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Methodologies for estimating cumulative human exposures to current-use pyrethroid pesticides

Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology volume 21, pages 317–327 (2011)Cite this article

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Abstract

We estimated cumulative residential pesticide exposures for a group of nine young children (4–6 years) using three different methodologies developed by the US Environmental Protection Agency and compared the results with estimates derived from measured urinary metabolite concentrations. The Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for Residential Exposure Assessment are intended to provide a screening-level assessment to estimate exposure for regulatory purposes. Nonetheless, dermal exposure estimates were typically lower from the SOP (1–1300 nmol/day) than from SHEDS (5–19,000 nmol/day) or any of the four different approaches for estimating dermal exposure using the Draft Protocol for Measuring Children's Non-Occupational Exposure to Pesticides by all Relevant Pathways (Draft Protocol) (5–11,000 nmol/day). Indirect ingestion exposure estimates ranged from 0.02 to 21.5 nmol/day for the SOP, 0.5 to 188 nmol/day for SHEDS, and 0 to 3.38 nmol/day for the Draft Protocol. Estimates of total absorbed dose ranged from 3 to 37 nmol/day for the SOPs, 0.5 to 100 nmol/day for SHEDS, and 1 to 216 nmol/day for the Draft Protocol. The concentrations estimated using the Draft Protocol and SHEDS showed strong, positive relationships with the 3-phenoxybenzoic acid metabolite measured in the children's urine samples (R2=0.90 for the Draft Protocol; R2=0.92 for SHEDS). Analysis of different approaches for estimating dermal exposure suggested that the approach assuming an even distribution of pesticide residue on the child's body was most reasonable. With all three methodologies providing reasonable estimates of exposure and dose, selection should depend on the available data and the objectives of the analysis. Further research would be useful to better understand how best to estimate dermal exposure for children and what exposure factors (e.g., activities, transfer coefficients, measurement techniques) are most relevant in making dermal exposure estimates.

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Acknowledgements

The United States Environmental Protection Agency through its Office of Research and Development partially funded and collaborated in the research described here under contract number 68-D-99-011 to Battelle Memorial Institute. It has been subjected to Agency administrative review and approved for publication. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute endorsement or recommendation for use. We thank the parents and children for their participation, the staff of the Lead Division at the DCHD for logistical support, and the laboratory staffs at Battelle and CDC for their analytical support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Office of Research and Development, National Exposure Research Laboratory, US EPA, MD-E205-04, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA

    Nicolle S Tulve, Peter P Egeghy, Roy C Fortmann, Jianping Xue, Donald A Whitaker & Carry W Croghan

  2. Health Effects Division, Office of Pesticide Programs, US EPA, MC-7509P, Washington, District of Columbia, USA

    Jeff Evans

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  1. Nicolle S Tulve
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  2. Peter P Egeghy
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  4. Jianping Xue
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  7. Carry W Croghan
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Correspondence to Nicolle S Tulve.

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Tulve, N., Egeghy, P., Fortmann, R. et al. Methodologies for estimating cumulative human exposures to current-use pyrethroid pesticides. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol 21, 317–327 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/jes.2010.25

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