Investigations into the chemistry, toxicology, mode of action and photochemical formation of some delayed toxic sulfur-containing organophosphorus triesters

Thesis/Dissertation · Thu Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1987

OSTI ID:6955807

Chukwudebe, A C

Examination of a limited series of O,S,S-trialkyl phosphorodithionates revealed that very minor changes in the alkyl substituents resulted in wide changes in toxicity. However, alkaline hydrolysis rate constants did not vary significantly with changes in alkyl substituents. O,S,S-trimethyl phosphorodithioate was several fold more reactive, and more toxic to the rat, than its corresponding phosphorothioate analogue, O,O,S-trimethyl phosphorothioate. The toxicological feasibility of sulfoxidation was examined further by the peracide oxidation of O-ethyl-S-/sup 13/C-methyl ethyl-phosphonothiate (I) using /sup 13/C-NMR as the monitoring tool. Several lines of evidence pointed to the formation of the sulfoxide of I. The photochemical formation of the delayed toxicants from methyl parathion, fenthion, methidathion, azinphosmethyl, malathion, temephos, chlorpyrifos-methyl, chlorpyrifos-ethyl and diazinon in measurable amounts, suggested that they might be of some toxicological significance in the environment. This photoalteration had a strong link with the numerical closeness between the spectral emissivity of the light sources and the UV lambda max of the irradiated phosphorothioate insecticide as well as the magnitude of the latter's a/sub M/ values. The levels of the delayed toxicants produced following irradiations are not expect to pose acute toxic hazards to field workers dealing routinely with agricultural chemicals.

• Research Organization: California Univ., Riverside (USA)
• OSTI ID: 6955807
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

550601* -- Medicine-- Unsealed Radionuclides in Diagnostics
560300 -- Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology
62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE
63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
ANIMALS
ARTHROPODS
CARBON 13
CARBON ISOTOPES
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
CHEMISTRY
DIPTERA
ESTERS
EVEN-ODD NUCLEI
FLIES
INSECTICIDES
INSECTS
INVERTEBRATES
ISOTOPES
LIGHT NUCLEI
MAGNETIC RESONANCE
MAMMALS
NUCLEAR MAGNETIC RESONANCE
NUCLEI
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC NITROGEN COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC PHOSPHORUS COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC SULFUR COMPOUNDS
OXIDATION
PARATHION
PESTICIDES
PHOTOCHEMISTRY
RATS
RESONANCE
RODENTS
STABLE ISOTOPES
THIOPHOSPHORIC ACID ESTERS
TOXICITY
VERTEBRATES