Organophosphorous pesticides are anticholinergic and health
surveillance is recommended for workers using these pesticides on a
regular basis. HSE's guidance (MS17) gives more information on
this, including measuring plasma and red blood cell cholinesterase
activity.
Cholinesterase activity varies widely between individuals.
It is therefore recommended that workers under health
surveillance have a baseline measurement (undertaken before working
with organophosphorous pesticides or six weeks after the end of
exposure) as well as being sampled during exposure tasks.
Minimal variability of the test is important in order to be able
detect small effects before any symptoms of exposure are apparent.
We have conducted a lot of research in this area and the
analytical variation of our methods is excellent (<4%) allowing
us to detect a drop in activity of <15%. This allows
intervention in working practice before activity drops to 30% (the
point at which HSE recommend medical examination).
Our method is
UKAS accredited and we also participate in the UKNEQAS quality
assurance scheme for plasma cholinesterase. We report both
plasma butyrylcholinesterase (also called pseudocholinesterase, a
sensitive marker of exposure) and erythrocyte (or red cell)
acetylcholinesterase (more directly associated with health
effects).
Product Code: PE11630
Price: £52.00 (VAT free)