Update of the Public Health Goal for Endrin
Under the Calderon-Sher California Safe Drinking Water Act of 1996, the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) develops public health goals (PHGs) for regulated chemicals in drinking water and reviews and updates the risk assessments every five years (Health and Safety Code Section 116365(e)(1). This memorandum represents an update of the literature review and evaluation for the existing PHG for endrin (OEHHA, 1999). Our re-evaluation supports the previous PHG derivation in 1999, and no new data would justify a significant change to the document.
Summary of review
The Public Health Goal (PHG) of 1.8 ppb for endrin was developed by OEHHA and published in December 1999. Endrin is an insecticide, rodenticide and avicide which has been banned from sale and distribution since 1986. Endrin also is relatively highly toxic to humans and experimental animals. The PHG is based on a No Observed Adverse Effect Level of 1.0 ppm of endrin administered in feed in a dog study with the critical effect being increased seizures and liver pathology. The PHG is essentially identical to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) of 2 ppb developed in 1991; the difference lies only in the rounding of the final value. The California MCL is also 2 ppb, established in September 1994. There were no detections of endrin in public drinking water supplies reported by the California Department of Public Health in recent analyses (1984-2001).
A few new studies were identified (see below). Most of these studies describe residual levels of endrin in sediments, fish, breast milk or adipose tissue. Other studies investigated effects in cell cultures or in in vitro bioassays. A few studies investigated possible mechanisms of action of endrin and other pesticides. No new studies were identified that provided new toxicity information that would be useful in revising the PHG for endrin. The study of Jolley and coworkers (1969) remains the study of choice as the basis for the PHG.
References
Alawi MA, Tamimi S, Jaghabir M (1999). Storage of organochlorine pesticides in human adipose tissues of Jordanian males and females. Chemosphere 38:2865-73.
Bagchi D, Bagchi M, Hassoun EA, Stohs SJ (1995). In vitro and in vivo generation of reactive oxygen species, DNA damage and lactate dehydrogenase leakage by selected pesticides. Toxicology 104:129-40.
Bagchi D, Bagchi M, Tang L, Stohs SJ (1997). Comparative in vitro and in vivo protein kinase C activation by selected pesticides and transition metal salts. Toxicol Lett 91:31-7.
Bagchi D, Balmoori J, Bagchi M, Ye X, Williams CB, Stohs SJ (2002). Comparative effects of TCDD, endrin, naphthalene and chromium (VI) on oxidative stress and tissue damage in the liver and brain tissues of mice. Toxicology 175:73-82.
Bagchi D, Balmoori J, Bagchi M, Ye X, Williams CB, Stohs SJ (2000). Role of p53 tumor suppressor gene in the toxicity of TCDD, endrin, naphthalene, and chromium (VI) in liver and brain tissues of mice. Free Radic Biol Med 28:895-903.
Botella B, Crespo J, Rivas A, Cerrillo I, Olea-Serrano MF, Olea N (2004). Exposure of women to organochlorine pesticides in Southern Spain. Environ Res 96:34-40.
Brock JW, Melnyk LJ, Caudill SP, Needham LL, Bond AE (1998). Serum levels of several organochlorine pesticides in farmers correspond with dietary exposure and local use history. Toxicol Indus Health 14:275-89.
Carreno J, Rivas A, Granada A, Jose Lopez-Espinosa M, Mariscal M, Olea N, Olea-Serrano F (2007). Exposure of young men to organochlorine pesticides in Southern Spain. Environ Res 103:55-61.
Cerrillo I, Olea-Serrano MF, Ibarluzea J, Exposito J, Torne P, Laguna J, Pedraza V, Olea N (2006). Environmental and lifestyle factors for organochlorine exposure among women living in Southern Spain. Chemosphere 62:1917-24.
Gladen BC, Monaghan SC, Lukyanova EM, Hulchiy OP, Shkyryak-Nyzhnyk ZA, Sericano JL, Little RE (1999). Organochlorines in breast milk from two cities in Ukraine. Environ Health Perspect 107:459-62.
Jolley WP, Stemmer KL, Grande F, Richmond J, Pfitzer E (1969). Effects exerted upon beagle dogs during a period of two years by the introduction of 1,2,3,4,10, 10-hexachloro- 6,7,10 epoxy-1,4,4a,5,6,7,8,8a-octahydro -1,4-endo, endo 5,8-dimethanonaphtha into their diets. Dept Environ Health, College of Medicine, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH. Report to Velsicol Chemical Corporation.
Khan MA, Jovanovich LV, Martin LT, Qadri SY, Podowski AA (1998). Effects of photoisomers of cyclodiene insecticides on liver and microsomal cytochrome P450 in rats. Arch Toxicol 72(2):74-83.
Lemaire G, Balaguer P, Michel S, Rahmani R (2005). Activation of retinoic acid receptor-dependent transcription by organochlorine pesticides. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol 202:38-49.
Lemaire G, Mnif W, Mauvais P, Balaguer P, Rahmani R (2006). Activation of alpha- and beta-estrogen receptors by persistent pesticides in reporter cell lines. Life Sci 79:1160-9.
Lopez-Espinosa MJ, Granada A, Carreno J, Salvatierra M, Olea-Serrano F, Olea N (2007). Organochlorine pesticides in placentas from Southern Spain and some related factors. Placenta 28:631-8.
Luzardo OP, Goethals M, Zumbado M, Alvarez-Leon EE, Cabrera F, Serra-Majem L, Boada LD (2006). Increasing serum levels of non-DDT-derivative organochlorine pesticides in the younger population of the Canary Islands (Spain). Sci Total Environ 367:129-38.
Moreno-Aliaga MJ, Matsumura F (1999). Endrin inhibits adipocyte differentiation by selectively altering expression pattern of CCAAT-enhancer binding protein-alpha in 3T3-L1 cells. Molec Pharmacol 56:91-101.
Osaba L, Aguirre A, Alonso A, Graf U (1999). Genotoxicity testing of six insecticides in two crosses of the Drosophila wing spot test. Mutat Res 439:49-61.
Pohl HR, Tylenda CA (2000). Breast-feeding exposure of infants to selected pesticides: a public health viewpoint. Toxicol Ind Health 16:65-77.
Pontecorvo G, Fantaccione S (2006). Recombinogenic activity of 10 chemical compounds in male germ cells of Drosophila melanogaster. Ecotoxicol Environ Saf 65:93-101.
Sapozhnikova Y, Bawardi O, Schlenk D (2004). Pesticides and PCBs in sediments and fish from the Salton Sea, California, USA. Chemosphere 55:797-809.
Tully DB, Cox VT, Mumtaz MM, Davis VL, Chapin RE (2000). Six high-priority organochlorine pesticides, either singly or in combination, are nonestrogenic in transfected HeLa cells. Reprod Toxicol 14:95-102.
Weston DP, You J, Lydy MJ (2004). Distribution and toxicity of sediment-associated pesticides in agriculture-dominated water bodies of California's Central Valley. Environ Sci Technol 38:2752-9.
- Endrin