CDC, 2019. Pesticide Exposures. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Accessed 25 October 2020.
" }, "editorialNote": { "en": [ "source:UNDRR HIPS" ] }, "scopeNote": { "en": [ "The term ‘pesticide’ is considered to embrace active ingredients in any form, irrespective of whether, or to what extent, they have been formulated for application. The term is usually associated with materials intended to kill or control pests (insecticides, fungicides, herbicides, etc.) (WHO and FAO, 2016). Fungicides are pesticides that kill or slow the growth of fungi and their spores. They can be used to control fungi that damage plants, including rusts, mildews and blights. They might also be used to control mould and mildew in other settings. Fungicides work in a variety of ways, but most of them damage fungal cell membranes or interfere with energy production within fungal cells (NPIC, 2019). Fungi are the primary cause of crop loss worldwide. Diseases are a common occurrence on plants, often having a significant economic impact on yield and quality, thus managing diseases is an essential component of production for most crops. Broadly, there are three main reasons that fungicides are used: (i) to control a disease during the establishment and development of a crop; (ii) to increase productivity of a crop and to reduce blemishes. Diseased food crops may produce less because their leaves, which are needed for photosynthesis, are affected by the disease; and (iii) to improve the storage life and quality of harvested plants and produce. Some of the greatest disease losses occur post-harvest (APS, no date). As an example, banana and plantain (Musa spp.) are grown throughout the tropical and subtropical regions of the world. They are a key staple food in many developing countries and a source of income for subsistence farmers. Banana and plantain are attacked by different pathogens that affect plant development, cause yield losses and reduce fruit quality. From an economic point of view, banana and plantain leaf spots caused by Mycosphaerella fijiensis Morelet (black Sigatoka/black leaf streak) and by M. musicola Leach ex Mulder (yellow Sigatoka), can be considered the two most serious diseases of Musa spp. Fungicides (as a xenobiotic) help to reduce the impact but fungal resistance to fungicide usage is now being recognised (FAO, 2013). People may be exposed to fungicides by breathing in, eating, or drinking the product, or by touching plants or surfaces that have recently been treated (CDC, 2019). A recent peer-reviewed paper summarised toxicologically harmful fungicides (Lopez and Sudakin, 2017). A summary of these compounds and some of the chemical incidents associated with the use of these fungicides follows. Organomercury compounds (methylmercury, phenylmercuric acetate) are a class of fungicide formulated as dusts and aqueous solutions that are used primarily as seed protectants. Although their use has been banned or greatly restricted in many countries, they are of historical importance owing to their severe toxicity in humans. Lopez and Sudakin (2017) reported that a poisoning epidemic in rural Iraq in 1971 was the result of people ingesting bread prepared from wheat treated with methylmercury – acting as a fungicide. The outbreak resulted in 50,000 exposures and at least 439 deaths. Chlorinated phenols, particularly pentachlorophenol, continue to have wide industrial application as fungicides and wood preservatives. There have been several historical accounts of acute poisoning caused by pentachlorophenol exposures. Lopez and Sudakin (2017) reported that in 1967, a cluster of cases of critical illness in a newborn nursery occurred through the misuse of sodium pentachlorophenate as an anti-mildew agent in the hospital laundry; nine poisoning cases and two fatalities were reported. Substituted benzenes including hexachlorobenzene. Lopez and Sudakin (2017) reported that although the acute toxicity from ingestion or inhalation exposure is low with hexachlorobenzene, the systemic effects from chronic exposure are well documented. They reported that an epidemic of 5000 cases of porphyria cutanea tarda was described in Turkey between 1955 and 1959, where the cause was traced to the consumption of wheat treated with a seed protectant containing 10% hexachlorobenzene. Dithiocarbamates (metam sodium, thiram, ethylene bisdithiocarbamate compounds). As a class of general- and restricted-use fungicides, the dithiocarbamates are available in a variety of formulations, including water suspensions, wettable powders, and dusts. They have many agricultural applications, including the protection of seedlings, turf, vegetables, fruits, and ornamentals from fungal growth. Compared with the known toxicity of several of the classes of fungicides described above, dithiocarbamates have considerably lower acute toxicity due to their rapid metabolism and lack of persistence in mammalian systems but have the potential to cause acute illness. Of note was the report of the clean-up of an accidental metam sodium spill into the Sacramento River where workers developed erythema, rash, itching, and scaling of the lower extremities (the areas that had come into contact with contaminated water). The same chemical spill resulted in the emergency triage of 360 individuals, most of whom had mild irritant upper airway symptoms that did not require hospitalisation. A follow-up study of adults living within 0.5 miles of the site of the accident identified 20 cases of persistent irritant-induced asthma and 10 cases of persistent asthma exacerbations (Lopez and Sudakin, 2017). Copper compounds (copper sulphate). Several copper compounds are available as fungicides for commercial use. Intentional and accidental ingestion of copper compounds has historically been a common cause of morbidity and mortality (Lopez and Sudakin, 2017). Organotin compounds are formulated as wettable and flowable powders and used throughout the world as fungicides in a variety of agricultural and industrial settings. Tributyltin oxide had been registered for use as an anti-mildew control agent in interior and exterior paints, but is now severely restricted in many countries due to its potent irritant properties. Tributyltin oxide continues to be used as an antifouling agent in marine paints, due to its ability to prevent the growth of barnacles, algae, and marine organisms (Lopez and Sudakin, 2017)." ] }, "broader": { "id": "http://connectivity-hub.com/terms/a1c15a20-5f0d-4c48-8b80-153d266a6752", "prefLabel": { "en": "Pesticides" } }, "inScheme": [ { "id": "http://connectivity-hub.com/terms/", "title": { "en": "Climate Connectivity Taxonomy" } } ], "inSchemeAll": [ { "id": "http://connectivity-hub.com/terms/" } ], "@context": { "@version": 1.1, "id": "@id", "type": "@type", "@vocab": "http://www.w3.org/2004/02/skos/core#", "xsd": "http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#", "dct": "http://purl.org/dc/terms/", "dc": "http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/", "schema": "https://schema.org/", "vann": "http://purl.org/vocab/vann/", "ldp": "http://www.w3.org/ns/ldp#", "owl": "http://www.w3.org/2002/07/owl#", "title": { "@id": "dct:title", "@container": "@language" }, "dc:title": { "@id": "dc:title", "@container": "@language" }, "dc:description": { "@id": "dc:description", "@container": "@language" }, "description": { "@id": "dct:description", "@container": "@language" }, "license": { "@id": "dct:license", "@container": "@language" }, "issued": { "@id": "dct:issued", "@type": "xsd:date" }, "created": { "@id": "dct:created", "@type": "xsd:date" }, "modified": { "@id": "dct:modified", "@type": "xsd:date" }, "creator": "dct:creator", "publisher": "dct:publisher", "preferredNamespacePrefix": "vann:preferredNamespacePrefix", "preferredNamespaceUri": "vann:preferredNamespaceUri", "isBasedOn": "schema:isBasedOn", "source": "dct:source", "prefLabel": { "@container": "@language" }, "altLabel": { "@container": [ "@language", "@set" ] }, "hiddenLabel": { "@container": [ "@language", "@set" ] }, "definition": { "@container": "@language" }, "note": { "@container": [ "@language", "@set" ] }, "changeNote": { "@container": [ "@language", "@set" ] }, "editorialNote": { "@container": [ "@language", "@set" ] }, "historyNote": { "@container": [ "@language", "@set" ] }, "scopeNote": { "@container": [ "@language", "@set" ] }, "notation": { "@container": "@set" }, "example": { "@container": "@language" }, "narrower": { "@container": "@set" }, "related": { "@container": "@set" }, "relatedMatch": { "@container": "@set" }, "narrowerTransitive": { "@container": "@set" }, "broaderTransitive": { "@container": "@set" }, "broadMatch": { "@container": "@set" }, "narrowMatch": { "@container": "@set" }, "closeMatch": { "@container": "@set" }, "exactMatch": { "@container": "@set" }, "hasTopConcept": { "@container": "@set" }, "inScheme": { "@container": "@set" }, "topConceptOf": { "@container": "@set" }, "deprecated": { "@id": "owl:deprecated", "@type": "xsd:boolean" }, "isReplacedBy": { "@id": "dct:isReplacedBy", "@container": "@set" } } }