THE POTENTIAL UTILITY OF ANIMAL POISONING DATA TO IDENTIFY HUMAN EXPOSURE TO ENVIRONMENTAL TOXINS

The database of the National Animal Poison Control Center (NAPCC) was evaluated as a source for animal poison data indicating human health h azards in indoor and outdoor environments. From 14,150 calls in the 19 85 database, 259 cases were identified with histories suggesting human exposure. A subgroup of 25 cases with known human exposure was found. Dogs were the most common sentinel animal, but bird cases represented the highest proportional selection from the total 1985 call list. Ind oor exposures represented 43.2% of cases; the most common toxicants we re insecticides, lead and toxic fumes. Exposures associated with lawns were mainly due to insecticides and herbicides and constituted 25.5% of cases. Other outdoor exposures composed the remaining 31.7% of case s, with insecticides, herbicides and unidentified toxins the leading c ategories. Many of the specific agents identified, such as organophosp hate insecticides, lead, gas and fume toxins, and phenoxy herbicides a re also risk factors in human diseases. This study indicates that data bases such as NAPCC could serve as sources of sentinel animal intoxica tions for followup studies to evaluate known and potential human healt h hazards.