Risk Assessment of Organophosphorus Pesticide Dietary Intake for the Population of the City of Rome (Italy)

Investigations on dietary intake of pesticide residues are particularly recommended by WHO (World Health Organization) in order to assess potential health risks from dietary exposure to pesticides. In Italy the oldest systematic studies regarded chlorinated pesticides and were carried out since 1970 (, Del Vecchio et ai. 1973a, Del Vecchio et al. 1973b, Del Vecchio and Leoni 1973, Leoni and D'Arca 1978, Leoni et ai. 1989). As the increase of the amount of organophosphorous insecticides used in agriculture in the last years and the scarcity of data about organophosphorou s dietary intake, the Italian Ministry of Health decided to sponsorize an investigation for the risk assessment of the organophosphorous pesticide dietary intake for the general Italian population. The work started in 1990, involving four Italian scientific structures operating in the North (Piacenza), in the Centre (Rome) and in the South (Naples and Catania). This paper describes the results of the monitoring program carried out in the area of Rome. Some preliminary results have been previously published (Amodio Cocchieri et al. 1993). The investigation consisted in the collection of a significant number of the relevant raw commodities, representative of the average diet for the general population and the determination of 30 selected organophosphorous insecticide residues levels in food. The Estimated Daily Intake (EDI) was calculated by multipling the average residue level in each food for the amount of the average consumption of that food and summing the intakes from all commodities positive for the residue of the pesticide concerned. Then EDI was compared with the Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) to assessing the risk connected with the organophosphorous residue dietary intake. MATERIALS AND METHODS The organophosphorous insecticides were selected on the basis of the most used products in Italy: acephate, azinphos-ethyl and azinphosmethyl, bromophos, chlorfenvinphos E and chiorfenvinphos Z, chlorpiriphos and chlorpiriphos-me thyl, demeton, demeton-O and demeton-S-methyl -sulphone, diazinon, dimethoate, ethion, fenitrothion, heptenophos, malathion and malaoxon, methamidophos, methidathion, monocrotophos, omethoate, parathion and paraoxon,