Abstract
The aim of the present work was the application of hair biomonitoring to investigate exposure to pesticides in children and their parents residing in a vineyard area. Thirty-three children and 16 parents were involved in the study. Hair samples were self-collected before and after the application season (PRE- and POST-EXP samples). Information on study subjects and the use of pesticides in the area were obtained. Thirty-nine pesticides were analyzed by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry, and thirty-one pesticides were quantifiable in at least one hair sample. Most frequently detected pesticides were chlorpyrifos, cycloxidim, dimethomorph, metalaxyl, spiroxamine, and tetraconazole. From PRE-EXP to POST-EXP the percentage of quantification and/or the concentration of pesticides increased; the concentration was typically in the low pg/mg hair range with comparable levels in children and parents. An inverse correlation was found between the total exposure to pesticides in POST-EXP hair samples and the distance between home and the treated fields (Spearman ρ = −0.380, p = 0.01). The results of this study show that the majority of the study pesticides were measured in the hair of subjects living in the close proximity of treated vineyards, supporting the determination of pesticides in hair for the purpose of biomonitoring cumulative exposure in the general population.
Highlights
A pesticide consists of several different components that prevents, destroys, or controls a harmful organism (“pest”) or disease, or protects plants or plant products during production, storage, and transport [1]
We developed and validated an analytical assay based on liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry to assess the presence of several currently used pesticides in hair, characterized by a short persistence in the environment [26]
Among the seven fungicides belonging to fungicides belonging to the group, we found the highest concentrations for dimethomorph, the Certainly Used in the study Area (CUA) group, we found the highest concentrations for spiroxamine and with median and maximum levels up to 3.83 and 37.7 pg/mg hair and 1.27 and 18.8 pg/mg hair, respectively
Summary
A pesticide consists of several different components that prevents, destroys, or controls a harmful organism (“pest”) or disease, or protects plants or plant products during production, storage, and transport [1]. European citizens have asked for the process of authorization to be rethought to focus on public health, the environment, and sustainable agriculture, and to ensure that decision-makers make data available to the civil society and the scientific community [4,5]. This concern is pronounced in citizens residing in rural areas where the use of pesticides takes place, especially regarding the risk for health of the more vulnerable ones, such as children. This fragile category may be exposed through inhalation of pesticide drift and/or volatilization from applications made in nearby crop
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