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Application of improved approach to evaluate a community intervention to reduce exposure of young children living in farmworker households to organophosphate pesticides

Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology volume 29, pages 358–365 (2019)Cite this article

Abstract

The take-home pathway is a significant source of organophosphate pesticide exposure for young children (3–5 years old) living with an adult farmworker. This avoidable exposure pathway is an important target for intervention. We selected 24 agricultural communities in the Yakima Valley of Washington State and randomly assigned them to receive an educational intervention (n = 12) to reduce children’s pesticide exposure or usual care (n = 12). We assessed exposure to pesticides in nearly 200 adults and children during the pre and post-intervention periods by measuring metabolites in urine. We compared pre- and post-intervention exposures by expressing the child’s pesticide metabolite concentration as a fraction of the adult’s concentration living in the same household, because the amount of pesticides applied during the collection periods varied. Exposures in our community were consistently higher, sometimes above the 95th percentile of the exposures reported by the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). While intervention and control communities demonstrated a reduction in the ratio of child to adult exposure, this reduction was more pronounced in intervention communities (2.7-fold, p < 0.001 compared to 1.7-fold, p = 0.052 for intervention and control, respectively). By examining the child/adult biomarker ratio, we demonstrated that our community-based intervention was effective in reducing pesticide exposure to children in agricultural communities.

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Acknowledgements

This publication was made possible by grants PO1 ES009601 from NIEHS, and EPA RD-83170901, RD826886, RD83451401, RD-83273301.

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Authors and Affiliations

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

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

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

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

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

    Beti Thompson

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

    Gloria D. Coronado

Authors
  1. William C. Griffith
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  2. Eric M. Vigoren
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  3. Marissa N. Smith
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  4. Tomomi Workman
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  5. Beti Thompson
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  6. Gloria D. Coronado
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  7. Elaine M. Faustman
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Correspondence to Elaine M. Faustman.

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Griffith, W.C., Vigoren, E.M., Smith, M.N. et al. Application of improved approach to evaluate a community intervention to reduce exposure of young children living in farmworker households to organophosphate pesticides. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol 29, 358–365 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41370-018-0028-y

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