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Aggregate exposures of nine preschool children to persistent organic pollutants at day care and at home

Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology volume 13, pages 187–202 (2003)Cite this article

Abstract

In the summer of 1997, we measured the aggregate exposures of nine preschool children, aged 2–5 years, to a suite of organic pesticides and other persistent organic pollutants that are commonly found in the home and school environment. The children attended either of two child day care centers in the Raleigh–Durham–Chapel Hill area of North Carolina and were in day care at least 25 h/week. Over a 48-h period, we sampled indoor and outdoor air, play area soil and floor dust, as well as duplicate diets, hand surface wipes, and urine for each child at day care and at home. Our target analytes were several polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), organochlorine pesticides, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB); two organophosphate pesticides (chlorpyrifos and diazinon), the lawn herbicide 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D), three phenols (pentachlorophenol (PCP), nonyl phenols, and bisphenol-A), 3,5,6-trichloro-2-pyridinol (TCP), and two phthalate esters (benzylbutyl and dibutyl phthalate). In urine, our target analytes were hydroxy-PAH, TCP, 2,4-D, and PCP. To allow estimation of each child's aggregate exposures over the 48-h sampling period, we also used time–activity diaries, which were filled out by each child's teacher at day care and the parent or other primary caregiver at home. In addition, we collected detailed household information that related to potential sources of exposure, such as pesticide use or smoking habits, through questionnaires and field observation. We found that the indoor exposures were greater than those outdoors, that exposures at day care and at home were of similar magnitudes, and that diet contributed greatly to the exposures. The children's potential aggregate doses, calculated from our data, were generally well below established reference doses (RfDs) for those compounds for which RfDs are available.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Ying-Liang Chou, Patrick J. Callahan, Marcia Nishioka, Kimberlea Andrews, Mary A. Pollard, Laura Brackney, Charles Hines, Dave B. Davis, and Sydney Gordon for their contributions to this study. The research described in this article has been funded wholly or in part by the United States Environmental Protection Agency through Contract 68-D4-0023 to Battelle. It has been subjected to Agency review and approved for publication. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation for use.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Battelle Memorial Institute, Durham, NC, USA

    Nancy K Wilson & Christopher Lyu

  2. Battelle Memorial Institute, Columbus, OH, USA

    Jane C Chuang & Ronald Menton

  3. National Exposure Research Laboratory, USEPA, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA

    Marsha K Morgan

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  1. Nancy K Wilson
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Correspondence to Nancy K Wilson.

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Wilson, N., Chuang, J., Lyu, C. et al. Aggregate exposures of nine preschool children to persistent organic pollutants at day care and at home. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol 13, 187–202 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.jea.7500270

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