| Potential Uses of Biomonitoring Data: A Case Study Using the Organophosphorus Pesticides Chlorpyrifos and Malathion Dana B. Barr1 and Jürgen Angerer2 1National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA; 2Institute of Occupational, Social, and Environmental Medicine, Erlangen University, Erlangen, Germany Abstract
Background: Organophosphorus pesticides such as chlorpyrifos and malathion are widely used insecticides. They do not bioaccumulate appreciably in humans and are rapidly metabolized and excreted in the urine. In nonoccupational settings, exposures to these pesticides are typically sporadic and short-lived because the pesticides tend to degrade in the environment over time ; however, dietary exposures may be more chronic. Biologic monitoring has been widely used to assess exposures, susceptibility, and effects of chlorpyrifos and malathion ; thus, the information base on these compounds is data rich. For biomonitoring of exposure, chlorpyrifos and malathion have been measured in blood, but most typically their urinary metabolites have been measured. For assessing early effects and susceptibility, cholinesterase and microsomal esterase activities, respectively, have been measured. Objectives: Although many biologic monitoring data have been generated and published on these chemicals, their interpretation is not straightforward. For example, exposure to environmental degradates of chlorpyrifos and malathion may potentially increase f urinary metabolite levels, thus leading to overestimation of exposure. Also, the temporal nature of the exposures makes the evaluation of both exposure and effects difficult. We present an overview of the current biomonitoring and other relevant data available on exposure to chlorpyrifos and malathion and the use of these data in various environmental public health applications. Key words: biomonitoring, blood, chlorpyrifos, exposure, exposure assessment, human, malathion, risk assessment, urine. Environ Health Perspect 114:1763–1769 (2006) . doi:10.1289/ehp.9062 available via http://dx.doi.org/ [Online 12 June 2006]
This article is part of the mini-monograph "Use of Biomonitoring Data in Exposure and Human Health Risk Assessments." Address correspondence to D.B. Barr, CDC, 4770 Buford Highway, Mailstop F17, Atlanta, GA 30341 USA. Telephone: (770) 488-7886. Fax: (770) 488-0142. E-mail: dbarr@cdc.gov The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the CDC. The authors declare they have no competing financial interests. Received 1 February 2006 ; accepted 30 May 2006.
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