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"With her easy going and approachable manner, Laura makes an invaluable contribution to any team working with occupational health issues. Her deep knowledge together with her broad experience is an asset in any toxicological or OSHA project." Anders Silfverstrand,Manager Chemical Health Risks, SCA
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Pesticides
A pesticide is designed specifically to repel or destroy organisms that are considered to be harmful. Examples include ant powder and slug pellets.
Pesticides are designed to be biologically active and as such have the potential to cause harm should the exposure be too high.
Common classes of pesticides include organophosphates, organochlorines and carbamates, all of which are neurotoxic.
Organophosphates are chemically known as phosphoric acid esters and act by inhibiting the enzyme acetylcholinesterase. This causes an accumulation of acetylcholine and the symptoms that manifest are as a result of its effect on the nervous system. Due to their toxicity, organophosphates have been responsible for a large number of poisonings to humans. Examples include dichlorvos, parathion and chlorpyrifos.
Exposure to organochlorines causes disruption to the sodium channel of the nerve fibre resulting in prolonged transmission of the nerve impulse. Concern over bioaccumulation and persistence has led to this type of pesticide being phased out. The most well known example of an organochlorine is DDT.
Carbamates are esters of carbamic acid and also act in a similar manner to organophosphates. Examples include fenobucarb and aldicarb.
See also: Herbs can be natural pesticides, “Common herbs and spices show promise as an environmentally-friendly alternative to conventional pesticides, scientists have told a major US conference “ A report from the BBC website posted on 17th August 2009
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/8206045.stm
