189412 Indoor Pesticide Exposures in Low-Income Immigrant Hispanic Children Living in Agricultural and Urban Communities in California

Monday, October 27, 2008

Lesliam Quirós-Alcalá, MS, PhDCandidate , Center for Children's Environmental Health Research, School of Public Health, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA
Asa Bradman, PhD , Center for Children's Environmental Health Research School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA
Marcia Nishioka , Battelle Memorial Institute, Columbus, OH, Bhutan
Martha Harnly, MPH , Environmental Health Investigations Branch, California Department of Public Health, Richmond, CA
Alan Hubbard, PhD , School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA
Jeannette Ferber, MPH , Center for Children's Environmental Health Research, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA
Brenda Eskenazi, PhD , School of Public Health, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA
A key policy question about children's pesticide exposures is whether residing in agricultural communities leads to higher exposures, requiring additional protection, compared to urban communities. Limited studies suggest that indoor exposures in these areas are substantially different; however, few studies have directly tested this hypothesis or quantified exposures to a mixture of agricultural and home-use pesticides. Factors like socioeconomic status, historical use, and housing disrepair may influence indoor concentrations. We evaluated pesticide concentrations in the homes of 15 low-income Mexican-descent children in Salinas Valley, CA (agricultural area) and 13 homes from demographically similar children in Oakland, CA (urban area). Two dust samples per home were collected except for two homes for which we collected one sample (n=54). We measured 31 agricultural and home-use pesticides including organophosphates, pyrethroids, carbamates, herbicides, and dicarboximides. Eight pesticides were detected in at least 50% of participants' homes: Propoxur (median=28.9 ng/g), Diazinon (median=13.2 ng/g), Dacthal (median=6.9 ng/g), Allethrin (median=54.2 ng/g), Piperonyl Butoxide (median=169.5 ng/g), cis-/trans-Permethrin (median=493.3 ng/g, 841.8 ng/g), and Cypermethrin (median=365.6 ng/g). Pesticide use was more prevalent in urban homes (80% vs. 55%). There were significantly different detection frequencies in agricultural versus urban homes for: Diazinon (79% vs. 52%), Dacthal (97% vs. 0%), and Bifenthrin (14% vs. 44%). Findings suggest that agricultural-use pesticides are detected more frequently in agricultural homes, while some home-use pesticides are more prevalent in urban homes. This study provides direct exposure information important for identifying potential vulnerable populations and frequently-used pesticides which warrant further investigation on their potential long-term health impacts.

Learning Objectives:
1. Evaluate the differences in indoor pesticide exposures between low-income Latino children living in agricultural and urban communities for a mixture of agricultural and home-use pesticides. 2. Provide and assess direct exposure information important for identifying potential vulnerable populations. 3. Identify frequently-used pesticides which warrant further investigation on their potential long-term health impacts in susceptible low-income populations.

Keywords: Pesticide Exposure, Children

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am a PhD Candidate and the work being presented is part of my dissertation work.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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