Urinary dialkyl phosphate levels before and after first season chlorpyrifos spraying amongst farm workers in the Western Cape, South Africa.

The study investigated urinary levels of dialkyl phosphates resulting from pesticide exposure amongst 40 farm workers. Workers were tested (urinary dialkyl phosphate levels, anthropometry, short exposure questionnaire) before and after the first day of seasonal chlorpyrifos spraying. Median baseline urinary dialkyl phosphates was high amongst both non-applicators (1587.

A trace metal survey of non-occupationally exposed Gauteng residents.

Specific reference values for background levels of body burden of trace metals are not available for South Africa. Currently, laboratories measuring trace metal levels in workers use internationaly established values for comparison. A preliminary cross-sectional survey of 107 non-occupationally exposed volunteers of both genders and all races provided blood and urine samples.

Examining the association between blood manganese and lead levels in schoolchildren in four selected regions of South Africa.

This study assessed the possibility of relationship between manganese and lead levels in blood in schoolchildren residing in different geographical regions of South Africa. A cross-sectional survey was carried out in schools of three cities: Cape Town (11 schools), Johannesburg (10 schools), Kimberley (six schools) and in the Northern Cape in three rural sites (four schools). A total of 1282 venous blood samples were collected from grade one children.

Reductions in blood lead levels among school children following the introduction of unleaded petrol in South Africa.

Epidemiological studies have indicated that in the 1980s and early 1990s (a period in which petrol lead concentrations in South Africa ranged from 0.836 to 0.4 g/L), large proportions of urban South African children were at risk of excessive exposure to environmental lead.