Organophosphate pesticides are being tested on students

The Inveresk research laboratory near Edinburgh has recruited students and unemployed men to take doses of azinphos-methyl, a potent organophosphate pesticide, in order to determine the dose at which side effects are observed. Two other organophosphate pesticides, aldicarb and dichlorvos, have already been tested on students at Inveresk and at Manchester University.

Organophosphates are highly toxic chemicals. Their best recognised effects are due to phosphorylation and inhibition of acetylcholine esterase, which has an impact on cholinergic transmission throughout the nervous system. Symptoms …