Immune effects and exposure to ethylenebisdithiocarbamate pesticides in re-entry workers in the Netherlands.

Ethylenebisdithiocarbamates are widely used as fungicides in agriculture. Although EBDC's have a low acute toxicity, they are suspected to have immune effects at low doses. However, little human studies on these effects have been published. In the Netherlands, a study was conducted among pesticide exposed workers aimed at evaluating the short-term and long-term immune effects of exposure and the relation between ethylenebisdithiocarbamate and immune effects. Forty-one re-entry workers and 40 nonexposed controls were medically examined; furthermore, immune parameters were determined in blood, and all participants filled in a questionnaire regarding exposure and outcome parameters. The level of ethylenethiourea in urine was determined as indicator of exposure. No relevant adverse immune effects were found in the pesticide exposed workers compared with the nonexposed controls. Also no exposure response relationship between immune effects and ethylenebisdithiocarbamate in urine was found. This finding might be due to very low exposure levels of the re-entry work but might also be due to a lack of immunotoxicity of ethylenebisdithiocarbamate at normal exposure levels.

Mortality Patterns among Commercial Painters in The Netherlands.

In an epidemiologic study, the mortality patterns of commercial painters in The Netherlands were investigated. The hypothesis that painters are at an increased risk of cancer, especially lung cancer, was tested in collaboration with the Dutch Social Fund for painters. This fund manages the pensions of Dutch painters. In the group of painters eligible for pensions, 9,812 deaths were observed between 1980 and 1992. Proportionate mortality ratios were calculated. The results support previous findings of an increased risk of lung cancer in painters. Although no statement can be made about the actual causal agent, the authors believe that the sanding down of old paint layers may expose painters to particulates that contain carcinogens such as lead chromates and asbestos. The decreased risks of mortality from some neoplasms and circulatory and digestive problems, pneumoconiosis, and "other causes" observed in the painters lack a plausible explanation. Chance or the known limitation of proportionate mortality ratio analysis might play a role.