Dichlorvos (DDVP) Risk Characterization Document - California ...

Executive Summary
INTRODUCTION
This Risk Characterization Document for dichlorvos (DDVP) addresses potential human exposures
from its use in California. Oncogenic, genotoxic, and neurotoxic effects have been identified in animal
studies. DDVP is listed under California Proposition 65, the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic
Enforcement Act of 1986, as a chemical known to the State of California to cause cancer.
DDVP is an insecticide used for space spray treatment of food processing, handling, and storage
plants; feedlots; stockyards; corrals; holding pens; animal buildings; poultry houses; as well as
residential, commercial and institutional buildings. It is also used in flea collars for pets. The direct
food uses are on vegetables grown in greenhouses, on livestock, and processed food items to control
pests. Humans may be exposed to DDVP through inhalation, direct contact on the skin, and the diet.
THE RISK ASSESSMENT PROCESS
The risk assessment process consists of four aspects: hazard identification, dose response
assessment, exposure evaluation, and risk characterization.
Hazard identification entails review and evaluation of the toxicological properties of each pesticide.
The dose-response assessment then considers the toxicological properties and estimates the amount
which could potentially cause an adverse effect. The amount which will not result in an observable or
measurable effect is the no-observed-effect level, NOEL. A basic premise of toxicology is that at a
high enough dose, virtually all substances will cause some toxic manifestation. Chemicals are often
referred to as "dangerous" or "safe", as though these concepts were absolutes. In reality, these terms
describe chemicals which require low or high dosages, respectively, to cause toxic effects.
Toxicological activity is determined in a battery of experimental studies which define the types of toxic
effects which can be caused, and the exposure levels (doses) at which effects may be seen. State
and federal testing requirements mandate that substances be tested in laboratory animals at doses
high enough to produce toxic effects, even if such levels are many times higher than those to which
people might be exposed.
The exposure assessment includes an estimation of the potential exposure through the occupational,
residential, and dietary routes on an acute (one time) and chronic (long-term and lifetime) basis. The
levels of exposure are determined by the amount of pesticide residue in the air or on specific
commodities and processed foods, and the exposure rates by inhalation or ingestion.
The risk characterization integrates the toxic effects observed in the laboratory studies, conducted
with high dosages of pesticide, to potential human exposures to low dosages of pesticide residues in
the air and diet. The potential for possible non-cancer adverse health effects in human population
after acute and chronic exposures (long-term and lifetime) is generally expressed as the margin of
safety, which is the ratio of the dosage which produced no effects in laboratory studies to the
estimated exposure dosage. For cancer effects after potential lifetime exposures, the probability of
risk is calculated as the product of the cancer potency of the pesticide and the estimated exposure
dosage.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
DDVP is currently in Special Review, a process by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(USEPA) to determine the risk and benefit for the use of the pesticide. The major concerns are the
inhibition of cholinesterase (ChE) activity, cancer, and nerve damage effects observed in animal
studies. Cholinesterase is an essential enzyme in the body for the degradation of acetylcholine, a
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