Environmental Health Criteria 145 Methyl parathion Please note that the layout and pagination of this web version are not identical with the printed version. Methyl parathion (EHC 145, 1992) INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMME ON CHEMICAL SAFETY ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH CRITERIA 145 METHYL PARATHION This report contains the collective views of an international group of experts and does not necessarily represent the decisions or the stated policy of the United Nations Environment Programme, the International Labour Organisation, or the World Health Organization. Published under the joint sponsorship of the United Nations Environment Programme, the International Labour Organisation, and the World Health Organization First draft prepared by Dr R.F. Hertel and co-workers, Fraunhofer Institute of Toxicology and Aerosol Research, Hanover, Germany World Health Orgnization Geneva, 1993 The International Programme on Chemical Safety (IPCS) is a joint venture of the United Nations Environment Programme, the International Labour Organisation, and the World Health Organization. The main objective of the IPCS is to carry out and disseminate evaluations of the effects of chemicals on human health and the quality of the environment. Supporting activities include the development of epidemiological, experimental laboratory, and risk-assessment methods that could produce internationally comparable results, and the development of manpower in the field of toxicology. Other activities carried out by the IPCS include the development of know-how for coping with chemical accidents, coordination of laboratory testing and epidemiological studies, and promotion of research on the mechanisms of the biological action of chemicals. WHO Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Methyl parathion. (Environmental health criteria ; 145) Page 1 of 163 Methyl parathion (EHC 145, 1992) 1.Environmental exposure 2.Methyl parathion - adverse effects 3.Methyl parathion - poisoning 4.Methyl parathion - toxicity I.Series ISBN 92 4 157145 4 (NLM Classification: WA 240) ISSN 0250-863X The World Health Organization welcomes requests for permission to reproduce or translate its publications, in part or in full. Applications and enquiries should be addressed to the Office of Publications, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland, which will be glad to provide the latest information on any changes made to the text, plans for new editions, and reprints and translations already available. (c) World Health Organization 1993 Publications of the World Health Organization enjoy copyright protection in accordance with the provisions of Protocol 2 of the Universal Copyright Convention. All rights reserved. The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the World Health Organization concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The mention of specific companies or of certain manufacturers' products does not imply that they are endorsed or recommended by the World Health Organization in preference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned. Errors and omissions excepted, the names of proprietary products are distinguished by initial capital letters. CONTENTS ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH CRITERIA FOR METHYL PARATHION 1. SUMMARY AND EVALUATION, CONCLUSIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS 1.1. Summary and evaluation 1.1.1. Exposure 1.1.2. Uptake, metabolism, and excretion 1.1.3. Effects on organisms in the environment 1.1.4. Effects on experimental animals and in vitro test systems 1.1.5. Effects on human beings 1.2. Conclusions 1.3. Recommendations 2. IDENTITY, PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL PROPERTIES, ANALYTICAL METHODS 2.1. Identity 2.1.1. Primary constituent 2.1.2. Technical product 2.1.2.1. Purity 2.2. Physical and chemical properties 2.3. Conversion factors 2.4. Analytical methods Page 2 of 163 Methyl parathion (EHC 145, 1992) 2.4.1. Sampling, extraction, clean-up 2.4.1.1 Plant material (tobacco, fruits, vegetables, crops with low oil (fat) content) 2.4.1.2 Dairy products, products with a high fat content (edible fats) 2.4.1.3 Blood, body fluids 2.4.1.4 Soil, sediments 2.4.1.5 Water 2.4.1.6 Air 2.4.1.7 Formulations 2.4.2. Instrumental analytical methods 2.4.2.1 Gas chromatography 2.4.2.2 High performance liquid chroma- tography (HPLC) 2.4.2.3 Thin layer chroma- tography (TLC) 2.4.2.4 Spectrophotometry 2.4.2.5 Polarography 2.4.2.6 Mass spectrometry 2.4.3. Detection limits 2.4.4. Confirmatory method 3. SOURCES OF HUMAN AND ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURE 3.1. Natural occurrence 3.2. Man-made sources 3.2.1. Production process 3.2.2. Loss into the environment 3.2.3. Production 3.2.4. World consumption 3.2.5. Formulations 3.3. Uses 4. ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSPORTATION, DISTRIBUTION, AND TRANSFORMATION 4.1. Transportation and distribution between media 4.1.1. Air 4.1.2. Water 4.1.3. Soil 4.1.4. Vegetation and wildlife 4.1.5. Entry into the food-chain 4.2. Biotransformation 4.2.1. Degradation involving biota 4.2.2. Abiotic degradation 4.2.2.1 Photodegradation 4.2.2.2 Hydrolytic degradation 4.2.3. Bioaccumulation 4.3. Interaction with other physical, chemical, and biological factors 4.4. Ultimate fate following use 5. ENVIRONMENTAL LEVELS AND HUMAN EXPOSURE 5.1. Environmental levels 5.1.1. Air 5.1.2. Water 5.1.3. Soil 5.1.4. Food 5.1.5. Terrestrial and aquatic organisms 5.2. General population exposure 5.3. Occupational exposure during manufacture, formulation, or use Page 3 of 163 Methyl parathion (EHC 145, 1992) 6. KINETICS AND METABOLISM 6.1. Absorption 6.2. Distribution 6.3. Metabolic transformation 6.4. Elimination and excretion in expired air, faeces, or urine 6.5. Retention and turnover 7. EFFECTS ON ORGANISMS IN THE ENVIRONMENT 7.1. Microorganisms 7.1.1. Bacteria and fungi 7.1.2. Algae 7.2. Aquatic animals 7.2.1. Short-term toxicity in aquatic invertebrates 7.2.1.1 Laboratory studies on single species 7.2.1.2 Mesocosmic studies 7.2.2. Fish 7.2.2.1 Laboratory studies on single species 7.2.2.2 Mesocosmic studies 7.2.3. Amphibians 7.3. Terrestrial organisms 7.3.1. Plants 7.3.2. Invertebrates 7.3.3. Birds 7.3.4. Non-laboratory mammmals 8. EFFECTS ON EXPERIMENTAL ANIMALS AND IN VITRO TEST SYSTEMS 8.1. Single exposure 8.2. Skin and eye irritation, sensitization 8.3. Short-term exposures 8.4. Long-term exposures 8.5. Reproduction, embryotoxicity, and teratogenicity 8.6. Mutagenicity related end-points 8.7. Carcinogenicity 8.8. Special studies 8.9. Factors toxicity 8.10. Mode of action 8.10.1. Inhibition of esterases 8.10.2. Possible alkylation of biological macromolecules 8.10.3. General 9. EFFECTS ON MAN 9.1. General population exposure 9.1.1. Acute toxicity 9.1.2. Effects of short- and long-term exposure, controlled human studies 9.2. Occupational exposure 9.2.1. Epidemiological studies 10. PREVIOUS EVALUATIONS BY INTERNATIONAL BODIES REFERENCES ANNEX I Page 4 of 163 Methyl parathion (EHC 145, 1992) RESUME RESUMEN WHO TASK GROUP ON ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH CRITERIA FOR METHYL PARATHION Members Dr L.A. Albert, Consultores Ambientales Asociados, S.C., Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico (Vice-Chairman) Dr S. Dobson, Ecotoxicology and Pollution Section, Institute of Terrestrial Ecology, Monks Wood Experimental Station, Abbots Ripton, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom Dr D.J. Ecobichon, Pharmacology and Therapeutics, McGill University, Montreal, Canada (Chairman) Dr R.F. Hertel, Fraunhofer Institute of Toxicology & Aerosol Research, Hanover, Germany (Co-rapporteur) Dr S.K. Kashyap, National Institute of Occupational Health, Meghaninagar, Ahmedabad, India Dr I. Nordgren, Department of Toxicology, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden Dr K.C. Swentzel, Toxicology Branch II, Health Effects Division, US Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, USA (Co-rapporteur) Dr M. Tasheva, Department of Toxicology, Institute of Hygiene and Occupational Health, Medical Academy, Sofia, Bulgaria Dr L. Varnagy, Department of Agrochemical Hygiene, University of Agricultural Sciences, Institute for Plant Protection, Keszthely, Hungary Observers Dr W. Flucke, Bayer AG, Fachbereich Toxikologie, Institut für Toxikologie Landwirtschaft, Wuppertal, Germany Secretariat Dr K.W. Jager, International Programme on Chemical Safety, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland (Secretary) Dr E. Matos, Unit of Carcinogen Identification and Evaluation, International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), Lyon, France NOTE TO READERS OF THE CRITERIA MONOGRAPHS Every effort has been made to present information in the criteria monographs as accurately as possible without unduly delaying their publication. In the interest of all users of the environmental health criteria monographs, readers are kindly requested to communicate any errors that may have occurred to the Page 5 of 163 Methyl parathion (EHC 145, 1992) Director of the International Programme on Chemical Safety, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland, in order that they may be included in corrigenda. * * * A detailed data profile and a legal file can be obtained from the International Register of Potentially Toxic Chemicals, Palais des Nations, 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland (Telephone No. 7988400 - 7985850). NOTE: The proprietary information contained in this monograph cannot replace documentation for registration purposes, because the latter has to be closely linked to the source, the manufacturing route, and the purity/impurities of the substance to be registered. The data should be used in accordance with paragraphs 82-84 and recommendations paragraph 90 of the Second FAO Government Consultation (1982). ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH CRITERIA FOR METHYL PARATHION A WHO Task Group on Environmental Health Criteria for Methyl Parathion met at the World Health Organization, Geneva from 19 to 23 August 1991. Dr K.W. Jager, IPCS, welcomed the participants on behalf of Dr M. Mercier, Director of the IPCS, and the three IPCS cooperating organizations (UNEP/ILO/WHO). The Group reviewed and revised the draft and made an evaluation of the risks for human health and the environment from exposure to methyl parathion.