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Ethylenebisdithiocarbamates (EBDCs) are widely used fungicides in agriculture because of their efficacy and broad spectrum of antifungal activity. They are mainly used on fruits, ornamental plants, and vegetables (Maroni et al., 2000). EBDCs are salts of the dithiocarbamates; the salts of manganese, zinc or manganese, and zinc are the commercial products known as maneb, zineb, metiram and mancozeb (Figure 1) (Houeto et al., 1995). In dilute suspensions the compounds are not particularly stable, yielding a number of degradation products (Somerville, 1986). Ethylenethiourea (ETU, Figure 1) is present as an impurity in several EBDCs formulations, and it is formed in the presence of moisture and oxygen (Bontoyan et al., 1972; Bontoyan & Looker, 1973). ETU is important in the assessment of human health from exposure to EBDCs because it is the purported source of toxicity from EBDCs (Houeto et al., 1995) and it is a metabolic product of EBDC in mammals, plants, and other organisms (WHO, 1988). Therefore, ETU can be measured in people to assess their exposure to EBDCs. |
