Dietary risk assessment of drinking water and fish from cultivated wetlands of Ndop

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study evaluated pesticide exposure practices, and the potential health risks of consuming drinking water and fish from the cultivated wetlands of Ndop, Cameroon. Six hundred and twenty-six questionnaires were conveniently administered to farmers (≥26 years old) in a cross-sectional study to assess exposure practices and dietary risks. The Chi-square and Pearson correlation coefficients were used to establish relationships between variables. The PRIMET model was used to predict a worst-case dietary risk. The exposure practices of 90% of farmers were inadequate. Chlorpyriphos, lambda-cyhalothrin, fipronil, and paraquat dichloride posed a possible dietary risk at recommended and applied doses, with chlorpyrifos having the highest exposure toxicity ratio (ETRdiet = 36.72). Paraquat dichloride, fipronil, and lambda-cyhalothrin posed a possible dietary risk at 26.3, 58.3, and 62.2% of their recommended concentrations, respectively. Remarkably, the dietary risk for cypermethrin was acceptable at 5.8 times its recommended dose (ETRdietR = 0.29). The significant positive correlation (p = 0.000) between PECfish and ETRdiet suggests a possible health risk of consuming fish and drinking water harvested from the wetlands, thus the urgent need of replacing pesticides posing possible risks at lower or recommended concentrations with less toxic alternatives and to train farmers on pesticide application practices.