How do herbicides and pesticides affect the environment

Ecology: pesticides linked to bird declines. Nature —6. Distribution and risk assessment of 82 pesticides in Jiulong River and estuary. Chemosphere — Organochlorine pesticides residue in breast milk: a systematic review. Med J Islam Repub Iran Neurology — Agricultural pesticide use in developing countries: health effects and research needs.

Int J Health Serv — Exposures of children to organophosphate pesticides and their potential adverse health effects. Endocrine, immune, and behavioral effects of aldicarb carbamate , atrazine triazine and nitrate fertilizer mixtures at groundwater concentrations. Toxicol Ind Health — Am J Ind Med — Respiratory diseases and pesticide exposure: a case-control study in Lebanon.

J Epidemiol Community Health — Weisenburger DD. Human health effects of agrichemical use. Hum Pathol —6. Glyphosate poisoning. Toxicol Rev — Pesticide exposure: the hormonal function of the female reproductive system disrupted?

Reprod Biol Endocrinol Cancer health effects of pesticides. Systematic review. Pesticides and atopic and nonatopic asthma among farm women in the agricultural health study. Potential developmental neurotoxicity of pesticides used in Europe. Environ Health Roeleveld N, Bretveld R. The impact of pesticides on male fertility.

Curr Opin Obstet Gynecol — Osman KA. Mostafalou S, Abdollahi M. Pesticides and human chronic diseases: evidences, mechanisms, and perspectives. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol — Republished study: long-term toxicity of a Roundup herbicide and a Roundup-tolerant genetically modified maize.

Environ Sci Eur Glyphosate poisoning with acute pulmonary edema. Toxicol Int — The global distribution of fatal pesticide self-poisoning: systematic review. BMC Public Health Organochlorine insecticide residues in complete prepared meals: a month survey in S. Food Cosmet Toxicol — Cabras P, Angioni A. Pesticide residues in grapes, wine, and their processing products.

J Agric Food Chem — Solid-phase microextraction — gas chromatography mass spectrometry: a fast and simple screening method for the assessment of organophosphorus pesticides residues in wine and fruit juices.

Food Chem — Burnett M, Welford R. Case study: coca-cola and water in India: episode 2. Corp Soc Responsib Environ Mgmt — Lorenzin M. Pesticide residues in Italian ready-meals and dietary intake estimation. J Environ Sci Health B — Persistent organochlorine pesticides residues in animal feed.

Environ Monit Assess — Witczak A, Abdel-Gawad H. Assessment of health risk from organochlorine pesticides residues in high-fat spreadable foods produced in Poland. Health risk assessment of organochlorine pesticide exposure through dietary intake of vegetables grown in the periurban sites of Delhi, India. Environ Sci Pollut Res Int — The influence of tomato processing on residues of organochlorine and organophosphate insecticides and their associated dietary risk. Sci Total Environ ——9.

Total diet study on pesticide residues in France: levels in food as consumed and chronic dietary risk to consumers. Environ Int — Consumption of fruits and vegetables and probabilistic assessment of the cumulative acute exposure to organophosphorus and carbamate pesticides of schoolchildren in Slovenia.

Public Health Nutr 19 3 — Kortenkamp A. Ten years of mixing cocktails: a review of combination effects of endocrine-disrupting chemicals. Persistent pesticides in human breast milk and cryptorchidism. Environ Health Perspect —8.

Occup Environ Med 72 12 — Organochlorine pesticides and their metabolites in human breast milk from Shanghai, China. Baylis AD. Why glyphosate is a global herbicide: strengths, weaknesses and prospects. Pest Manag Sci — Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane DDT : ubiquity, persistence, and risks.

Van den Berg H. Global status of DDT and its alternatives for use in vector control to prevent disease. Endocrine disruptor DDE associated with a high-fat diet enhances the impairment of liver fatty acid composition in rats.

J Agric Food Chem —8. In utero exposure to dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane DDT and dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene DDE and neurodevelopment among young Mexican American children. Pediatrics — Effect of organochlorine pesticides on human androgen receptor activation in vitro. Tiemann U. In vivo and in vitro effects of the organochlorine pesticides DDT, TCPM, methoxychlor, and lindane on the female reproductive tract of mammals: a review.

Reprod Toxicol — Karami-Mohajeri S, Abdollahi M. Toxic influence of organophosphate, carbamate, and organochlorine pesticides on cellular metabolism of lipids, proteins, and carbohydrates: a systematic review. Hum Exp Toxicol 30 9 — Hematological and hepatic alterations in brazilian population heavily exposed to organochlorine pesticides.

J Toxicol Environ Health A — Organochlorines and breast cancer risk. CA Cancer J Clin —9. Concentrations and patterns of organochlorines OCs in various fish species from the Indus River, Pakistan: a human health risk assessment.

Sci Total Environ — Jaga K, Dharmani C. Sources of exposure to and public health implications of organophosphate pesticides. Rev Panam Salud Publica — Endocrine disrupting pesticides: implications for risk assessment. Glyphosate-based herbicides are toxic and endocrine disruptors in human cell lines. Toxicology — The organophosphate insecticide chlorpyrifos confers its genotoxic effects by inducing DNA damage and cell apoptosis.

The long-term effects of organophosphates poisoning as a risk factor of CVDs: a nationwide population-based cohort study. PLoS One e The influence of organophosphate and carbamate on sperm chromatin and reproductive hormones among pesticide sprayers.

Toxicol Ind Health :1— Chronic central nervous system effects of acute organophosphate pesticide intoxication.

Lancet —7. Long-term neurobehavioral effects of mild poisonings with organophosphate and n-methyl carbamate pesticides among banana workers.

Int J Occup Environ Health — Epidemiology S Increased risk of dementia in patients with acute organophosphate and carbamate poisioning: a nationwide population-based cohort study. Medicine Baltimore e Cancer Causes Control — Association of in Utero organophosphate pesticide exposure and fetal growth and length of gestation in an agricultural population.

Prenatal exposure to the organophosphate pesticide chlorpyrifos and childhood tremor. Neurotoxicology —6. Safety evaluation and risk assessment of the herbicide Roundup and its active ingredient, glyphosate, for humans. Regul Toxicol Pharmacol — Epidemiologic studies of glyphosate and non-cancer health outcomes.

Epidemiologic studies of glyphosate and cancer: a review. Clone- and age-dependent toxicity of a glyphosate commercial formulation and its active ingredient in Daphnia magna.

Ecotoxicology — Campbell AW. Glyphosate: its effects on humans. Altern Ther Health Med — Samsel A, Seneff S. Entropy — Woodburn AT. Glyphosate: production, pricing and use worldwide. Bonny S. Genetically modified glyphosate-tolerant soybean in the USA: adoption factors, impacts and prospects. A review. Agron Sustain Dev — Glyphosate-resistant crops and weeds: now and in the future.

AgBioForum — Glyphosate induces human breast cancer cells growth via estrogen receptors. Food Chem Toxicol — Quantification of genistein and genistin in soybeans and soybean products.

Genetically engineered crops, glyphosate and the deterioration of health in the United States of America. J Org Syst — The effect of metabolites and impurities of glyphosate on human erythrocytes in vitro. Pestic Biochem Physiol — Studies on glyphosate-induced carcinogenicity in mouse skin: a proteomic approach.

J Proteomics — Glyphosate, pathways to modern diseases III: manganese, neurological diseases, and associated pathologies. Surg Neurol Int Herbicides with limited mobility that are effective at the site where they contact the plant are known as contact herbicides. Herbicides that must be absorbed and translocated to the site of action to be effective are called systemic herbicides.

Contact herbicides typically affect only the portion of the plant with which they come into physical contact. Contact herbicides are fast acting, and injury symptoms can appear within hours of application. Conversely, injury symptoms from systemic herbicides can take from several days to weeks to appear, but the entire plant may eventually be killed. Soil-applied herbicides are applied to the top few inches of the soil and eventually absorbed through root tissue, whereas foliar-applied herbicides are applied to leaves or stems.

Most contact herbicides are foliar-applied, whereas systemic herbicides can be either soil- or foliar-applied. Choosing the appropriate herbicide depends upon target species biology, herbicide selectivity, application method, and site conditions.

It is important to understand these factors to ensure that an effective herbicide is selected. For example, contact herbicides are most effective against annual invasive plants and in situations in which plant regrowth is not a concern.

Conversely, systemic herbicides are more effective on perennial invasive plants and can limit regeneration of treated plants. Soil-applied herbicides are most effective on seedlings or germinating plants prior to their emergence above the soil. Established plants may require a foliar-applied herbicide for effective control. Mature plant tissues absorb herbicides less easily than young plant tissues due to thickening of the outer tissues in older plants.

Systemic herbicides move, or translocate, from the point of application to the site of action through either the phloem tissue that transports sugars from the leaves to the roots , xylem tissue that transports water from the roots to the leaves , or through both. Some herbicides move more easily and farther within plants than others.

To be effective, an herbicide must reach the site of action. An herbicide binds to a specific location within the plant, typically a single protein, and as a result disrupts a physiological process essential for normal plant growth and development.

Herbicides can affect various sites of action within plants, and they are often categorized into different mechanisms of action based on how they work and the injury symptoms they produce. Repeated use of an herbicide with the same mechanism of action can result in resistance of the plant population to that herbicide because selection pressure for the resistant portions of the population increases with each application.

Using herbicides with different mechanisms of action, or combining them with other control methods, can reduce the risk of developing herbicide-resistant populations.

Because herbicides are inherently toxic to plants, they are effective tools to manage undesirable plant species, but they can also have unintended, adverse effects on desirable plant species. Thus, it is important to understand the fundamentals of how herbicides affect plants as well as to focus herbicide use to meet particular invasive plant management objectives. Plants vary in their susceptibility to different herbicides. For example, the selective herbicide 2,4-D injures or kills broadleaved plants but has little effect on grasses.

Selectivity is the result of complex interactions between the plant, the herbicide, and the environment. Because of herbicide selectivity, continued use of a particular herbicide may result in a shift within a plant community from susceptible to more herbicide-tolerant species. For example, repeated use of herbicides, such as clopyralid, that select for broadleaved species can result in an increase in grasses Tyser et al.

Removal of invasive plants from highly degraded sites can result in one undesirable species being replaced by an equally undesirable species. In these cases, revegetation with desirable and competitive plant species is often necessary DiTomaso If viable seeds remain in the soil after treatment, undesirable plants can reestablish. The relative importance of the seedbank to seedling recruitment and subsequent increase in an invasive plant population varies with the species as well as the plant community and site conditions.

Depending upon the plant species, seeds can remain viable in the soil for many years. Thus, management must account for the potential of plant populations to persist even after multiple herbicide treatments. Some herbicides such as picloram can be persistent in the soil for several years after application and can control new plants germinating from seedbanks Tu et al. Federal laws and policies regulate many aspects of herbicides including labeling, registration, and application, but these regulations are not a substitute for a thorough knowledge of the risks associated with herbicide use.

The benefits of herbicides must be weighed against the potential for exposure and impacts to human health, nontarget organisms, and the environment.

Risks are always present with any herbicide use, but improper use or misapplication can increase these risks. The federal government, in cooperation with individual states, regulates herbicides to ensure that they do not pose unreasonable risks to human health or the environment.

The EPA requires extensive test data from herbicide producers to show that products can be used without harming human health and the environment. EPA scientists and analysts carefully review these data to determine whether to register license an herbicide product and whether specific restrictions are necessary. The process of registering an herbicide is a scientific, legal, and administrative procedure through which the EPA examines ingredients of the herbicide; sites or target species on which it is to be used; amount, frequency, and timing of its use; and storage and disposal practices.

In evaluating an herbicide registration application, the EPA assesses a wide variety of potential human health and environmental effects associated with use of the product. The producer of the herbicide must provide data that address the following:. Herbicide product tests follow EPA guidelines and evaluate whether an herbicide has the potential to cause adverse effects on humans, wildlife, fish, and plants, including federally listed species and nontarget organisms, or to contaminate surface water or groundwater through leaching, runoff, and spray drift.

Testing is conducted on only a few faunal species of specific age and under limited environmental conditions. Care should be taken when extrapolating these data to other circumstances. Furthermore, there is essentially no testing on herbicide mixtures, and most testing is done with the technical grade of the active ingredient rather than with actual formulated products.

The EPA evaluates both exposure and toxicity to determine the risk associated with use of an herbicide. Therefore, organophosphorus and carbamates do not tend to bioaccumulate in aquatic species. However, the accumulation of these compounds in fish and invertebrates was reported long ago [ ]. Organophosphorus compounds do not persist in the environment. However, their large-scale use and their decomposition rates in the environment cause these compounds to accumulate in soils, from where they subsequently enter groundwater and rivers [ ].

A recent study detected the organothiophosphate insecticide chlorpyrifos in air and seawater in the Arctic, which demonstrated the long-range transport of this chemical [ ]. Diazinon, another organophosphorus compound, frequently occurs in point sources wastewater treatment plant effuent and non-point sources storm water runoff in urban and agricultural areas.

This pesticide is extremely toxic to birds and the aquatic life [ ]. Organophosphorus compounds are acutely toxic, broad-spectrum pesticides. In the environment, secondary poisoning can occur when predators consume animals poisoned by these chemicals.

Examples of contamination by organophosphorus are numerous. An example of carbamate contamination occurred with the pesticide, aldicarb, which polluted groundwater in the United States. Other carbamates such as carbaryl and its degradation product 1-naphthol have emerged in surface waters. The metabolite 1-naphtol is more toxic than its parent compound, and it has arisen in India [ ]. Methomyl, carbaryl and carbofuran, commonly used carbamates, have appeared in the aquatic environment [ ].

Carbofuran has commonly been associated with wildlife pesticide poisoning events when applied in the granular form. Apparently, birds mistake them for seeds [ 5 ]. Organochlorines have long environmental half-lives and tend to bioaccumulate and biomagnify in organisms.

A series of evaporation and deposition steps as well as migration of animals containing bioaccumulated organochlorines can transport these compounds through the environment, carrying it to animals in higher levels of the food chain. These persistent chemicals thus occur thousands of miles away from their origin [ 14 ]. The properties of organochlorines like aldrin and dieldrin result in direct mortality of predatory birds, such as sparrow hawks and kestrels [ 5 ].

These chemicals have intensive use in agricultural and industrial activities, so they emerge across the world, including the deserted plateau and the polar zone [ ]. The organochlorine chlorothalonil is a fungicide that has arisen in seawater and air in the Arctic as well as in snow cores in Arctic Canada. Endolsulfan, an organochlorine insecticide, has appeared in animals from Greenland like marine fish and mammals [ ].

Despite the ban on many organochlorine compounds in the s, some countries still fabricate and use chemicals such as DDT to control vector disease [ 98 ]. Other countries have replaced organochlorines with the less persistent and more effective organophosphorus compounds [ ]. Pyrethrins and Pyrethroids are non-persistent pesticides used worldwide as insecticides in agriculture, forestry, households, public health and stored products [ ].

Therefore, urban and peri-urban populations are potentially chronically exposed to these compounds [ 87 ]. Pyrethrins and Pyrethroids act on sodium channels in the nervous system of numerous phyla, such as arthropods and chordates [ 87 ].

Pyrethrins and Pyrethroids present low acute toxicity to mammals and birds and constitute one of the safest insecticides to man. However, at low concentrations these chemicals are acutely toxic to a wide range of aquatic organisms and insects [ ]. Pyrethrins are natural compounds extracted from chrysanthemum flowers; pyrethroids are synthetic compounds whose structure resembles the structure of pyrethrins [ 87 ]. Light degrades these chemicals.

Modification of pyrethroids over the years has enhanced their insecticidal activity and persistence in the environment [ ]. Compared with pyrethrins, pyrethroids are more stable under light [ ], which incurs increased environmental risks associated with their use [ 5 ].

Pyrethrins and Pyrethroids display high selectivity and easy degradability in the environment as compared with other pesticides, been a favored replacement for organophosphorus compounds [ ].

Pyrethroids strongly adsorb to soil particles, but they can move in runoff with soil particles and reach sediments, consequently entering aquatic ecosystems and affecting aquatic organisms like invertebrates and fish [ ]. Fish are highly sensitive to pyrethrin and pyrethroid products, and contamination of lakes, streams, ponds, or any aquatic habitat is a concern [ ].

Moreover, some formulations contain additional insecticides, insect repellents, and solvents such as alcohol and petroleum, which increase pesticide toxicity [ ]. Triazines basically consist of herbicide compounds, are relatively persistent and migrate easily through the soil into surface and ground waters [ ]. In soil, they undergo degradation mainly in a microbial action, but the role of photodegradation is still significant [ ].

Residues of triazines have emerged in soil, surface waters, and groundwater in areas where the application of agrochemicals has taken place [ ]. Herbicides are often benign with regard to impacts on animals; however, these compounds can have toxic effects at concentrations found in the environment [ 5 ].

Furthermore, indiscriminate use of this herbicide, careless handling, accidental spillage, or discharge of untreated effluents into natural water ways can harm the fish population and other aquatic organisms and may contribute to long-term effects in the environment. Atrazine, a triazine herbicide, is one of the most often detected pesticides in streams, rivers, ponds, reservoirs, and groundwater [ ]. Phenoxy derivatives basically consist of compounds with herbicide action.

They are soluble in water and can pollute surface and ground waters. Phenoxy derivatives display moderate toxicity, but some chlorinated metabolites can be toxic to human and aquatic organisms [ ].

In addition, the metabolites may have mutagenic and carcinogenic properties. However, these processes may not suffice to reduce the concentrations of chlorinated phenoxy derivatives on many sites [ ].

Regarding dipyridyl derivatives, the best-known compounds are diquat and paraquat, developed as herbicides and desiccants. Diquat is water soluble and persistent in the aquatic system. However, it can bind to soil, which reduces its mobility in the environment.

Although herbicides are usually little toxic to animals, diquat is toxic to some aquatic organisms [ ]. Soil adsorbs paraquat, which presents its leaching to ground water; soil microorganisms and photolysis degrade this herbicide [ ]. The herbicide glyophosate bears glycine, which adsorbs to soil, undergoes degradation by bacteria, and has low potential for runoff. However, is it highly water soluble and emerges in surface waters. Glyphosate is little toxic to mammals, but the surfactants present in some formulations rise the toxicity of this chemical.

Hence, some formulations, mainly those intended for aquatic vegetation control, can kill amphibians [ 5 ]. Many authors have demonstrated that glyphosate formulations can cause genetic damage in fish [ 97 ]. Dithiocarbamates DTC function mainly as fungicides that protect crops, but they also work as rodent repellents [ ]. The intensive use of dithiocarbamates in agriculture often contaminates water bodies [ ].

Ziram, one of the best-known dithiocarbamates, is toxic to aquatic organisms [ ]. Other examples of chemical classes of pesticides exist. Alachlor and metolachlor belong to the group of chloroacetanilides. These herbicides and their degradation products have arisen in surface and groundwater [ ]. Diuron, a urea derivative, can pollute freshwaters by leaching through the soil. It has appeared in marinas and coastal areas [ ].

Additionally, trifluralin, a dinitroanilin, has emerged in Arctic air and seawater [ ]. Therefore, a huge amount and variety of pesticides exist in the environment. Many chemicals that exist at low concentrations may not cause acute detectable effects in organisms, but they may induce other kinds of damage, like genetic disorders and physiological alterations that, in the long run, reduce the organisms life span [ 11 ].

A wide range of methodologies exist to identify possible exposure to pesticides. When identification is necessary due to poisoning of a patient attended in the clinic, the general procedures include anamnesis, physical examination, evaluation of clinical signs, and diagnostic and toxicological analysis. Selection of the test will depend on the purpose of the analysis. It is also essential to consider the financial costs of a method.

Simpler tests are still important, — apart from been inexpensive, many offer high sensitivity, specificity, precision, and accuracy, all of which are factors that are crucial for reliable analysis [ , ]. Sample storage for long periods should ensure that no sample degradation or external contamination occurs. Well-sealed containers stored under refrigeration and protected from light are mandatory.

To avoid any type of external interference during analysis, none of the employed materials should modify or degrade the pesticide in the sample. The analysis of pesticides, mainly in water, ambient air, and soil sediments, often requires a purification step to clean the sample and pre-concentrate the analytes, to improve the quality of the analytical results. The extraction process is a key analytical step — it extracts the desirable compounds for further separation and characterization.

Liquid-liquid extraction, and pre-concentration procedures, such as solid-phase extraction and solid-phase microextraction, are the most commonly used methods, but other extraction methods are also applicable depending on the objective [ ].

Extraction of residues from the sample matrix demands appropriate solvents for maximum extraction efficiency and minimal co-extraction of interfering substances. The extraction solvents must be highly pure. Blank tests help to prove that the matrix does not interfere in the analyzes. After extraction, a purification step removes the interfering substance with minimal loss of the analyte. The final solution should include an appropriate solvent for analyte determination by the selected method [ ].

When the analyzed pesticide is volatile or semi-volatile, GC still is the method of choice: it offers higher resolution and lower detection limits. GC is usually associated with multiple detectors whose choice will depend on the characteristics of the target analytes. GC is based on sample volatilization and introduction into a chromatographic column coated or packed with a solid or liquid stationary phase.

A gaseous mobile phase elutes the analyte; this phase is inert, and does not interact with the analyte. The carrier gases should be pure and chemically inert, too, and the choice will depend on the detector. The commonest carrier gases are helium, argon, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and hydrogen [ ]. LC has emerged as a great separation tool. It allows for effective separation of nonvolatile and thermally unstable pesticides that are incompatible with GC. During LC, extracts pass through multiple adsorbent columns that can discriminate between the components of the matrix and target analyte.

The degree of selectivity will vary according to the adsorbent present in the column alumina, silica gel, or Florisil , mesh size, and activity levels. Columns can be used separately or in combination [ ]. CE is a powerful tool to separate and identify a wide range of molecules. EC provides high resolution, and large separation efficiency. It requires small sample size and low solvent consumption analyzes is faster and operational coats are low [ ]. An ideal detector should ensure adequate sensitivity, good stability and reproducibility, and linear response to various concentrations of the analytes.

It should also operate in a wide range of temperature, have reduced response time independent of the flow , and be easy to handle. The detector response should be equivalent for all the analytes or selective to certain classes of compounds. Ultimately, the detector should not destroy the sample. Unfortunately, a switch that exhibits all these characteristics does not exist, so it is necessary to select the detector according to the desired goal [ ].

Several types of detectors are commercially available. They can come coupled to the separation device. The latter method is currently in evidence due because it is highly sensitive, offers autonomy, and performs a variety of functions. Electron capture and mass spectrometry are the most often used to detect pesticides. The electron capture detector ECD is usually employed to search for organic pesticides, because it is highly sensitive and selective toward molecules containing electronegative functional groups.

However, ED cannot detect compounds with low electron affinity. Its excellent properties are useful for analysis of pesticides in both the environmental area and hospitals. It is advantageous over ECD in term of sensitivity, stability, and robustness [ ]. Mass spectrometry is a confirmation technique that is less subject to misunderstanding.

Nevertheless, it has a drawback — it destroys the analyte [ ]. As mentioned previously, the choice of method will depend on the case. These methods play a very important role in the analysis of pesticides and related compounds and are applicable in several areas like environmental analysis, food safety, and occupational toxicology, among others. Because they can serve various purposes, these methods also help to detect compounds in different samples, such as water, soil, sediment, sludge, vegetables and fruits, and animals and humans tissues and fluids [ , ].

Obviously, method will based on the needs and characteristics of the target pesticide, and each sample will have their own features, which will depend on their physicochemical properties. Chemical analysis of isolated compounds is commonly used to monitor environmental pollution, but such analyses can be limited and expensive and cannot indicate the biological effects.

In contrast, biological tests indicate the toxicity of a ride range of compounds or environmental samples, and are therefore essential to determine the environmental impacts of the presence of these chemicals [ ]. Immunoassays and biosensors are methods related to the biological factor.

Immunoassays are a powerful tool in clinical laboratories and one of the most widely applied analytical techniques. The reagents kits and the equipment necessary to perform immunoassays are commercially available and rely on fluorescent, chemiluminescent or other detection methods. Immunoassays can detect a wide range of compounds including drugs, proteins, and hormones; they can also identify and quantify the presence of pesticides residues in various samples such as natural water, food, and blood, among others [ ].

Regarding biosensors, organisms such as Drosophila melanogaster fly species may aid the detection of pesticides in food samples and other matrixes such as water, soil, plants, and animal tissue. This test model is advantageous, because these insects have low tolerance to toxic substances with insecticidal character, besides being experimental models of easy creation, manipulation, and maintenance.

In addition, they require few financial resources and can remain under laboratory conditions. However, this method only serves to detect the presence of pesticides, but it cannot identify the detected compound. Therefore, after using this probe, the analyst has to employ a chromatographic, for example, to identify the group of pesticides in that sample [ ].

The chapter begins with an introduction about pesticides, citing the Second World War and the publication of the book "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson. Even in the introduction, it is mentioned the Integrated Pest Management IPM and the risks and benefits of pesticides use.

Subsequently, the chapter presents the topic "physicochemical properties and stages of intoxication. In the latter group, the nanopesticides are mentioned.

The chapter also discusses the pesticides as inducers of oxidative stress and endocrine disruptors action of two important issues. Beyond, adress three topics differences: pestidas and human health, pesticides and environmental health, and methods of detection of these compounds.

In the first, there are examples of intoxication from occupational, accidental and intentional exposure, besides decontamination methods. The second topic shows how a pesticide reaches the environment, and how it behaves. Finally, the third topic addresses methods of detection of pesticides.

This pursuit for a healthier society tries to combat the toxic effects of pesticides, as they have caused a large reduction in biodiversity mainly insects pollinators , and affect humans causing genetic mutations, Mutagenicity and carcinogenicity, reproductive damages as well as disturbances behavioral depression and suicides.

Faced with this problem, many governments have sought to measures to limit access to these compounds, aimed at protecting human and environmental health, such as work done by the governments of India, Western Samoa and Finland, which restricted access to pesticides and reduced cases of suicides in their countries [ 42 , ].

This concern can also be viewed on the growing interest of researchers and regulatory agencies regarding research related to biopesticides and biological control of pests, also seeking the quality of environmental and human health mainly in the near future [ ].

Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3. Help us write another book on this subject and reach those readers. Login to your personal dashboard for more detailed statistics on your publications.

Edited by Ana Cristina Andreazza. Edited by Theophile Theophanides. We are IntechOpen, the world's leading publisher of Open Access books. Built by scientists, for scientists. Our readership spans scientists, professors, researchers, librarians, and students, as well as business professionals.

Downloaded: Introduction Pesticides constitute any substance or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling, or mitigating any pest. Organophosphorus Organic compounds containing phosphorus, the so called organophosphorus compounds OP , have found application as pesticides and war gases since their synthesis, in [ 14 ]. Carbamates Carbamates insecticides produce clinical signs and symptoms of cholinergic excess that resemble the signs elicited by organophosphate toxicity, except that the effects are more reversible and less severe [ 14 ].

Organochlorines Organochlorine is used mainly as insecticides. Pyrethrins and pyrethroids Pyrethrins and pyrethroids function mainly as iseticides. Triazines Triazines are effective and inexpensive compounds that have found application as herbicides. Phenoxy derivatives The structures of phenoxy derivatives bear an aliphatic carboxylic acid moiety attached to a chloride or methyl-substituted aromatic ring. Dipyridyl derivatives The dipyridyl compounds paraquat and diquat are non-selective contact herbicides that have found wide application in agriculture and industries.

Glycine derivatives Two representatives of this class are glyphosate N-phosphonomethyl glycine and glufosinate N-phosphonomethyl homoalanine , marketed primarily as the isopropylamine salt glyphosate or ammonium salt glufosinate. Dithiocarbamates Dithiocarbamates comprise two groups: [ 1 ] dimethyldithiocarbamate and [ 2 ] ethylenebisdithiocarbamate, depending on which metal cation is present in the chemical structure. Others Others classes of pesticides exist, including the chloroacetanilide commonly used in agriculture.

The properties vary with the size and structure. In general are more soluble in organic solvents Skin, conjunctiva, gastrointestinal tract, and lungs Rapidly absorbed and metabolized by P isozymes in oxom form, more toxic than the parent compounds Covalent bonds with the serine residue in the active site of acetyl cholinesterase reversibly or irreversibly Muscarinic syndrome and nicotine syndrome, resulting of excess acetylcholine in the synaptic cleft Maintenance of vital functions and cholinesterase levels.

It is important to avoid the use of parasympathomimetic agents Carbamates The carbamate is an ester derivative A wide range of melting points 50 to o C is found for these compounds and the majority have low vapor pressures and poor volatiliry at usual temperatures Lungs, gastrointestinal tract, and skin Readily absorbed by organisms with exception the blood-brain barrier Carbamylation of the active site of acetylcholinesterase Miosis, salivation, sweating, tearing, rhinorrhea, behavioral change, abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea Organochlorines They all contain a cyclodiene ring.

Fat-soluble compounds persist in both the body and the environment The majority of organochlorines are sparingly soluble and semivolatile Endocrine disrupters and growth disorders in children Dizziness, headache, anorexia, nausea, vomiting, malaise, dermatitis, diarrhea, muscle weakness, tremors, spasms, mental confusion, anxiety Maintenance of vital functions and administer diazepam and phenobarbital to control seizures, and to monitor the airways closely Pyrethrins and Pyrethroids Both bear an acid moiety, a central ester bond, and an alcohol moiety in their structure Skin, lungs and gastrointestinal After absorption, are rapidly distributed in the organism and undergo biotransformation by hydrolysis or oxidation by P isozymes They can disrupt the muscular system and alter the normal functioning of voltage-dependent sodium channels.

This interaction shows the hyperexcited cells Tremors, spasms, incoordination, prostration, drooling, irregular movements of the limbs, tonic and clonic convulsions, and hypersensitivity to stimuli Decontamination of the skin and eyes, besides basic maintenance of the vital functions Triazines Permutations of the alkyl substituted 2,4-diamines of chlorotriazine The retention in soils can varies as a function of the alkyl chain-length, such as the melting point varies between — o C Skin, eyes, nose, and gastrointestinal Undergo conjugation with glutathione or dealkylation Mechanism not defined 34, Irritation at the site of contamination.

Carcinogenic and teratogenic evidences 15, It is necessary to decontaminate the site exposed to the substance Phenoxy Derivatives An aliphatic carboxylic acid moiety attached to a chloride or methyl-substituted aromatic ring Gastrointestinal and Lungs They rapidly dissociate or hydrolyze in vivo, and fat does not store them Cell membrane damage, uncoupling of oxidative phosphorylation and and esters are irritating to the skin, eyes, and the respiratory, gastrointestinal, and mucous membranes 36, Nausea, dizziness, vomiting.

As for metabolic acidosis, clinical signs such as hyperthermia due to uncoupling of oxidative phosphorylation , renal failure, increased aspartate aminotransferase and alanine and lactate dehydrogenase Maintenance of the vital functions, decrease the adsorption of the compounds Dipyridyl Derivatives Are a dipyridylium quaternary ammonium Skin, eyes, lungs, and gastrointestinal 28, Their biotransformation produces free radicals, with consequent lipid peroxidation and cell injury Tissue damage in the lungs, kidney, and liver as consequence to lipid peroxidation 37, Dehydration resulting from vomiting.

The high oxidative stress causes necrosis in the gastrointestinal tract, kidney tubules, liver, and lung 38, Minimization of the absorption of the compound more cathartic, acceleration of excretion, abatement of the effects on the affected tissue, and fluid replacement 41, Glycine Derivatives Marketed primarily as the isopropylamine salt glyphosate or ammonium salt glufosinate.

Skin, gastrointestinal Formation of aminomethylphosphonic acid AMPA by action of glyphosate oxidoreductase DNA damage and uncoupling the electron transport chain 49, Seizures, respiratory arrest, coma, and disturbance of consciousness and irritation upon local contact Maintenance of the vital functions Maneb is moderately water soluble and stable under normal conditions, while Zineb are slightly soluble in water and unstable in light They show slow absorption by oral and dermal contact Biotransformation of dithiocarbamates form ethylenethiourea ETU Your metabolic induces thyroid cancer, modifies thyroid hormones and can inhibit acetaldehyde dehydrogenase