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Seasonal and occupational trends of five organophosphate pesticides in house dust

Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology volume 27, pages 372–378 (2017)Cite this article

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Abstract

Since 1998, the University of Washington’s Center for Child Environmental Health Risks Research has followed a community-based participatory research strategy in the Lower Yakima Valley of Washington State to assess pesticide exposure among families of Hispanic farmworkers. As a part of this longitudinal study, house dust samples were collected from both farmworker and non-farmworker households, across three agricultural seasons (thinning, harvest and non-spray). The household dust samples were analyzed for five organophosphate pesticides: azinphos-methyl, phosmet, malathion, diazinon, and chlorpyrifos. Organophosphate pesticide levels in house dust were generally reflective of annual use rates and varied by occupational status and agricultural season. Overall, organophosphate pesticide concentrations were higher in the thinning and harvest seasons than in the non-spray season. Azinphos-methyl was found in the highest concentrations across all seasons and occupations. Farmworker house dust had between 5- and 9-fold higher concentrations of azinphos-methyl than non-farmworker house dust. Phosmet was found in 5–7-fold higher concentrations in farmworker house dust relative to non-farmworker house dust. Malathion and chlorpyriphos concentrations in farmworker house dust ranged between 1.8- and 9.8-fold higher than non-farmworker house dust. Diazinon showed a defined seasonal pattern that peaked in the harvest season and did not significantly differ between farmworker and non-farmworker house dust. The observed occupational differences in four out of five of the pesticide residues measured provides evidence supporting an occupational take home pathway, in which workers may bring pesticides home on their skin or clothing. Further, these results demonstrate the ability of dust samples to inform the episodic nature of organophosphate pesticide exposures and the need to collect multiple samples for complete characterization of exposure potential.

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Acknowledgements

This project was supported through the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services (Contract No. HHSN267200700023C), the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (Award Number 5P01ES009601), and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (Grant No. RD83451401). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not represent the official views of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, the National Institutes of Health, or the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

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Author notes

  1. Marissa N Smith, Tomomi Workman and Katie M McDonald: These authors contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA

    Marissa N Smith, Tomomi Workman, Katie M McDonald, Melinda A Vredevoogd, Eric M Vigoren, William C Griffith & Elaine M Faustman

  2. Washington Institute for Risk Analysis and Risk Communication, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA

    Marissa N Smith, Tomomi Workman, Eric M Vigoren, William C Griffith & Elaine M Faustman

  3. Cancer Prevention Program, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington, USA

    Beti Thompson

  4. Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research, Portland, Oregon, USA

    Gloria D Coronado

  5. Department of Environmental Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

    Dana Barr

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Correspondence to Elaine M Faustman.

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Smith, M., Workman, T., McDonald, K. et al. Seasonal and occupational trends of five organophosphate pesticides in house dust. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol 27, 372–378 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/jes.2016.45

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