Factors Associated with Levels of Organophosphate Pesticides in Household Dust in Agricultural Communities.

Grace Kuiper,Grant Erlandson,Nayamin Martinez,Sherry Wemott,Greg Dooley,Wande O Benka-Coker,Jesus Mendoza,Casey Quinn,Sheryl Magzamen,Bonnie N Young

doi:10.3390/ijerph19020862

Abstract

Organophosphate (OP) pesticides are associated with numerous adverse health outcomes. Pesticide use data are available for California from the Pesticide Use Report (PUR), but household- and individual-level exposure factors have not been fully characterized to support its refinement as an exposure assessment tool. Unique exposure pathways, such as proximity to agricultural operations and direct occupational contact, further complicate pesticide exposure assessment among agricultural communities. We sought to identify influencing factors of pesticide exposure to support future exposure assessment and epidemiological studies. Household dust samples were collected from 28 homes in four California agricultural communities during January and June 2019 and were analyzed for the presence of OPs. Factors influencing household OPs were identified by a data-driven model via best subsets regression. Key factors that impacted dust OP levels included household cooling strategies, secondary occupational exposure to pesticides, and geographic location by community. Although PUR data demonstrate seasonal trends in pesticide application, this study did not identify season as an important factor, suggesting OP persistence in the home. These results will help refine pesticide exposure assessment for future studies and highlight important gaps in the literature, such as our understanding of pesticide degradation in an indoor environment.

Highlights

Agricultural pesticides can be effective chemical agents to support crop production.many commonly used pesticides have high toxicity; even small amounts can adversely impact human and environmental health
We found that the geographic location by community significantly impacted malathion and total OP concentrations, which may suggest that spatial variation in agricultural production and pesticide application in Fresno and Tulare Counties impacts the quantities and types of pesticides that collect in household dust
A data-driven model via best subsets regression was used to identify important characteristics that were associated with household dust OP pesticide levels among four California agricultural communities

Summary

Introduction

Agricultural pesticides can be effective chemical agents to support crop production. Many commonly used pesticides have high toxicity; even small amounts can adversely impact human and environmental health. Prior studies support a link between pesticide exposure and increased risk of cancer [1,2,3,4], neurodegenerative disease [5,6,7], impaired neurodevelopment in children [8,9,10], and adverse respiratory outcomes, such as asthma morbidity [11,12], chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) [13], and decreased lung function [14]. California leads the U.S in agricultural pesticide use, accounting for nearly 20% of total pesticides applied in the U.S [15].

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