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STUDIES OF PRESCHOOL CHILDREN'S EXPOSURES TO PESTICIDES
Citation:
Wilson, N K. STUDIES OF PRESCHOOL CHILDREN'S EXPOSURES TO PESTICIDES. Presented at Department of Toxicology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, March 16, 1999.
Description:
Young children, especially those of the preschool ages, are hypothesized to have greater exposures than do older children or adults to persistent organic pesticides and other persistent organic pollutants, including some compounds that may have endocrine-disrupting effects or developmental toxicity. These greater exposures may result from what children eat and drink, where they spend their time, and what they do there. The impact of the exposures may be greater on young children because of their smaller body masses, immature body systems, and rapid physical development. Very young children learn about their environment by exploring not only the appearance and texture of objects, but also their taste and smell. Thus nondietary ingestion can play an important role in their exposures.
We will discuss the results of two small pilot studies of pre-elementary school children's total exposures to persistent organic compounds at home and at day care through the ingestion, inhalation, and dermal absorption pathways. The measured chemicals include polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; chlorinated and organophosphate pesticides; phthalate esters; phenols; and polychlorinated biphenyls. The specific compounds were selected because they are carcinogenic, mutagenic, acutely or chronically toxic, or potentially disruptive to the human endocrine system; and because they are widespread and often persistent in the indoor or outdoor environment. We will relate the findings of the pilot studies to a planned study of the exposures of approximately 250 children, which is expected to be underway early next year.
The information in this document has been funded wholly or in part by the United States Environmental Protection Agency under Contract 68-D4-0023 to Battelle. It has been subjected to Agency review and approved for publication.