from human milk (n = 45) and blood serum (n = 40) of female workers who pick cotton in Khanewal District, southern Punjab, Pakistan. Source apportionment, congener-specific analysis, and risk surveillance of OCPs are reported from human milk and blood samples. Levels of OCPs in milk and blood serum samples ranged from 15.7 ppb to 538.3 ppb and from 16.4 ppb to 747.1 ppb, respectively, and were lower than previously published reports from other regions of the globe. Congener-specific analysis revealed that DDTs were predominant, followed by hexachlorocyclohexane, chlordane, and hexachlorobenzene. Calculated results for source apportionment analysis suggested that contamination load was a new input of DDTs as well as the historic use of lindane in the study area. Levels of OCPs in milk and blood serum were significantly (p < 0.05) correlated with age, time period of picking cotton, and number of children. Health risk revealed that female workers had risk of cancer among 1 per million; however, noncarcinogenic risks were not considerable. Environ Toxicol Chem 2017;36:1193-1201. © 2016 SETAC.
College of Earth and Environmental Science, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan.
Humaira
H
Yasmeen
College of Earth and Environmental Science, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan.
Abdul
A
Qadir
College of Earth and Environmental Science, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan.
Mehvish
M
Mumtaz
Department of Biosciences, COMSATS, Islamabad, Pakistan.
Syed Ali Musstjab Akber Shah
SAMAS
Eqani
State key Laboratories of Organic Geochemistry, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China.
Jabbir Hussain
JH
Syed
Department of Environmental Sciences, Government College Women University, Sialkot, Pakistan.|State key Laboratories of Organic Geochemistry, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China.
Adeel
A
Mahmood
College of Earth and Environmental Science, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan.
Nadia
N
Jamil
College of Statistics and Actuarial Sciences, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan.
Farva
F
Nazar
Pakistan Science Foundation, Islamabad, Pakistan.
Habib
H
Ali
Department of Zoology, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan.
Muhammad Shafiq
MS
Ahmad
National Veterinary Laboratory, NARC, Islamabad, Pakistan.
Zafar Iqbal
ZI
Tanveer
State key Laboratories of Organic Geochemistry, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China.
Gan
G
Zhang
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003634:DDT / Q000032:analysis / Q000097:blood; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005260:Female; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D003368:Gossypium / Q000737:chemistry*; D006581:Hexachlorobenzene / Q000032:analysis / Q000097:blood; D006801:Humans; D008895:Milk, Human / Q000737:chemistry; D010154:Pakistan; D010575:Pesticides / Q000032:analysis* / Q000097:blood; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D012306:Risk; D055815:Young Adult
D010575:Pesticides; D006581:Hexachlorobenzene; D003634:DDT
Blood serum sample; Maternal milk; Organochlorine pesticide; Risk surveillance; Source apportionment