Hair analysis to document non-fatal pesticide intoxication cases

We reported two non-fatal cases of intoxication with pesticides namely alachlor and carbofuran. Hair stand samples were collected from two men approximately 1 year after alachlor intoxication for case 1, and 14 days after the last exposure for case 2. Hair analysis was performed using a liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method. In case 1, alachlor was detected in the 5 analysed hair segments (concentrations between 12 and 136 pg/mg) and its metabolites were not detected. In case 2, carbofuran and its main metabolite (3-hydroxycarbofuran) were detected in the hair strand (global analysis) at the concentrations of 207 and 164 pg/mg, respectively. However, additional data are required in order to interpret such results. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.