Strategies for Assessing Children’s Organophosphorus Pesticide Exposures in Agricultural Communities

Details

• Personal Author:
  Allen EH ; Fenske RA ; Kissel JC ; Loewenherz C ; Lu C ; Moate TF ; Simcox NJ ; Touchstone J
• Description:
  Children can be exposed to pesticides from multiple sources and through multiple pathways. In addition to the standard pathways of diet, drinking water and residential pesticide use, children in agricultural communities can be exposed to pesticides used in agricultural production. A research program on children and pesticides was established at the University of Washington (UW) in 1991 and has focused on two major exposure pathway issues: residential proximity to pesticide-treated farmland and transfer of pesticides from the workplace to the home (paraoccupational or take-home exposure). The UW program selected preschool children of agricultural producers and farm workers in the tree fruit region of Washington state as a population that was likely to have elevated exposures from these pathways. The organophosphorus (OP) pesticides were selected as a common class of chemicals for analysis so that issues of aggregate exposure and cumulative risk could be addressed. This paper provides an overview of key findings of our research group over the past 8 years and describes current studies in this field. Soil and housedust concentrations of OP pesticides were elevated in homes of agricultural families (household members engaged in agricultural production) when compared to non-agricultural reference homes in the same community. Dialkyl phosphate metabolites of OP pesticides measured in children's urine were also elevated for agricultural children when compared to reference children and when compared to children in the Seattle metropolitan area. Proximity to farmland was associated with increased OP pesticide concentrations in housedust and OP pesticide metabolites in urine. Current studies include a community-based intervention to reduce parental transfer of pesticides from the workplace, and a systematic investigation of the role of agricultural spray drift in children's exposure to pesticides. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Agriculture Energy Metabolism Environmental Monitoring Farmers Food Contamination Insecticides Occupational Health Organophosphates Safety Urine Water Purification

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• Keywords:
  Agricultural-chemicals Author Keywords: Agriculture Children Controlled-atmospheres Controlled-environment Exposure-assessment Exposure-levels Exposure-limits Exposure Assessment Food Food-contaminants Housedust Metabolites Organo-phosphorus-compounds Organo-phosphorus-pesticides Organophosphorus Pesticides Pesticides Urinalysis Urinary Metabolites Water-analysis

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• ISSN:
  1053-4245
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 10 ; Washington
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  10
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20032276
• Citation:
  J Expo Anal Environ Epidemiol 2000 Nov-Dec; 10(Suppl 6)(Pt 2):662-671
• Contact Point Address:
  Dr. Richard A. Fenske, Department of Environmental Health and Pacific Northwest Agricultural Safety and Health Center, School of Public Health and Community Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle 98195
• Email:
  rfenske@u.washington.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2001
• NORA Priority Area:
  Neurotoxic Disorders ; Neurotoxic Effects
• Performing Organization:
  University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Part Number:
  2
• Start Date:
  19960930
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of Exposure Analysis and Environmental Epidemiology
• Supplement:
  6
• End Date:
  20020929
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:e4ddd09b3b84294081856907aff54984fea6fe3fefe539f49634cf77ec7b8a2472b9d933cd33ae28f84fdc4ddce3e2ab04ab701c0d0bbf5c4ce26c49da76079a
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/186304/cdc_186304_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 330.54 KB ]