Abstract
Methyl bromide (MB) is a fumigant that has been widely used for killing pests on plants in trade, soils, and structures worldwide due to its excellent permeability and insecticidal effect; however, MB should be replaced because it is an ozone-depleting substance. It is well-known that MB is highly toxic and hazardous to workers, but the effects of exposure in asymptomatic workers have not been explored. The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of MB fumigation on the health of fumigators at a sensitive level. The electroencephalogram (EEG) and urinary bromide ion levels of 44 fumigators (the study group) and 20 inspectors (the control) were measured before and after fumigation work from February to August 2019 in Busan, Korea. The mean post-work concentration of bromide ion (18.311 μg/mg CRE) in the fumigators was significantly increased from the pre-work level (7.390 μg/mg CRE) (P<0.001). The fumigator post-work median frequencies (MDF) and alpha-to-theta ratios (ATR) of EEG index were significantly decreased compared to the pre-work values (P<0.05 for all indices). In contrast, there were no significant differences in inspector EEG indices and urinary bromide ion. The urinary bromide ion levels in all the subjects were negatively correlated with MDF (P = 0.032). In conclusion, fumigators’ EEG indices and urinary bromide ion suggested that occupational exposure to MB negatively affected the health of workers, although the workers were asymptomatic.
Highlights
Methyl bromide (MB) has been applied worldwide for quarantine treatment for plants in trade and to control structural pests in buildings since its efficacy was first reported in 1930 [1,2,3]
In 1992, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) listed MB as an ozonedepleting substance under the Montreal Protocol and stated that developed countries should stop using MB by 2005, while developing countries should stop use by 2015; the parties anticipated that no alternatives to MB would arise during that timeframe that gave the same level of efficacy for the diverse range of treatments for which MB is used, and the use of MB for quarantine, pre-shipment (QPS) and Critical Use Exemption (CUE) purposes—for agricultural use where there are no technical or financial alternatives—were excluded from the phase-out programme established in the protocol [4,5]
Yamano et al [21] stated that the Br- concentrations, which were normalized by urinary creatinine, in the synthesis group of MB manufacturing facility, had median value of 13.0 μg/mg CRE and those of the filling group had a concentration of 11.9 μg/mg CRE
Summary
Methyl bromide (MB) has been applied worldwide for quarantine treatment for plants in trade and to control structural pests in buildings since its efficacy was first reported in 1930 [1,2,3]. It has been used widely as a soil fumigant for killing pathogens, nematodes and weeds. The reduction in MB use for QPS purposes is not expected at this time because there has been only a slight change from 10,825 in 2005 to 9,827 tons in 2013 for QPS purposes, while the amount of MB used in 2013 for soil fumigations was 2,882 tons, approximately 86% less than the 20,968 tons used in 2005 [6]
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