PERSISTENCE OF SODIUM MONOFLUOROACETATE IN LIVESTOCK ANIMALS AND RISK TO HUMANS

1 Sodium monofluoroacetate (1080), a vertebrate pesticide widely used in New Zealand, was administered orally to sheep and goats at a dose level of 0.1 mg kg(-1) body weight to assess risk to humans of secondary poisoning from meat. Blood, muscle, liver, and kidney were analysed for 1080 residues. 2 The plasma elimination half-life was 10.8 h in sheep and 5.4 h in goats, Concentrations of 1080 in muscle (0.042 mu g g(-1)), kidney (0.057 mu g g(-1)), and liver (0.021 mu g g(-1)) were substantially lower than those in plasma (0.098 mu g ml(-1)) at 2.5 h after dosing. 3 Only traces of 1080 (<0.002 to 0.008 mu g g(-1)) were found in sheep tissues after 96 hours. 4 Livestock are normally excluded from areas where 1080 is being used for pest control, reducing the risk of secondary poisoning. Even with accidental exposure to a sublethal dose 1080 would not persist in tissues for more than a few days because it is cleared rapidly from the body, Therefore the occurrence of 1080 in meat intended for human consumption is highly unlikely.