EXPOSURE OF NONMIGRATORY PIGEONS TO MANCOZEB - A SENTINEL MODEL FOR HUMANS

The use of pesticides in agriculture has increased over the last decad e. Their widespread, often uncontrolled use causes thousands of people to be daily exposed to environmental agricultural chemicals, resultin g in acute and chronic health effects. At present there is a paucity o f data on the potential adverse effects of exposure to low levels of m ancozeb for prolonged periods. In order to investigate the effects of mancozeb exposure on pulmonary wildlife populations, tracheas and lung s of nine 1- to 7-yr-old nonmigratory pigeons raised near peach orchar ds and vineyards repeatedly sprayed with the fungicide were examined. The experimental situation allowed us to evaluate the long-term natura l toxicity of mancozeb as a sentinel for human populations occupationa lly exposed to fungicides. The use of nonmigratory pigeons may serve a s an important biological source from which helpful data may be obtain ed for assessing risks to human health and gaining new insight into pa thogenetic mechanisms.