Pesticides in Urban Multiunit Dwellings: Hazard Identification Using Classification and Regression Tree (CART) Analysis

Details

• Personal Author:
  Adamkiewicz G ; Canales RA ; Hauser R ; Hynes HP ; Julien R ; Levy JI ; Spengler JD
• Description:
  Many units in public housing or other low-income urban dwellings may have elevated pesticide residues, given recurring infestation, but it would be logistically and economically infeasible to sample a large number of units to identify highly exposed households to design interventions. Within this study, our aim was to devise a low-cost approach to identify homes in public housing with high levels of pesticide residues, using information that would allow the housing authority and residents to determine optimal strategies to reduce household exposures. As part of the Healthy Public Housing Initiative, we collected environmental samples from 42 public housing apartments in Boston, MA, in 2002 and 2003 and gathered housing characteristics; for example, household demographics and self-reported pesticide use information, considering information available with and without a home visit. Focusing on five organophosphate and pyrethroid pesticides, we used classification and regression tree analysis (CART) to disaggregate the pesticide concentration data into homogenous subsamples according to housing characteristics, which allowed us to identify households and associated networks impacted by the mismanagement of pesticides. The CART analysis demonstrated reasonable sensitivity and specificity given more extensive household information but generally poor performance using only information available without a home visit. Apartments with high concentrations of cyfluthrin, a pyrethroid of interest given that it is a restricted use pesticide, were more likely to be associated with Hispanic residents who resided in their current apartment for more than 5 yr, consistent with documented pesticide usage patterns. We conclude that using CART as an exploratory technique to better understand the home characteristics associated with elevated pesticide levels may be a viable approach for risk management in large multiunit housing developments. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Demography Environmental Exposure Insecticides Occupational Health Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety
• Keywords:
  Demographic Characteristics Exposure Levels Hazards Organophosphorus Compounds Organophosphorus Insecticides Pesticides Pyrethroids Risk Factors Sampling
• ISSN:
  1096-2247
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Massachusetts ; OSHA Region 1
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  58
• Issue:
  10
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20057105
• Citation:
  J Air Waste Manage Assoc 2008 Oct; 58(10):1297-1302
• Contact Point Address:
  Rhona Julien, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Ecosystem Protection, 1 Congress Street, Boston, MA 02114
• Email:
  julien.rhona@epa.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2009
• Performing Organization:
  Harvard School of Public Health
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of the Air and Waste Management Association
• End Date:
  20280630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:64fe1eb9caa1f8a31f0d25410e8b9007000c7c574aae55019ecd47059162efde2931c9965b546b2ad8efa764c0ed5b71c93b610891b3ece3ad5e33389eb96d9f
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/214561/cdc_214561_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 281.07 KB ]