Abstract
The urinary levels of both dimethyl phosphate and dimethyl thiophosphate, which are the metabolites of organophosphorus pesticides, were investigated. The samples were obtained from four healthy subjects, every 5 or 7 daysover a period of 8 months. They are rural inhabitants and do not spray agricultural chemicals themselves. Both of the metabolites were always detected from all samples of these subjects, and their levels were elevated sporadically regardless of whether the samples were obtained during the farming season or not.
These results suggest that people who live in rural areas are always at risk of being exposed to pesticides in and out of season and that thepesticides or their metabolites remaine in bodies over a long period.
