Exposure to Airborne Pesticides and Its Residue in Blood Serum of Paddy Farmers in Malaysia

Siti Khairunnisaq Rudzi, Yu Bin Ho, Eugenie Sin Sing Tan, Juliana Jalaludin and Patimah Ismail
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Siti Khairunnisaq Rudzi: Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400, Malaysia
Yu Bin Ho: Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400, Malaysia
Eugenie Sin Sing Tan: School of Healthy Aging, Aesthetic and Regenerative Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, UCSI University, Kuala Lumpur 56000, Malaysia
Juliana Jalaludin: Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400, Malaysia
Patimah Ismail: Department of Biomedical Science, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400, Malaysia

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 11, 1-14

Abstract: Background: Pesticides manage pests and diseases in agriculture, but they harm the health of agricultural workers. Concentrations of thirteen pesticides were determined in personal air and blood serum of 85 paddy farmers and 85 non-farmers, thereafter associated with health symptoms. Method: Samples were analyzed using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS). Results: The median concentration of pesticides in personal air samples ranged from 10.69 to 188.49 ng/m 3 for farmers and from 5.79 to 73.66 ng/m 3 for non-farmers. The median concentration of pesticides in blood serum was from 58.27 to 210.12 ng/mL for farmers and 47.83 to 62.74 ng/mL for non-farmers. Concentration of eleven pesticides in personal air and twelve pesticides in blood serum were significantly higher in farmers than non-farmers ( p < 0.05). All pesticides detected in personal air correlated significantly with concentration in the blood serum of farmers ( p < 0.05). Health symptoms reported by farmers were dizziness (49.4%), nausea (47.1%), cough (35.3%), chest pain (30.6%), breathing difficulty (23.5%), sore throat (22.4%), vomiting (18.8%), phlegm (16.5%), and wheezing (15.3%). Concentration of pesticides in personal air, blood serum, and health symptoms were not significantly associated. Conclusion: Occupational exposure to pesticides significantly contaminates blood serum of farmers compared to non-farmers.

Keywords: pesticides; inhalation exposure; personal air monitoring; blood serum; UHPLC-MS/MS (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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