Publication details
Current implications of past DDT indoor spraying in Oman
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2016 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | Science of the Total Environment |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Web | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969715312018 |
| Doi | http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.12.044 |
| Field | Environment influence on health |
| Keywords | DDT; Residual indoor spraying; Human risk assessment; Cancer risk; Region-specific half-life |
| Description | In Oman, DDT was sprayed indoors during an intensive malaria eradication program between 1976 and 1992. DDT can remain for years after spraying and is associated with potential health risk. This raises the concern for human exposure in areas where DDT was used for indoor spraying. Twelve houses in three regions with a different history of DDT indoor spraying were chosen for a sampling campaign in 2005 to determine p,p'dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (p,p'-DDT), p,p'-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (p,p'-DDT) and p,p'dichlorodiphenyldichloroethane (p,p'-DDD) levels in indoor air, dust, and outdoor soil. Although DDT was only sprayed indoor, p,p'-DDT, p,p'-DDE and p,p'-DDD were also found in outdoor soil The results indicate that release and exposure continue for years after cessation of spraying. The predicted cancer risk based on concentrations determined in 2005, indicate that there was still a significant cancer risk up to 13 to 16 years after indoor DDT spraying. A novel approach, based on region-specific half-lives, was used to predict concentrations in 2015 and showed that more than 21 years after spraying, cancer risk for exposure to indoor air, dust, and outdoor soil are acceptable in Oman for adults and young children. The model can be used for other locations and countries to predict prospective exposure of contaminants based on indoor experimental measurements and knowledge about the spraying time-schedule to extrapolate region-specific half-lives and predict effects on the human population years after spraying. The measurement was done in the framework of contract research (contract No. SSFA/2013/11) and the publication was supported by Ministry of Education of the Czech Republic (LM2011028 and LO1214) and the Czech Science Foundation (GACR grant no. 14-27941S). |