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Pesticide
Residues In Blood Of Schoolchildren From Selected Schools In Peninsular
Malaysia
Dr.Mustafa Ali Mohd**, Melissa Chan Pui Ling*, Abdul
Rani Abdullah* and Siti Norazah Zulkifli***, *Department of Chemistry,
Faculty of Science, **Department of Pharmacology and ***Health Research
Development Unit, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala
Lumpur, Malaysia
Due predominantly to its persistent characteristic, organochlorine
(OC) and organophosphorus (OP) pesticide residues continue to be detected
in both the abiotic and biotic components of the Malaysian environment
despite the banned and restricted status of many of these chemicals.
Recently, the presence of these pesticide residues in the Malaysian
environment have raised concerns over potential adverse effects on
wildlife and human health not only due to the toxicity of the chemicals
but also most of these chemicals have been alleged and reported to
cause endocrine disruption. In addition, the use of OP chemicals,
though less persistent also contaminate the environment due to its
current and sometimes indiscriminate application. Hence, OC and OP
residues have been detected in water, sediment and biota including
foodstuff such as agricultural products and seafood.
The present paper is aimed at assessing the extent of exposure of
schoolchildren to pesticides from the environment and through dietary
intake. A total of 577 whole blood samples from schoolchildren in
Peninsular Malaysia were extracted and analysed for the residues of
11 OC and 2 OP pesticides by using established protocols. The results
of this monitoring survey revealed the following range of concentrations
of pesticide residues in blood (nanogram per gram): aldrin, nd-47.6;
dieldrin, nd; endrin, nd; alpha-endosulfan, nd-0.6; beta-endosulfan,
nd; endosulfan sulfate, nd; heptachlor, nd-3.8; lindane, nd-5.7; p,p�-DDT,
nd-3.4; o,p�-DDE, nd-1.4; p,p�-DDE, nd; chlorpyrifos, nd-10.3; diazinon,
nd-103.0. Most of the pesticides were not detected. However, the levels
of the detectable pesticides although low but many of them (except
alpha-endosulfan) exceeded the water quality criteria, raising a cause
for concern over the quality of water for domestic use. An attempt
is also made to correlate exposed individuals with potential sources
of the chemicals.
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