|
International Union of Agricultural Workers: Pesticides Risk Reduction e-Programme
|
|
|
Pesticides Symptoms of Poisoning While there may be long term effects of exposure, it is hard to associate exposure and symptoms at a later date, so concentrate those that may appear within a few days of exposure. Organophosphates and Carbamates Both have a similar action. They affect the way messages are transferred along nerve systems. Nerves act by a string of impulses firing through the system in order to tell the other end what needs to be done. We fire a message through the nerves to tell us to move our legs, sing or do whatever we want. Once the message has been fired, it then has to be cut off. Also, we don’t want the messages going everywhere, so there are gaps or synapses, that prevent messages going along a nerve until aparticular impulse is made. Again once fired, the gap orsynapse ned to be restored. Otherwise the nerves will befiring all the time here there and everywhere. And that is what happens with OP/Carbamate poisoning. There are enzymes that restore the gap/synapse once the message has passed. These pesticides break down that enzyme, which means the messages keep firing across the gaps. The enzyme is called cholinesterase. And so the pesticides are called anti-cholinesterases. Or cholinesterase inhibitors. So the resulting symptoms when the nerves keep firing can be a wide range –from headaches and stomach aches, to twitching hands and general malaise. This means it is very difficult to pin down specific or very discernable symptoms. What to do if you think your members may be suffering these symptoms. Get biomonitoring. Blood or urine samples detect whether the cholinesterase levels have been depleted. As individual levels vary a lot, you need to check people before they are exposed and then at regular intervals later.. Look at a group of people as cannot work off singleindividuals – too easy to say “well that’s just them”. Quote US experience. But very few other studies Costs. The actual sampling is not very expensive, but the structure for taking the samples is. |
| Copyright 2007 Environmental Practice at Work Publishing Co Ltd |  |