Grantee Research Project Results
1998 Progress Report: Measuring and Apportioning Children's Exposure to Pesticide in Urban, Suburban, and Rural Communities
EPA Grant Number: R825283Title: Measuring and Apportioning Children's Exposure to Pesticide in Urban, Suburban, and Rural Communities
Investigators: Sexton, Ken , Pellizzari, Edo D. , Lioy, Paul J. , Shubat, Pam
Institution: University of Minnesota , Desert Research Institute , Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute
EPA Project Officer: Aja, Hayley
Project Period: October 1, 1996 through September 30, 1999
Project Period Covered by this Report: October 1, 1997 through September 30, 1998
Project Amount: $745,572
RFA: Exposure of Children to Pesticides (1996) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Human Health , Pesticides , Children's Health , Safer Chemicals
Objective:
Because there is a scarcity of data available to assess children's actual exposure to pesticides, it is difficult to determine whether current regulatory decisions are either protective of children's health or cost-effective. The purpose of this study is to: 1) measure 'total' exposure (i.e., all important pathways to selected pesticides for a sample of children living in central-city, suburban, and rural neighborhoods in Minnesota; 2) identify and quantify relative contributions of important pathways/sources to measured exposures; and 3) compare children's pesticide exposure between an inner-city urban area, a suburban neighborhood, and a rural agricultural community.Progress Summary:
The study was initiated in 1997 and the primary activities were household identification, enrollment, and sample collection. Compilation of survey results chemical analyses are underway at the end of 1997, but only preliminary results are available, and these are described below. Once complete we anticipate that our results will improve assessments of risks to children from pesticide exposure, and helping us meet our overall goal of strengthening regulatory decisions about which pesticide risks are unacceptable and what, if anything, should be done about them.Accomplishments and Research Results:
In 1997 the primary study activities were telephone screening, in home pesticide inventories, and recruitment of eligible households for intensive multi-media sample collection. The initial target population was more than 2300 households in the target communities identified from a commercially obtained list of households with telephones. From this list 477 households were identified that meet study criteria: i.e., living in target communities, presence of a child 3-12 years old, and, for the rural homes, use of a private well as a drinking water source. From this sub-sample 308 homes were visited and pesticide inventories conducted by the Minnesota Department of Health. Subjects for the intensive monitoring were obtained from this population, and the following samples were collected from 102 subjects/homes over a six day period: tap water, personal, indoor and outdoor air, surface wipes and press samples, dermal rinses, soils, and food and beverages. Blood, urine, and hair samples were collected from most subjects, although item non-response was allowed for biological samples. Questionnaire data were also collected, including descriptions of residences, the occupants, and the study participant; diary data characterizing the child's activities during the study period, and for a limited subset of study homes, videotapes to quantify children's hand to mouth activities were also obtained.
Future Activities:
The major activities for 1998 will be:
- Complete compilation of pesticide inventories.
- Begin analysis of pesticide inventory data.
- Complete most chemical analyses.
- Begin building databases for analyses.
- Begin preliminary analyses of total exposure and relative contributions of various exposure pathways.
- Begin preliminary analyses for urban/suburban/rural exposure comparisons.
Journal Articles:
No journal articles submitted with this report: View all 1 publications for this projectSupplemental Keywords:
RFA, Health, Scientific Discipline, Toxics, Geographic Area, Environmental Chemistry, Health Risk Assessment, pesticides, State, Risk Assessments, Susceptibility/Sensitive Population/Genetic Susceptibility, Biochemistry, Children's Health, genetic susceptability, Ecology and Ecosystems, health effects, pesticide exposure, risk assessment, Minnesota, sensitive populations, health risks, infants, measuring childhood exposure, exposure, survey, children, insecticides, human exposure, pesticide residues, exposure pathways, environmental toxicant, harmful environmental agents, age dependent response, exposure assessmentRelevant Websites:
Progress and Final Reports:
Original AbstractThe perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.