Exposure to heavy metals due to pesticide use by vineyard farmers

• Published in: International archives of occupational and environmental health 2015-10, Vol.88 (7), p.875-880
• Main Authors: Rocha, Gustavo Henrique Oliveira, Lini, Renata Sano, Barbosa, Fernando, Batista, Bruno Lemos, de Oliveira Souza, Vanessa Cristina, Nerilo, Samuel Botião, Bando, Erika, Mossini, Simone Aparecida Galerani, Nishiyama, Paula
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Arsenic; Arsenic - blood; Biological samples; Brazil; Copper - blood; Crop Production; Earth and Environmental Science; Environment; Environmental Health; Environmental Monitoring; Farmers; Heavy metals; Human exposure; Humans; Lead - blood; Manganese; Manganese - blood; Mass spectrometry; Metal concentrations; Metals, Heavy - blood; Nickel; Nickel - blood; Occupational Exposure - analysis; Occupational health; Occupational Medicine/Industrial Medicine; Original Article; Pesticide application; Pesticides; Pesticides - toxicity; Rehabilitation; Seasons; Vineyards; Vitis; Wineries & vineyards; Zinc - blood
• ISSN: 0340-0131; 1432-1246
• DOI: 10.1007/s00420-014-1010-1

Objectives To statistically analyze serum heavy metal levels in biological samples obtained from vineyard workers from southern Brazil and check for heavy metal exposure due to pesticide use. Methods Serum samples were obtained from 54 farmers and 108 healthy unexposed individuals. Samples from the same farmers were obtained at three different time points over a 1-year period. Levels of lead, arsenic, nickel, zinc, manganese and copper were determined for each sample using dynamic reaction cell inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (DRC-ICP-MS). All results were statistically analyzed using the nonparametric Kruskal–Wallis test (followed by Dunn’s post hoc test). Results Results showed that serum heavy metal levels in farmers were twofold to fourfold higher than in controls. This difference was found for all heavy metals tested and was significant ( p