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ASSESSMENT OF YOUNG CHILDREN'S POTENTIAL PESTICIDE EXPOSURE FOLLOWING A RESIDENTIAL PESTICIDE APPLICATION - PART I. STUDY DESIGN: EXPOSURE OF CHILDREN AND TOYS
Citation:
Hore, P., N. G. Freeman, N S. Tulve, E A. CohenHubal, L S. Sheldon, AND P. J. Lioy. ASSESSMENT OF YOUNG CHILDREN'S POTENTIAL PESTICIDE EXPOSURE FOLLOWING A RESIDENTIAL PESTICIDE APPLICATION - PART I. STUDY DESIGN: EXPOSURE OF CHILDREN AND TOYS. Presented at ISEA 2000 Exposure Analysis in the 21st Century: Integrating Science, Policy and Quality of Life, Monterey Peninsula, CA, October 24-27, 2000.
Impact/Purpose:
1. To identify those pesticides, pathways, and activities that represent the highest potential exposures to children;
2. To determine the factors that influence pesticide exposures to children;
3. To develop methods for measuring multimedia exposures to children, including methods that account for important activities that take place in home, school, and day care settings;
4. To generate data on multimedia pesticide concentrations, pesticide biomarkers, and exposure factors that can be used as inputs to aggregate exposure models for children.
Description:
Semi-volatile pesticides such as chlorpyrifos can be dynamic in nature; once applied, they can migrate spatially and concentrations can build-up in and on objects and surfaces. Such pesticides are frequently used in U.S. households. Children within these homes may be exposed to these pesticides via multiple pathways. The Children's Post Pesticide Application Exposure Study (CPPAES) is being conducted by the Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute (EOHSI) in New Jersey to look at the distribution of chlorpyrifos within a home environment following a crack-and-crevice application to assess the amount of pesticide that a child may come into contact with. For this study, 10 homes with a 2-5 year old child that routinely apply pesticides have been selected. To each home a chlorpyrifos application is made by a licensed applicator. Measurements of chlorpyrifos residues are then made from the indoor air for a two-week sampling period. Smooth, cloth indicator toys that are placed within the home following the application are collected sequentially because toys can act as potential sinks within the home and are accessible to the children. Direct handrinse or handwipe samples are collected from the children on each sampling day and records are kept of the child's daily activities through time activity diaries and questionnaires. Urine samples are collected from the children each day and are analyzed for the chlorpyrifos metabolite. Preliminary results have found that chlorpyrifos is present in the indoor environment throughout the sampling period. Levels in the air ranged from 72.7 to 194.8 ng/m3 reaching peak levels between days 1 and 2. Levels in the toys ranged from 328.5 to 1091.8 ng/toy. Handrinse levels ranged from 0.56 to 1.39 ng/cm2. This study will help us estimate the potential for pesticide exposure for a child in a home environment post-application and to link environmental concentrations of chlorpyrifos to a child's actual internal dose.
This work has been funded in part by the United States Environmental Protection Agency under an EPA Technical Services Contract (Contract No. 0D-5227-NAEX) to the Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute. It has been subjected to Agency review and approved for presentation and publication. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute endorsement or recommendation for use.