You are here:
RESIDENTIAL PESTICIDE USE AND URINARY ORGANOPHOSPHATE METABOLITES IN PRE-SCHOOL CHILDREN
Citation:
Mendola, P, C Carty, D. Barr, L. Needham, AND D Walsh. RESIDENTIAL PESTICIDE USE AND URINARY ORGANOPHOSPHATE METABOLITES IN PRE-SCHOOL CHILDREN. Presented at International Society for Exposure Analysis, Charleston, SC, November 4-8, 2001.
Description:
Residential Pesticide Use and Urinary Organophosphate Metabolites in Pre-School Children
CL Carty1, P Mendola1, D Barr2, L Needham2, D Walsh1
1Epidemiology and Biomarkers Branch, Human Studies Division, National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory, U.S. EPA, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 2National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia.
Although residential use of organophosphate (OP) pesticides is declining, it may continue to be an important source of pesticide exposure in preschool age children. In the late spring and early summer of 2000, we visited the homes of seventy-nine preschoolers (aged 2-4 years) in central North Carolina and administered a questionnaire to parents to elicit information about residential pesticide usage, the child's activities on the day of sampling and typical daily activities around the home. Urine samples were obtained from 66 (84%) of the children and analyzed for six di-alkyl metabolites (dimethylphosphate, dimethylthiophosphate, dimethyldithiophosphate, diethylphosphate, diethylthiophosphate, diethyldithiophosphate) reflecting exposure to any of 28 OP pesticides within the past few days.
All urine samples were above the limit of detection (LOD) for at least two metabolites, but only 19.7% were above the LOD for all six di-alkyl metabolites. Methyl and ethyl metabolites were summed for each individual and using a value of ? LOD for non-detectable values, the mean methyl sum was 268 mg/g creatinine with a median of 44.1 mg/g creatinine and a range of 5.1-10,600 mg/g creatinine. The mean ethyl sum was 31.0 mg/g creatinine with a median of 15.3 mg/g creatinine and a range of 2.0-347 mg/g creatinine. Parents were not probed for information about the specific chemicals used, but 76.5% reported that they had used pesticides and/or herbicides outside around their home in the past 3 months (corrected for length of time at residence). Fifty percent reported using pesticides inside their homes in the last 3 months and 55.6% used pesticides inside within the last six months (corrected for length of time at residence). On a typical day, nearly all of the children play inside and outside their home and less than half attend daycare. Although the home may be a major contributor of pesticide exposure, 21.5% of the children spend more than 40 hours a week away from their residence.
The questionnaire data are presently being analyzed and correlated with the urinary metabolites values to attempt to identify significant behavioral predictors of increased pesticide exposure. Although children have many potential routes of exposure, this study investigates the relationship between urinary metabolites and reported residential pesticide use and child activity patterns. It is part of a larger pilot study analyzing the relationship between symptomatic children and residential pesticide exposure and plays an important role in characterizing OP pesticide exposure in a young, under-studied population.
This abstract does not necessarily reflect EPA policy.