Grantee Research Project Results

2002 Progress Report: A Comprehensive Assessment of Sources of Pesticide Contamination, Concentrations in Pathways, and Exposure-prone Behavior

EPA Grant Number: R826709C003
Subproject: this is subproject number 003 , established and managed by the Center Director under grant R826709
(EPA does not fund or establish subprojects; EPA awards and manages the overall grant for this center).
Center: Center for Integrative Research on Childhood Leukemia and the Environment - 2015
Center Director: Metayer, Catherine
Title: A Comprehensive Assessment of Sources of Pesticide Contamination, Concentrations in Pathways, and Exposure-prone Behavior
Investigators: Eskenazi, Brenda , McKone, Thomas
Institution: University of California - Berkeley
EPA Project Officer: Callan, Richard
Project Period: January 1, 1998 through January 1, 2002
Project Period Covered by this Report: January 1, 2001 through January 1, 2002
Project Amount: Refer to main center abstract for funding details.
RFA: Centers for Children's Environmental Health and Disease Prevention Research (1998) RFA Text |  Recipients Lists
Research Category: Children's Health , Human Health

Objective:

The objective is to evaluate the impact of “Healthy Homes” interventions on the reduction of pesticide exposure to farmworker children.

Progress Summary:

Lisa Goldman, the Center for the Health Assessment of Mothers and Children of Salinas (CHAMACOS) Intervention Study Coordinator, and a former graduate student researcher with CHAMACOS, wrote a thesis in the spring of this year titled, “Predictors of High Risk Behaviors for Pesticide Exposure Among Pregnant Farmworker Women in the Salinas Valley, California.” The purpose of the project was to ascertain the socio-demographic characteristics of field workers with heightened risk for pesticide exposure both to themselves and to their children, which would ultimately aid in the design of effective interventions. For the purposes of the analysis, the study population was limited to the 153 women enrolled in CHAMACOS who had worked in farm field work since they became pregnant. Despite recent efforts by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and others, the results reveal that many farmworkers have not adopted behaviors to minimize pesticide exposure. One-third of the women in this sample did not wear the minimal protective clothing recommended while working in the field. Likewise, about one-quarter of the group were not washing their hands before eating or smoking at work when their hands were in direct contact with pesticide residues. Just over one-half of the women were not changing out of clothes or showering upon arriving home from work. Other household members were also not attempting to minimize pesticide exposure. Over one-third of the women reported that the agricultural workers in her household did not remove work shoes before entering the home. At the same time, about 40 percent of the households were not washing work clothes separately from regular clothes, one of the basic recommendations of the Worker Protection Standard (WPS). Few of these behaviors were shown to be associated with any of the socio-demographic factors. Overall, the results of this study suggest that all farmworkers, regardless of socio-demographic differences, need to be targeted for interventions to reduce pesticide exposure to themselves and their families.

Also see discussion below and in the 2002 Annual Report for R826709 on research changes and future activities.

Research Changes

As discussed in the 2001 progress report, we successfully prepared an RO1 level application to the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) under the Community Based Intervention Research Program that is providing funding to fully implement our outreach, intervention, and education goals. The intervention is modeled on our original Center application, and will develop field-based interventions involving protective clothing and warm water hand washing facilities, in addition to home based education to address pesticide exposures. Budgeted Intervention resources from the Center grant will support laboratory analysis of environmental and biological samples for the newly funded intervention grant.

Journal Articles:

No journal articles submitted with this report: View all 14 publications for this subproject

Supplemental Keywords:

Health, RFA, Scientific Discipline, Toxics, Susceptibility/Sensitive Population/Genetic Susceptibility, Health Risk Assessment, pesticides, Risk Assessments, Biology, genetic susceptability, Environmental Chemistry, Endocrine Disruptors - Human Health, Children's Health, endocrine disruptors, Disease & Cumulative Effects, disease, health effects, Human Health Risk Assessment, exposure model, sensitive populations, behavioral assessment, biological response, organophosphate pesticides, pesticide exposure, prenatal exposure, risk assessment, statistics, human exposure, agricultural community, pesticide residues, children, exposure, exposure prone behavior, endocrine disrupting chemicals, environmental health hazard, pathways, assessment of exposure, farmworkers, metabolites, exposure pathways, exposure assessment

Relevant Websites:

http://www.chamacos.org/ Exit

Progress and Final Reports:

Original Abstract

1998

1999 Progress Report

2000 Progress Report

Final

Main Center Abstract and Reports:

R826709    Center for Integrative Research on Childhood Leukemia and the Environment - 2015

Subprojects under this Center: (EPA does not fund or establish subprojects; EPA awards and manages the overall grant for this center).
R826709C001 Community Based Intervention to Reduce Pesticide Exposures to Young Children
R826709C002 The Epidemiological Investigation of the Effects of Pesticide Exposure on Neurodevelopmental, Growth, and Respiratory Health of Farmworker Children
R826709C003 A Comprehensive Assessment of Sources of Pesticide Contamination, Concentrations in Pathways, and Exposure-prone Behavior