Nerve conduction studies in sprayers occupationally exposed to mixture of pesticides in a mango plantation at Lucknow,North India

In this study, nerve conduction, organochlorine (OC) pesticide residues in blood and cholinesterase activity levels of pesticide sprayers employed in mango plantations at Lucknow, North India, were determined. Fifty-two sprayers from mango plantations who regularly spray mixture of pesticides like organophosphates (OP), OCs, and carbamates were considered as exposed group. Eighteen subjects with similar socio-economic status of exposed group, who do not handle pesticides, were selected as controls. Questionnaire-based interviews related to personal and occupational histories of the study subjects were carried out. Sprayers did not use any personal protective equipment during pesticide handling. The blood-pesticide analyses of sprayers show higher mean values of hexachlorohexane (HCH), γ-HCH, δ-HCH, total HCH, op-DDT compared with the controls. Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) activites were significantly reduced among sprayers. Risk of motor nerve conduction deficits was observed in sprayers with low AChE activity. Negative correlation of motor and sensory nerve conduction deficits was observed with the duration of exposure and age among sprayers. The study demonstrated that the prolonged exposure to mixture of pesticides, ergonomic factors, decline in cholinesterase activity may lead to nerve conduction dysfunction. The findings suggest the need for controlled use of pesticides in the plantation and indicated the need for training and implementation of hygiene practices like proper usage of personal protective equipments.     

Visual disturbances with cholinesterase depletion due to exposure of agricultural pesticides among farm workers

In this study, risk assessment for visual disturbances among farm workers spraying agricultural pesticides in farms have been assessed. A cross-sectional study for the assessment of visual disturbances was undertaken using questionnaire survey and clinical examination among agricultural workers exposed to pesticides. Two hundred and thirty nine pesticide sprayers participated in the study. The study was compared to 110 controls not occupationally exposed to pesticides with similar socio-economic status. The prevalence of ocular morbidity was found to be 40% among pesticide sprayers which was significantly higher (p?p?相似文献   

太湖水体中5种有机磷农药混合物生态风险评价

有机磷农药是一类广泛分布于我国水环境中的污染物,即使在水体中的污染水平处于规定“安全标准”之下,其联合暴露产生的风险仍有可能威胁水生生态安全。采用基于浓度加和模型与生物敏感度分布曲线的混合物风险商法,评价了太湖水体中敌敌畏、对硫磷、甲基对硫磷、马拉硫磷和乐果5种有机磷农药混合物产生的生态风险。结果表明：2003～2004年期间3个不同时期太湖水体中5种有机磷农药的混合物生态风险商(RQ_m )均大于1,有机磷农药混合物在2003～2004年期间对太湖水生生物构成了一定威胁。     

Determination of oxidative stress markers and serum cholinesterase among pesticide sprayers in southern Brazil

Small farmers generally spray pesticides manually and often do not use complete protective equipment. The standard test to detect pesticide exposure, which may be associated with toxicity, is the determination of serum cholinesterase, but in chronic exposure to low doses, this test is less sensitive. In this study, in a group sampled among pesticide sprayers without signs of intoxication, cholinesterase, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), catalase (Cat), and superoxide dismutase (Sod) activities were analyzed. Cholinesterase activity was only slightly lower in the farmer group in relation to the control group. However, TBARS and Cat activities were 3-fold increased in the farmers in comparison to the controls. Sod activity was similar in both groups. The group of pesticide sprayers that did not use the complete protective equipment presented a significantly higher level of TBARS than the group that used the complete protective equipment. Therefore, the determination of TBARS and catalase can be useful to identify individuals that are chronically exposed to low doses of pesticides.     

农药在稻田使用对地下水的风险评估研究进展

农药风险评估可为农药登记和农药的环境安全管理提供重要的科学依据。水稻生产过程中病虫草害严重,农药使用品种多、频次高,田水存留时间长,对地下水污染风险高。开展农药在稻田使用对地下水的风险评估研究具有重要的现实意义。文章详细介绍了欧盟和美国的水稻-地下水风险评估研究进展,包括风险评估程序、暴露评估模型及暴露场景等。总结了我国农药在稻田使用对地下水风险评估的研究现状,并分析了我国研究的不足之处。在此基础上,提出了加强我国农药在稻田使用对地下水风险评估的建议。     

Pesticide in the Mississippi River floodplain and its possible linkage to colon cancer risk in the US

Result of this study shows that elevated colorectal cancer risk in Mississippi River floodplain of the United States is likely linked to historically high pesticide application. Mississippi River basin produces about 80% of major US crops and has about two-thirds of US pesticides used for agriculture. Historically, heavy pesticide application and agricultural irrigation were reported to result in high pesticide residues in surface water, fish and wells of Mississippi embayment. Risk ratio of colorectal cancer incidence in 86 counties of Mississippi River floodplain was about 29% higher than that of other counties in the 48 contiguous states. Risk ratio of colon cancer mortality in 63 counties of Mississippi embayment was 33% higher than that of other counties in the 48 states between 1999 and 2016. Risk ratios of colorectal cancer incidence and colon cancer mortality in Mississippi River floodplain are higher after smoking and diabetes factors were filtered off. Previous studies have linked exposure to pesticide with type-II diabetes and the latter was linked to increasing colon cancer risk by about 27%. Result here suggests that pesticide may be an independent risk factor directly associated with elevated colon cancer risk in Mississippi River floodplain.     

农药暴露的机制模型：蜜蜂毒理学的重要缺失

杀虫剂在最近的蜜蜂数量减少中所扮演的角色是有争议的，部分原因是实地研究常常无法检测到实验室研究所预测的效果。这种不一致性突出了蜜蜂毒理学研究领域的一个关键空白：对蜜蜂在它们的环境中杀虫剂暴露的模式和过程知之甚少。本文作者提出蜜蜂暴露杀虫剂的2个关键过程：1)工蜂采集花蜜的过程中收集农药；2)工蜂带回的农药在蜂巢中的再分配。工蜂收集农药的过程必须被理解为环境污染和蜜蜂觅食活动之间的时空交集。这意味着农药暴露是分配的，而不是离散的，觅食工蜂的一个子集可能会获得有害剂量的农药，而群体暴露将会显得安全。蜂箱中农药的分布是一个复杂的过程，主要是由群体成员之间食物转移的相互作用而产生，而这一过程中花粉和花蜜之间有重要的区别。因此应该优先将关于蜜蜂生物学的大量文献用于发展更严谨的蜂蜜农药暴露机制模型。与效应机制模型结合，暴露机制模型具有整合蜜蜂毒理学领域的潜力，以促进风险评估和基础研究。
精选自Sponsler, D. B. and Johnson, R. M. (2017), Mechanistic modeling of pesticide exposure: The missing keystone of honey bee toxicology. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, 36: 871–881. doi: 10.1002/etc.3661
详情请见http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/etc.3661/full
     

Understanding the net effects of pesticides on amphibian trematode infections

Anthropogenic factors can have simultaneous positive and negative effects on parasite transmission, and thus it is important to quantify their net effects on disease risk. Net effects will be a product of changes in the survival and traits (e.g., susceptibility, infectivity) of both hosts and parasites. In separate laboratory experiments, we exposed cercariae of the trematode Echinostoma trivolvis, and its first and second intermediate hosts, snails (Planorbella trivolvis) and green frog tadpoles (Rana clamitans), respectively, to one of four common pesticides (atrazine, glyphosate, carbaryl, and malathion) at standardized, ecologically relevant concentrations (201.0, 3700.0, 33.5, and 9.6 microg/L, respectively). We measured effects of pesticide exposure on six mechanisms important to this host-parasite interaction: (1) survival of E. trivolvis cercariae over 26 hours, (2) tadpole survival over two weeks, (3) snail survival over four weeks, (4) snail growth and fecundity, (5) cercarial infectivity, and (6) tadpole susceptibility to a fixed number of cercariae. Pesticides, in general, caused significantly greater mortality of E. trivolvis cercariae than did control treatments, but atrazine was the lone chemical to significantly reduce cercarial survival (LC50 value = 267 mg/L) and then only at concentrations greater than commonly found in aquatic ecosystems (> or =200 microg/L). None of the pesticides significantly enhanced E. trivolvis virulence, decreased tadpole survival, or reduced snail survival, growth, or fecundity. Sublethal exposure of the cercariae to the pesticides (4 h) did not significantly affect trematode encystment in R. clamitans. In contrast, sublethal exposure of R. clamitans to each of the four pesticides increased their susceptibility as measured by the percentage of cercariae that encysted. The reduction in exposure to trematodes due to pesticide-induced cercarial mortality (a density-mediated effect) was smaller than the pesticide-induced increase in amphibian susceptibility (a trait-mediated effect), suggesting that the net effect of exposure to environmentally realistic levels of pesticides will be to elevate amphibian trematode infections. These findings highlight the importance of elucidating the lethal and sublethal effects of anthropogenic factors on both hosts and parasites to understand the mechanisms underlying changes in parasite transmission and virulence, an approach that is especially needed for amphibians, a taxon experiencing global disease-related declines.     

Pesticide use and health outcomes: Evidence from agricultural water pollution in China

By linking provincial pesticide usage reports from several Chinese statistical yearbooks (1998-2011) with the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (1998-2011), this study provides new evidence that pesticides adversely affect health outcomes via drinking water exposure. We follow a difference-in-difference-in-differences framework to compare health outcomes between people who drink surface water and ground water in regions with different intensities of rice pesticide use before and after 2004, when China shifted from taxing agriculture to subsidizing agricultural programs. The results indicate that a 10% increase in rice pesticide use unfavorably alters a key medical disability index (Activities of Daily Living or ADL) by 1% for rural residents 65 and older. This is equivalent to 2.13 and 0.64 million dollars in medical and family care costs, respectively. Further, we provide suggestive evidence of an intergenerational transfer of caring burden by showing pesticide use reduces out-migration of the offspring in affected households. The results are robust to a variety of robustness checks and falsification tests.     

Hematological and biochemical alterations in sprayers occupationally exposed to mixture of pesticides at a mango plantation in Lucknow,India

The aim of this study was to examine the hematological and cholinesterase (ChE) activity levels of pesticide sprayers employed in mango plantations at Lucknow. Fifty-two sprayers from mango plantations who regularly spray mixtures of pesticides including organochlorines (OC), organophosphates (OP), and carbamates were included as exposed group. Twenty residents living close to mango plantations, but not involved in pesticide spraying were taken as controls. Pesticide residues for OC were analyzed in blood by gas chromatography with electron capture detector. There was a significant decrease in acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase activities in pesticide sprayers (n?=?52) relative to the control group (n?=?20). A significant difference in the frequency distribution of hematological variations in red blood cell, white blood cell, monocytes, neutrophils, mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular hemoglobin, mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration, and platelet count was observed. Residues of OC pesticides including α-hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) and total HCH were found to be significantly higher in the blood of sprayers compared to controls. Hematological variations were quantitatively more frequent among the sprayers with 5 years of pesticide exposure compared to the controls and to subjects with less than 5 years of exposure group. Hematological abnormalities in sprayers were correlated with pesticide exposure as evidenced by lower ChE activity as well as the presence of OC pesticides in blood. The poorly controlled use of pesticides in the plantation appeared to have produced sub-clinical intoxication in the sprayers and indicated the need for training and implementation of proper, safer hygiene practices.     

基于权重敏感度分布研究太湖有机磷农药单一和复合风险

基于实验室能得到的有限毒性数据的物种敏感度分布法(species sensitivity distribution, SSD)很难充分代表特定区域生态系统的物种分布,需要采用考虑生物区系特征进行赋予权重的物种敏感度分布法(weighted species sensitivity distribution,WSSD)。基于太湖物种组成构建WSSD,使用最大累积率(maximum cumulative ratio, MCR)(含风险商法(hazard quotient, HQ))和概率风险评价法(probabilistic risk assessment, PRA)对太湖地区单一和混合有机磷农药的风险进行研究。结果表明,相对于传统SSD方法,加权SSD方法计算的风险商大,且5%生物受影响的概率更大。单一风险评价中,敌敌畏和乐果5%生物受影响的概率超过40%,需要优先控制;最大累积率表明,敌敌畏是复合风险的主要贡献者,单一风险评价中风险较小的马拉硫磷和对硫磷也对复合风险贡献较大,复合暴露风险评价是必要的,混合物的风险商>1,5%生物受复合暴露影响的概率高达90%,有机磷农药复合生态风险不容忽视。     

农药对陆生生物的生态毒性及风险评估

农药的使用会对非靶标生物造成影响,由此世界各国都采取了风险控制手段以预防农药造成的生态危害。本文综述了欧洲、美国和日本针对农药开展的陆生生态系统风险评估方法,包括陆生非靶标生物、风险评估模型、风险评估的基本方法及生态毒性的评价指标。同时分析了农药登记管理对陆生生生物的生态毒性及风险评估中存在的科学问题,且提出了方法学的发展方向。     

The neglected burden of agricultural intensification: a contribution to the debate on land-use change

ABSTRACT

Between 1992 and 2015 Argentina lost 17% of its tree cover. Regionally, deforestation continues, but net forest loss recently came to a halt. Some scholars argue that this was facilitated by industrial agricultural intensification. This view is debated, but we focus on the neglected costs associated with this intensification. An almost tenfold increase of pesticide use in Argentina during the last two decades caused the pollution of soil, water and sediments. The widespread use of pesticides is impairing the health of agricultural workers and people living near agricultural fields, and is putting the health of vulnerable parts of the population (children and pregnant women) at risk. More than 50 pesticide active ingredients marketed in Argentina have been banned in the European Union for safety reasons. We contend that health and pollution aspects need to be taken into account when assessing the benefits and drawbacks of different types of land use.     

Sublethal pesticide concentrations and predation jointly shape life history: behavioral and physiological mechanisms.

Despite their relevance for risk assessment, the interactive effects of pesticide and predation cues are poorly understood because the underlying behavioral and physiological mechanisms are largely unknown. To explore these mechanisms, we reared larvae of the damselfly Coenagrion puella at three different predation risk levels and a range of environmentally realistic concentrations of three pesticides used worldwide (atrazine, carbaryl, and endosulfan). We compared key development responses (growth rate, developmental time, and final size) against food ingestion, assimilation, and conversion efficiency, and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity. Predation risk impaired all endpoints, including AChE activity, while the effects of pesticide stress were smaller for atrazine and endosulfan and absent for carbaryl. The effects of both stressors and their interaction on life history were mostly indirect through resource acquisition and energy allocation. Compensatory physiological mechanisms to pesticide stress (atrazine and endosulfan) were present in larvae reared in the absence of predation stress but were offset under predation stress. As a result, smaller size (atrazine and endosulfan) and lower growth rate (endosulfan) from pesticide stress were only found in the highest predation risk treatment. Our results provide insight as to the conditions under which interactions between stressors are likely to occur: damselfly populations at high density and living in fish ponds will be more affected by pesticides than populations at low densities in fishless ponds. By identifying variables that may shape the interaction between predation stress and other stressors such as pesticides, our mechanistic approach may help to bridge the gap between laboratory and field studies.     

Multiple stressors and amphibian declines: dual impacts of pesticides and fish on yellow-legged frogs.

More than 40% of Earth's 5700+ amphibian species have undergone recent declines. Despite the likely involvement of multiple factors in driving these declines, most studies continue to focus on single stressors. In California (USA), separate studies have implicated either introduced fish or pesticides as causal agents. To date, however, no study has simultaneously evaluated the respective roles of these two potential stressors nor attempted to assess their relative importance, information critical for the development of effective conservation efforts and environmental policies. We examined the role and relative effect of fish and pesticides on the mountain yellow-legged frog (Rana muscosa) using unusually detailed data sets for a large portion of R. muscosa's historic range in California's Sierra Nevada. Habitat characteristics and presence/absence of R. muscosa and fish were quantified at each of 6831 sites during field surveys. Pesticide use upwind of each site was calculated from pesticide application records and predominant wind directions. Using generalized additive models, we found that, after accounting for habitat effects, the probability of R. muscosa presence was significantly reduced by both fish and pesticides, with the landscape-scale effect of pesticides much stronger than that of fish. The degree to which a site was sheltered from the predominant wind (and associated pesticides) was also a significant predictor of R. muscosa presence. Taken together, these results represent the strongest evidence to date that windborne pesticides are contributing to amphibian declines in pristine locations. Our results suggest that amphibian declines may have complex multi-factorial causes, and caution that single-factor studies that demonstrate the importance of one factor should not be used as evidence against the importance of other factors.     

新烟碱类农药在我国的登记现状及对蜜蜂的初级风险评估

调研已开发的包括吡虫啉、噻虫嗪、噻虫胺、啶虫脒、噻虫啉、呋虫胺、烯啶虫胺、环氧虫啶、氯噻啉、哌虫啶和氟啶虫胺腈在内的11种新烟碱类农药在我国的登记现状。根据已登记的新烟碱农药的使用方法,开展了不同暴露场景下蜜蜂的初级风险评估。结果表明,喷施场景下,吡虫啉、噻虫嗪、噻虫胺、烯啶虫胺、呋虫胺、氟啶虫胺腈和氯噻啉这7种新烟碱类农药在不同作物上使用对蜜蜂的风险商值均大于1,风险均不可接受;啶虫脒、哌虫啶和噻虫啉在所有登记作物上使用对蜜蜂的风险商值均小于1,风险可接受。土壤或种子处理场景下,除噻虫啉外,其余4种新烟碱类农药包括吡虫啉、噻虫胺、噻虫嗪和呋虫胺对蜜蜂的风险商值均大于1,风险均不可接受。评估结果可为新烟碱类农药在我国的登记管理提供科学参考。     

Ecological risk assessment of pesticide residues in Taihu Lake wetland, China

As a major ecosystem type, wetland provides invaluable ecological services. Environmental pollution, especially pesticides pollution should be paid more attention to keep wetlands healthy. Based on the risk quotient method, coupled with a probabilistic risk assessment model, this paper proposed a methodology suitable for ecological risk assessment of pesticide residues for wetland ecosystems. As an important industrializing and ecologically vulnerable area in China, the Taihu Lake wetland was chosen for the case study. The risks of eight pesticides in Taihu Lake wetland were assessed, as single substances and in mixtures. The assessment indicates that risks of the representative species are not significant. In general, the herbicide is found to be more toxic for algae, whereas insecticides pose more risks to zooplankton, insect and fish. For each pesticide in the wetland, the ecological risk it poses is acceptable. But the combined ecological risk posed by mixture can harm more than 10% of species of the wetland ecosystem, mainly dominated by dichlorvos, dimethoate and malathion contributions. These results imply that pesticide residues have been posing pressures on the ecosystem of the Taihu Lake wetland. It is recommended that proper countermeasures should be implemented to reduce the risks.     

Entomotoxic effect of silicon dioxide nanoparticles on Plutella xylostella (L.) (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae) under laboratory conditions

The use of higher dosage and repeated applications of conventional pesticides have led to the rapid development of insect resistance to pesticide and adverse effects on human health and environment. Accordingly, researchers are prompted to identify an alternative entomotoxic agent for crop protection. Nanocides are being considered as alternatives to conventional insecticides because they are expected to lessen the application rate and reduce the chances of resistance development in pests. In this study, we evaluated the entomotoxic effects of nanosilica on larvae of Plutella xylostella, in a laboratory by using dust spray, larva dipping, leaf dipping, and solution spray methods. Dust treatment showed a more highly significant effect than the other three treatments. The mortality percentage increased up to 58% and 85% at 24 and 72 h after treatment, respectively, when nanosilica was applied at a rate of 1 mg cm^?2. In all four bioassays, mortality rate increased with both increased time after nanosilica exposure and increased concentration. Light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy images showed that larval death was due to desiccation, body wall abrasion, and spiracle blockage. These results suggested that nanosilica can be an alternative to conventional pesticides if dust formulation would be properly used.     

有机磷及氨基甲酸酯类农药单独和联合作用对PC_(12)细胞DNA损伤的影响

研究有机磷类农药毒死蜱和对硫磷、氨基甲酸酯类农药克百威和残杀威单独及联合染毒大鼠嗜铬细胞瘤株(PC12细胞)所致的DNA损伤情况及联合作用模式。分别以0μmol·L~(-1)、50μmol·L~(-1)、100μmol·L~(-1)、200μmol·L~(-1)、400μmol·L~(-1)的有机磷农药毒死蜱、对硫磷与0μmol·L~(-1)、25μmol·L~(-1)、50μmol·L~(-1)、100μmol·L~(-1)、200μmol·L~(-1)的氨基甲酸酯类农药克百威、残杀威单独及两两联合染毒PC12细胞12 h后进行彗星实验,采用彗尾长度、尾部DNA百分含量、尾矩3个指标来衡量DNA损伤程度。结果表明:毒死蜱、克百威、对硫磷、残杀威染毒PC12细胞12 h后,细胞出现拖尾,呈现典型的彗星图像。染毒后PC12细胞彗尾长度、尾部DNA百分含量、尾矩较对照组显著增加,差异有统计学意义(P0.01)。析因分析表明,无论低剂量联合还是高剂量联合,毒死蜱与克百威、对硫磷与残杀威均有交互作用(P0.01),作用模式为协同作用。以上结果提示,有机磷及氨基甲酸酯类农药单独及联合作用均可引起PC12细胞DNA损伤,联合作用后损伤程度要高于单独作用,且低剂量和高剂量联合时均存在交互作用,作用模式为协同作用。     

Influence of varying nutrient and pesticide mixtures on abatement efficiency using a vegetated free water surface constructed wetland mesocosm

The nutrient and pesticide abatement efficiency of varying mixtures was examined in a vegetated free water surface constructed wetland. Three different agricultural chemical pollutant mixture conditions were assessed: nutrients only (N and P); pesticides only (atrazine, S-metolachlor and permethrin); and a mixture of nutrients and pesticides. With nutrients only, 672 h nutrient mitigation of 77–91% total phosphorous (TP) and 74–98% total nitrogen (TN) was associated with distance from the injection point and rainfall, whereas with nutrient and pesticide mixtures, 672 h nutrient mitigation of 11–71% TP and 84–98% TN were associated with distance and time. With pesticides only, 672 h pesticide mitigation of 50–99% was associated with distance and time, whereas with nutrients and pesticide mixtures, 672 h pesticide mitigation of 48–99% was associated primarily with distance. Dissipation half-lives were 2–10 times greater for P and 1.5–5 times greater for N when pesticides were present. Pesticide dissipation half-lives showed no clear differences with or without nutrients. While vegetated free water surface constructed wetlands can be effective best management practice tools to trap and abate agricultural run-off during rainfall events, efficiencies can be affected by different types of complex pollutant mixtures and wetland design and implementation should accommodate varying efficiencies.