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Introduction Pesticide poisoning is a global public health problem. An estimated three million acute poisonings occur worldwide each year. (1) Pesticide-related poisonings are more frequent and serious in developing countries [...], Agricultural pesticide use in Viet Nam has more than tripled since 1990. However, pesticide legislation and regulations have not been developed in response to this large increase in usage, as a result of which pesticides pose a serious threat to human health and the environment. This paper identifies the need to improve pesticide regulations in Viet Nam through a comparative analysis of pesticide regulations in Viet Nam and the United States of America, where the rate of acute poisoning among agricultural workers is much lower than in Viet Nam and where information pertaining to pesticide regulations is made accessible to the public. The analysis identified several measures that would help to improve Viet Nam's pesticide regulations. These include enhancing pesticide legislation, clarifying the specific roles and active involvement of both the environmental and health sectors; performing a comprehensive risk--benefit evaluation of pesticide registration and management practices; improving regulations on pesticide suspension and cancellation, transport, storage and disposal; developing import and export policies and enhancing pesticide-related occupational safety programmes. L'utilisation de pesticides agricoles au Viet Nam a plus que triple depuis 1990. Cependant, la legislation et les reglementations en la matiere n'ont pas ete developpees en ligne avec cette importante augmentation, ce qui fait que les pesticides representent aujourd'hui une grave menace pour la sante humaine et l'environnement. Cet article identifie la necessite d'ameliorer les reglementations en matiere de pesticides au Viet Nam a travers une analyse comparative de ces reglementations au Vier Nam et aux Etats-Unis d'Amerique, ou le taux d'intoxication aigue parmi les travailleurs agricoles est nettement inferieur qu'au Viet Nam et ou l'information sur les reglementations des pesticides est accessible au public. L'analyse a identifie plusieurs mesures qui pourraient ameliorer les reglementations sur les pesticides au Viet Nam, notamment: le renforcement de la legislation sur les pesticides, la clarification des roles specifiques et de l'implication active du secteur environnemental et du secteur sanitaire; l'etablissement d'une evaluation globale des risques-benefices de l'enregistrement des pesticides et des pratiques de gestion; l'amelioration des reglementations sur la suspension et la suppression, le transport, le stockage et l'elimination des pesticides; le developpement de politiques d'importation et d'exportation et le renforcement des programmes de securite au travail lies aux pesticides. El uso de plaguicidas agricolas en Viet Nam se ha triplicado desde 1990. Sin embargo, la legislacion y el reglamento en materia de plaguicidas no se han desarrollado en consonancia con este gran aumento en el uso, de manera que los plaguicidas se han convertido en una enorme amenaza para la salud humana y para el medio ambiente. Este documento identifica la necesidad de mejorar el reglamento en materia de plaguicidas en Viet Nam mediante un analisis comparativo de dicho reglamento en Viet Nam y en los Estados Unidos de America, donde la tasa de intoxicaciones agudas entre los trabajadores agricolas es mucho menor que en Viet Nam y donde la poblacion tiene acceso a la informacion relacionada con el reglamento en materia de plaguicidas. El analisis identifico varias medidas que ayudarian a mejorar el reglamento en materia de plaguicidas en Vier Nato. Estas incluyen: mejorar la legislacion en materia de plaguicidas, clarificar las funciones especificas y la participacion activa dei sector medioambiental y dei sector sanitario; realizar una evaluacion completa de los riesgos y beneficios dei registro de plaguicidas y practicas de tratamiento de los mismos; mejorar el regla mento sobre suspension, cancelacion, transporte, almacenamiento y eliminacion de plaguicidas; desarrollar politicas de importacion y exportacion y mejorar los programas de seguridad relacionados con plaguicidas.

Introduction and Objectives: Guidelines set by various agencies for the control and management of chlorpyrifos cover a wide range of values reflecting difficulties in the procedures for their development. To overcome these difficulties a new method to set guidelines would be developed. Published data derived from epidemiological investigations on human populations would be used to develop a dose-response relationship for chlorpyrifos allowing the calculation of threshold values which can be used as guidelines., Materials and Method: Data from the scientific literature on human populations were collected to evaluate the adverse response doses for a range of health effects. The Cumulative Frequency Distribution (CFD) for the minimum levels of adverse effects measured in terms of the Lifetime Average Daily Dose (LADD(D)) and the Absorbed Daily Dose for neurological (ADD(DN)) and non-neurological effects were used., Results: Linear regression equations were fitted to the CFD plots giving R 2 values of 0.93 and 0.86 indicating a normal distribution of the data. Using these CFD plots, the chronic and acute threshold values were calculated at the 5% cumulative frequency level for chlorpyrifos exposure giving values at 0.5 µg/kg/d and 3 µg/kg/d respectively., Conclusions: Guidelines set using this technique at the values at 0.5 µg/kg/d and 3 µg/kg/d for chronic and acute exposure respectively provide an alternative to the currently used biological endpoint and safety factor method.