Rodenticide efficacy in sewers in São Paulo, Brazil.

Rodents infest urban environments, causing damage and acting as vectors for disease transmission. Currently, anticoagulants are the most widely used chemical rodenticides, and their extensive and widespread use can contaminate the environment. To ensure effectiveness and avoid accumulation of rodent baits in the environment, it is important to evaluate how long rodent baits maintain their palatability and efficacy.

Persistence of indoor permethrin and estimation of dermal and non-dietary exposure.

Pesticides applied indoors may persist longer than they would in outdoor environments, making people more vulnerable to the risk of exposure. Permethrin is a pyrethroid insecticide used in agricultural, residential, and public health sites, and is commonly detected in indoor environments. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the persistence of permethrin indoors and to estimate the levels of possible dermal and non-dietary exposure to this insecticide.

Pyrethroid concentrations and persistence following indoor application.

Residential indoor environments are potential sources of exposure to pyrethroids, which have low acute toxicity to humans but are allergenic and suspected endocrine disruptors. The present study evaluated the persistence of the pyrethroids cypermethrin and beta-cyfluthrin on indoor surfaces and in house dust. Cypermethrin and beta-cyfluthrin were applied and maintained on aluminum foils and in dust samples for 112 d under controlled conditions and for 12 mo in a test house; periodically, they were quantified by high-performance liquid chromatography.

Bioavailability and influence of ¹⁴C-carbofuran on Eisenia andrei avoidance, growth and reproduction in treated natural tropical soils.

The bioavailability of carbofuran to the compost worms Eisenia andrei and the influence of its residual amounts on the avoidance, reproduction and growth of this species were studied in two natural tropical soils: a Typic Humaquept (GM) and a Typic Hapludox (LVD), as indicated by the Brazilian environmental authorities for ecotoxicological tests. The worms avoided the soil LVD treated with different doses of carbofuran. The pesticide also affected the production of juvenile specimens in both soils, but cocoon production was reduced only in the GM soil.

Palatability and efficacy of bromadiolone rodenticide block bait previously exposed to environmental conditions.

Background: In São Paulo city, rodent infestation is considered to be a serious public health problem and is the object of a municipal rodent control programme. One of the most important routine methods involves baiting in sewers, using bromadiolone block bait in a pulsed baiting strategy. It has been observed that, after each pulse, bait is not always consumed, and its appearance is altered, which has led to concerns about efficacy.

[Evaluation of personal protective equipment used by malathion sprayers in dengue control in São Paulo, Brazil].

Malathion insecticide in vegetable oil is used to control Aedes aegypti and is applied by spraying, which requires the use of personal protective equipment (PPE). The current study assessed the capacity of PPE suits to retain malathion. The study monitored field spraying in São Paulo, Brazil.

Influence of substrate on bioaccumulation of 14C-paraquat in compost worms Eisenia foetida.

Contamination of soil with pesticides can be evaluated using toxicity tests with worms because their ecological niche makes them good bioindicators. Bioaccumulation in compost worms of [methyl-14C] paraquat (1,1'-dimethyl-4,4'-bipyridinium dichloride) was measured after three-month exposure in two substrates with differing physicochemical characteristics, in particular their organic matter and clay contents. The treatments were 1.

Influence of soil properties on bioaccumulation of 14C-simazine in earthworms Eisenia foetida.

The toxicity of pesticides has been evaluated by several methods including tests with earthworms in both artificial and natural soils treated with the compounds. The ecological niches of earthworms make them good bioindicators of soil contamination. The bioaccumulation of 14C-simazine (6-chloro-N2-N4-diethyl- 1,3,5-triazine-2,4-diamine) was evaluated in earthworms (Eisenia foetida) maintained during three months in two substrates with different physical-chemical characteristics.