1. ¹Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Piscataway, New Jersey, USA
2. ²Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute, Piscataway, New Jersey, USA
3. ³Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA
4. ⁴Research Triangle Institute, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA
5. ⁵University of Minnesota School of Public Health, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
6. ⁶Environmental Protection Agency, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
7. ⁷Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, California, USA

Correspondence: Natalie C. Freeman, PhD, Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute (EOHSI), 681 Frelingjuysen Road, PO Box 117, Piscataway, NJ 08855-1179, USA. Tel.: +1-732-445-0150. Fax: +1-732-445-0116. E-mail: nfreeman@eohsi.rutgers.edu

Received 23 August 2001.

Abstract

The National Human Exposure Assessment Survey (NHEXAS)/Minnesota Children's Pesticide Exposure Study (MNCPES) was a population-based study designed to characterize children's exposure to residential pesticides and to evaluate the contribution of residential and children's activities to children's exposure. Families of 168 children were surveyed for residential use of pesticides and children's activities. From these homes, families of 102 children between the ages of 3 and 13 years participated in a week-long intensive exposure study. Of the 102 children, 19 children were videotaped for four consecutive hours in their normal daily activities. The survey responses indicated that the youngest children were more likely to exhibit behaviors that would foster exposure to environmental contaminants. Comparison of questionnaire responses indicated that the videotaped subsample was representative of the exposure study population. The microactivities of the videotaped children that might contribute to their exposure via ingestion or dermal routes were quantified. Hand-to-mouth and object-to-mouth activities were observed most frequently among the youngest children. The youngest children were also most likely to be barefoot both indoors and outside. Gender differences were found in mouthing behavior and the proportion of observed time spent outdoors.