Health risk assessment associated with exposure to endocrine disrupting pesticides from food
Abstract
The results of assessing the health risk associated with exposure to endocrine-disrupting pesticides (EDPs) entering the human body with vegetables and fruits, are presented. Residual amounts of 8 active pesticide substances, related to EDPs have been found in analyzed plant samples, including organophosphorus compounds (dimethoate, diazinone, malathion, fenitrothion), carbamates (methomyl), benzimidazoles (carbendazim), dicarboximides (procymidone), and dithiocarbamate (mancozeb). The average content of the detected substances ranges from 0.0104 (dimethoate in onion samples) to 0.12 mg/kg (carbendazim in cabbage samples). Dimethoate is found to be the most frequently occurring pesticide as it has been detected in all the 17 food products tested. The daily intake of these EDPs is determined in the range from 0.000001 to 0.00020 mg/kg of body weight. The hazard index varies in the range from 0.0004 to 0.15, with the lowest value determined for fenitrothion, and the highest – for diazinone. The combined hazard index is 0.4286. The main exposure risk is associated with pesticides with organophosphate and carbamate groups (91.3%). The low dose effects and the cocktail effect are discussed. In order to ensure food products safety for consumers and to reduce public health risks, it is proposed to revise the use of endocrine disruptors such as diazinone, dimethoate, malathion, and carbendazim. The health risks associated with the “cocktail effect” in a person’s daily life do not always realistically assess the quality and safety of food, and, therefore, the actual risk to public health caused by long-term combined exposure to chemicals needs to be properly assessed.
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Copyright (c) 2020 Raisa F. Sircu , Gheorghii I. Turcanu, Iurie V. Pinzaru, Mariana N. Zavtoni, Nicolae I. Opopol, Аna V. Volneanschi, Tatiana S. Tonu, Raisa N. Scurtu
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