Occupational and environmental aspects of organophosphorus compounds

Abstract

Besides being a potential risk to humans and other living organisms, organophosphorus (OP) compounds also poses a risk to the environment. Production and placing pesticides on the market are under national and international legislative framework, although in many developing countries the regulation is still inadequate or not properly enforced. Occupational exposure to OPs includes any job which involves either direct or indirect contact with OP compounds, while public exposure to OPs may occur through contaminated food or from hand-to-mouth contact with contaminated surfaces, inhalation and dermal contact. The aim of this chapter is to present a comprehensive review of control and regulation measures, risk assessment methods, types and modality of occupational and environmental exposure to OPs, and ecotoxicology of these compounds. Review of the literature on OP exposure in electronic bibliographic databases, textbooks, and Internet sources was done. The acute high-dose effects of OPs are well known and include neurological dysfunction due to the inhibition of acetylcholinesterase (AChE), while effects of low-level exposure are still a matter of controversy. Advances in analytical methods help scientists to find new biomarkers of exposure and tools for biological monitoring and regulations of occupational exposure.