Abstract
BackgroundSoil ingestion is a critical, yet poorly characterized route of exposure to contaminants, particularly for agricultural workers who have frequent, direct contact with soil.ObjectiveThis qualitative investigation aims to identify and characterize key considerations for translating agricultural workers’ soil ingestion experiences into recommendations to improve traditional exposure science tools for estimating soil ingestion.MethodsWe conducted qualitative in-depth interviews with 16 fruit and vegetable growers in Maryland to characterize their behaviors and concerns regarding soil contact in order to characterize the nature of soil ingestion in the agricultural context.ResultsWe identified and discussed four emergent themes: (1) variability in growers’ descriptions of soil and dust, (2) variability in growers’ soil contact, (3) growers’ concerns regarding soil contact, (4) growers’ practices to modify soil contact. We also identified environmental and behavioral factors and six specific agricultural tasks that may impact soil ingestion rates.SignificanceOur investigation fills an important gap in occupational exposure science methodology by providing four key considerations that should be integrated into indirect measurement tools for estimating soil ingestion rates in the agricultural context. Specifically, a task-based framework may provide a structure for future investigations of soil contact that may be useful in other populations.
Highlights
Occupational health research with agricultural workers typically focuses on injuries and/or inhalation and dermal exposure to pesticides, but ingestion of soil may be an ongoing source of exposure to contaminants
We interviewed 16 farmers growing fruits and vegetables in urban and rural contexts in Maryland to characterize how, when, and in what context they may be exposed to and incidentally ingest soil
The qualitative nature of this study provides important context for the activity, environmental and behavioral factors that may impact rates of soil ingestion among fruit and vegetable growers, a highly exposed occupational population
Summary
Occupational health research with agricultural workers typically focuses on injuries and/or inhalation and dermal exposure to pesticides, but ingestion of soil may be an ongoing source of exposure to contaminants. Agricultural workers (in both urban and rural settings) who routinely engage in the cultivation of crops (hereafter termed growers) and have frequent and direct contact with these soils may be at increased risk for adverse health effects, though these risks have not been well characterized [8,9,10]. Given the incidental nature of soil and dust ingestion, investigation and quantification of time activity factors related to specific activities and occupations and nondietary ingestion factors such as frequency of hand-to-mouth behaviors have traditionally been used for modeling and estimating rates of soil ingestion [13]. Soil ingestion is a critical, yet poorly characterized route of exposure to contaminants, for agricultural workers who have frequent, direct contact with soil
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