Ad. Lieberman et al., GENOTOXICITY FROM DOMESTIC USE OF ORGANOPHOSPHATE PESTICIDES, Journal of occupational and environmental medicine, 40(11), 1998, pp. 954-957
This report describes the types of chromosome damage in peripheral blo
od found in patients exposed to domestic application of organophosphat
e pesticides. These changes serve as a biomarker of cumulative toxic e
xposure. Susceptible individuals show DNA damage as chromosome alterat
ions. The importance of these findings is that the apparent genotoxic
changes occurred from domestic application of two of the commonly used
organophosphate pesticides in America and adds one more adverse poten
tial effect from these hazardous chemicals, Peripheral blood from eigh
t patients exposed to the domestic spraying of organo-phosphate pestic
ides was cultured and the chromosomes photographed. The types of chrom
osome alterations seen included chromatid and chromosome breaks, singl
e and double minutes, dicentrics, rings, translocations, exchanges (in
cluding sister chromatid), and endoreduplications. Our findings suppor
t previous findings that organophosphate pesticides have genotoxic eff
ects even at domestically sprayed levels.