• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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• v.30
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• pp.9.1-9.5
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• 2015

Objectives Pyrethroid pesticides are among the most commonly using insecticides in South Korean households and have been the subject of considerable interest among public health professionals for their potential health effects. The objective of this study is to examine the level of urinary 3-phenoxybenzoic acid (3-PBA) among elementary students in South Korea. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional study to evaluate pyrethroid pesticide exposure levels by measuring the urinary metabolites of 3-PBA using a gas chromatographymass spectrometry method in March 2011. Study participants were 70 Asan-area and Incheon-area elementary students. Results All respondents had values above the detection limit, and the geometric means of 3-PBA in all children were $1.85{\mu}g/L$ and $1.46{\mu}g/g$ creatinine. Children with the top 10% urinary levels of 3-PBA were more likely to be girls, under nine years of age, living in a rural area, and living in a residential type apartment. Conclusions South Korean children have a higher concentration of urinary 3-PBA compared with those of other countries. Further research identifying exposure pathways and intervention efforts to reduce environmental pesticide use are needed in South Korea.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.140-149
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• 2016

All pesticides must be assessed strictly whether safe or not when agricultural operators are exposed to the pesticides in farmland. A pesticide is commonly regarded as safe when estimated dermal absorption amount is lower than the acceptable operator's exposure level (AOEL). In this study, dermal absorption rate of chlorpyrifos, a widely used organophosphate insecticide, was investigated using rat dermal tissue model. Chlorpyrifos wettable powder solved in water (250, 500 and 2,500 ppm) was applied to freshly excised rat dermal slices ($341{\sim}413{\mu}m$ thickness) on static Franz diffusion cells at $32^{\circ}C$ for 6 hours. After exposure period of 6 hours, and then washing-at residual amount of chlorpyrifos was analyzed in dermal tissues, tape strips, washing solution, washing swabs of receptor bottles and receptor fluids at 1, 2, 4, 8 and 24 hours. Chlorpyrifos was only detected in dermal tissue but not found in receptor fluid at each concentration and time point, and the absorption rate of 250, 500 and 2,500 ppm was 2.36%, 1.96% and 1.69%, respectively. The estimated exposure level of chlorpyrifos was calculated as 0.012 mg/kg bw/day. The health risk for farmers in this condition is a level of concern because the estimated exposure level is 12 times higher than AOEL 0.001 mg/kg bw/day. However, actual health risk will be alleviated than estimated because absorbed chlorpyrifos is not permeated into internal body system and only retained in skin layer.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.13
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• pp.5149-5153
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• 2014

Background: Chlorophenols (CPs) and related phenoxyacetic acids (PAs) are pesticide groups contaminated with highly toxic 2, 3, 7, 8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) during production. PAs and CPs exposure is associated with risk of cancer, but the situation regarding lung cancer has not been clearly defined. We proposed a meta-analysis of published researches to evaluate relationship between chronic exposure to PAs and CPs in pesticide production workplaces and the risk of lung cancer. Materials and Methods: After searching PubMed, Scopus, Scholar Google, Web of Sciences until August 2013, the association between chronic PAs and CPs exposure in production workplace and lung cancer was studied in 15 cohort studies. The standardized mortality rate (SMR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were collected from the papers. We used random or fixed-effects models, Egger test, funnel plot and meta regression in our analysis. Results: Five papers with six reports were included in the final analysis. The standardized mortality rate for lung cancer from the random model was 1.18 (95% CI: 1.03-1.35, p=0.014) with moderate heterogeneity. Publication bias was not found for included studies in meta-analysis (p=0.9). Conclusions: Our findings has strengthen the evidence of lung cancer from chronic exposure to chlorophenol related compounds (PAs, CPs).

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.29-37
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• 2003

Objectives: This study was performed to evaluate the pesticide exposure status and acute pesticide poisoning symtoms among agricultural workers at Gangwon-do province alpine area. Alpine area was defined as the area higher than 400m. Methods: We analyzed 257 interviwed questionnaire about pesticide exposure, acute pesticide poisoning symptoms and other variables. Results: The result was shown that agricultural workers at alpine area used more pesticide than general agricultural workers for annual usage days(35.9 days vs 14.4 days), daily usage hours(6.7 hrs vs 2.8hrs, p<0.05). But there was no difference between general and alpine agricultural worker's herbicide exposure. Moreover, the alpine agricultural worker's acute pesticide poisoning symtom score was higher than general agricultural worker's. These difference was also found at result of regression analysis, under control the age, sex, monthly income. Most frequently suffered symptom was headache and dermatological problems. The symptom prevalence of dermatological problem, headache, general weakness, eye irritation, nausea were higher among alpine agricultural workers than general agricultural workers. Conclusions: As a result, agricultural workers at alpine area were more exposed to pesticide and suffered from pesticide poisoning symptoms. To prevent the symptoms and disease from pesticide exposure among agricultural workers at alpine area, more research and political effort will be needed.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers Conference
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• 2005.10a
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• pp.502-508
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• 2005

In order to assess the environmental risk of pesticides, information is usually required on the likelihood of exposure of organisms to the constituents of pesticides, expressed as a predicted environmental concentrations (PECs) and the likely effects of the constituents of pesticides on aquatic and terrestrial organisms, expressed as a predicted no-effect concentrations (PNECs). In this paper, the pesticide fate model, RICEWQ alone and coupled with the pesticide movement model, RIVWQ was used to simulate the potential for predicting the environmental concentrations of pesticides in paddy fields and adjacent surface water systems. The RICEWQ model was successfully calibrated against field data in poinding depth for paddy field. For the assessment of importance for water and pesticide management conditions and field scales, the integrated RICEWQ-RIVWQ model was simulated by the scenario analysis. The results of this study can be used as a basic information for assessing the environmental risk of pesticides.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.43 no.6
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• pp.467-477
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• 2017

Objectives: Oxidative stress and DNA damage have been proposed as mechanisms linking pesticide exposure to health effects such as cancer and neurological diseases. We investigated whether protective measures could significantly reduce the levels of biomarkers for oxidative stress and DNA damage in agricultural workers. Methods: In the present study, the levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) and 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), biomarkers related to oxidative stress and DNA damage, respectively, were analyzed in urine samples collected from agricultural workers in two provinces of Korea (n=60). The influence of wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) and performing protective behaviors on the levels of these two biomarkers was also evaluated. Results: The median urinary levels of MDA and 8-OHdG were 10.45 nmol/mg creatinine and 14.42 ng/mg creatinine in subjects living in region A, while they were 6.25 nmol/mg creatinine and 24.77 ng/mg creatinine in subjects living in region B, respectively. The levels of MDA and 8-OHdG were higher in male farmers. Farmers wearing greater numbers of PPE and performing more protective behaviors had significantly lower levels of MDA. Greater numbers of protective behaviors was significantly associated with lower levels of 8-OHdG. Conclusion: The results of the present study indicate that pesticide exposure could induce oxidative stress and DNA damage in agricultural workers, and that protective measures are important for mitigating pesticide exposure.

• The Korean Journal of Pesticide Science
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.21-27
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• 2012

Dietary exposure assessment by ages was performed in this study using pesticide residues data examined in vegetable commodities collected in Seoul from 2007 to 2009, and the vegetable intakes for Seoulites which were obtained after analysing the Korea National Health and Nutrition examination survey data of 2008. There was a statistical difference for vegetable intakes by ages (P<0.001). Vegetable intake was the highest in 40~59 age group and was the lowest in under 5 age group. The %ADI was calculated using vegetable pesticide residues and vegetable intake for Seoulites by ages. Considering below 1 of the %ADI by ages, the risk caused by pesticide residues in vegetables was very low and vegetable intake was safe.

• The Korean Journal of Pesticide Science
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.236-246
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• 2014

Pesticide is used to protect the crops, but also become a cause of polluting the environment. Perform a risk assessment using physical and chemical properties, environmental fate and toxicity data in order to determine the pesticide registration. The aquatic model estimates pesticide concentrations in water bodies that result from pesticide applications to rice paddies and apple orchard. The used models are the PRZM, EXAMS and AGRO shell (PA5), Rice Water Quality Model (RICEWQ) and Screening Concentration In GROund Water (SCI-GROW). The residual concentration of water body was estimated using meteorological data, crop calendar and soil series of Korea. The chosen pesticides were butachlor, carbofuran, iprobenfos and tebuconazole. It has shown the potential that the RICEWQ is possible to predict residue level in water of butachlor and iprobenfos, because the maximum value in water monitoring data is lower than the peak concentration of the model, and the minimum value is lower than the average annual concentration of the model. But RICEWQ was insufficient to predict exposure concentrations in ground water. The estimated exposure concentrations of carbofuran in ground water is very higher than in surface water because of its low soil adsorption coefficient. Although tebuconazole were not detected in the water monitoring that means very low concentration, it is possible that the PA5 can be used to predict residue level in water.

• 대한예방의학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2005.10a
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• pp.65-77
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• 2005

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.22-28
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• 2011

This study aimed to determine the feasibility of survey questionnaires for pesticide poisoning. We conducted a pilot study to develop a questionnaire for evaluating pesticide poisoning symptoms and to examine the validity of self-reported information for individual pesticides used. In December 2010 we interviewed 20 farmers with self-reported pesticide poisoning histories residing in Gyeonggi Province. For validity of pesticide information, the purchased pesticide lists from the agricultural cooperative federation were compared with individual self-reported pesticides used. Neurological symptoms were the most common among clinical symptoms related to pesticide poisoning, followed by gastrointestinal, dermal and eye symptoms. Insecticides were the main causative pesticide class for poisoning. Twenty one major symptoms were selected for screening for acute pesticide poisoning in a field study based on the pilot results and literature reviews. Substantial under-reporting was found in data on self-reported individual pesticides used (9.2%), as well as low accuracy (36%) compared with their actual purchase lists. In this pilot study, we suggest the selected symptom lists may apply to a field survey of pesticide poisoning. However, the self-reported information on individual pesticides may not be valid and alternative methods need to be developed.