Assessment of Mancozeb Exposure, Absorbed Dose, and Oxidative Damage in Greenhouse Farmers

Chiara Costa, Michele Teodoro, Federica Giambò, Stefania Catania, Silvia Vivarelli () and Concettina Fenga
Additional contact information
Chiara Costa: Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Messina, 98125 Messina, Italy
Michele Teodoro: Department of Biomedical and Dental Sciences, Morphological and Functional Imaging, Section of Occupational Medicine, University of Messina, 98125 Messina, Italy
Federica Giambò: Department of Biomedical and Dental Sciences, Morphological and Functional Imaging, Section of Occupational Medicine, University of Messina, 98125 Messina, Italy
Stefania Catania: Department of Biomedical and Dental Sciences, Morphological and Functional Imaging, Section of Occupational Medicine, University of Messina, 98125 Messina, Italy
Silvia Vivarelli: Department of Biomedical and Dental Sciences, Morphological and Functional Imaging, Section of Occupational Medicine, University of Messina, 98125 Messina, Italy
Concettina Fenga: Department of Biomedical and Dental Sciences, Morphological and Functional Imaging, Section of Occupational Medicine, University of Messina, 98125 Messina, Italy

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 17, 1-19

Abstract: Mancozeb (MNZ) is a fungicide commonly employed in many countries worldwide. This study assesses MNZ absorption dynamics in 19 greenhouse farmers, specifically following dermal exposure, aiming to verify the efficacy of both preventive actions and protective equipment. For data collection, a multi-assessment approach was used, which included a survey to record study population features. MNZ exposure was assessed through the indirect measurement of ethylene thiourea (ETU), widely employed as an MNZ biomarker. The ETU concentration was measured with the patch method, detecting environmental ETU trapped in filter paper pads, applied both on skin and working clothes, during the 8 h work shift. Urine and serum end-of-shift samples were also collected to measure ETU concentrations and well-known oxidative stress biomarkers, respectively, namely reactive oxygen metabolites (ROMs), advanced oxidation protein products (AOPPs), and biological antioxidant potential (BAP). It was observed that levels of ETU absorbed and ETU excreted were positively correlated. Additionally, working clothes effectively protected workers from MNZ exposure. Moreover, following stratification of the samples based on the specific working duty (i.e., preparation and spreading of MNZ and manipulation of MNZ-treated seedlings), it was found that the spreading group had higher ETU-related risk, despite lower chronic exposure levels. AOPP and ROM serum levels were higher in MNZ-exposed subjects compared with non-exposed controls, whereas BAP levels were significantly lower. Such results support an increase in the oxidative stress upon 8 h MNZ exposure at work. In particular, AOPP levels demonstrated a potential predictive role, as suggested by the contingency analysis results. Overall, this study, although conducted in a small group, confirms that ETU detection in pads, as well as in urine, might enable assessment of the risk associated with MNZ exposure in greenhouse workers. Additionally, the measurement of circulating oxidative stress biomarkers might help to stratify exposed workers based on their sensitivity to MNZ. Pivotally, the combination of both ETU measurement and biological monitoring might represent a novel valuable combined approach for risk assessment in farmhouse workers exposed to pesticides. In the future, these observations will help to implement effective preventive strategies in the workplace for workers at higher risk, including greenhouse farmers who are exposed to pesticides daily, as well as to clarify the occupational exposure levels to ETU.

Keywords: Mancozeb; ethylene thiourea (ETU); pesticides; occupational medicine; oxidative stress; risk assessment; advanced oxidation protein products (AOPPs) (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/17/10486/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/17/10486/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:17:p:10486-:d:895284

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().