Incidence of residual levels of organophosphorus insecticides in farm produce in the Region of Murcia, Spain. Comparison of intake in the 1985-86 and 1989 campaigns.

We calculated the effective dietary exposure to 20 organophosphorus insecticides in a sample of residents of the Region of Murcia (Spain). Calculations were based on the contamination of 2310 specimens of citrus fruits, pitted and seedy fruits and vegetables collected in the 1985-86 and 1989 campaigns. A comparison of the results from the two campaigns showed that the mean annual insecticide ingestion determined from the mean consumption of each type of farm produce fell from 7.82 mg to 5.55 mg over the 4-year period studied. The total annual ingestion of insecticides during the 1985-86 and 1989 campaigns was ca. 0.133 and 0.1 mg kg-1 body weight; these values are well below the admissible annual ingestion of 29.565 mg kg-1 body weight.