ABSTRACT
In the last half-century numerous structurally different organophosphorus compounds (OP) have been synthesized, of which more than 100 different OPs are used as insecticides.1,2 This has revolutionized the farming methods throughout the world. The World Health Organization (WHO) has classified pesticides (based primarily on the acute oral and dermal toxicity to the rat) from class Ia (extremely hazardous) to class III (slightly hazardous) and then ‘active ingredients unlikely to present acute hazard’. Most class-I technical grade pesticides are banned or strictly controlled in the regulated industrialized world, but not in developing countries, where class-I pesticides are freely available in places that do not have the resources for their safe use.3
