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Determination of chlorinated insecticides in blood samples of agricultural workers
M G Rosell1, J Obiols, M J Berenguer
1Instituto Nacional de Seguridad e Higiene en el Trabajo, Centro Nacional de Condiciones de Trabajo, Barcelona, Spain.
Abstract:
Lindane, aldrin and p,p'-DDT were determined in blood samples from 71 farmers by means of an analytical method which combines a direct whole-blood extraction with n-hexane and gas chromatography (GC)-electron-capture detection (ECD), using a capillary column, applied to the organic extract. This technique allowed the determination of pesticides at levels varying from 0.1 to 180 micrograms per l of blood, the detection limit for every pesticide being 0.1 microgram/l. GC-mass spectrometry was used to confirm the identity of each pesticide. The advantage of capillary column GC-ECD for pesticide determination is its sensitivity and high resolution, which makes it possible to separate pesticides from a complex n-hexane extract obtained in a very simple pretreatment of the blood sample, which is itself a very complex matrix.