Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2007 Aug;115(8):1254-60.
doi: 10.1289/ehp.9975.

Pesticide urinary metabolite levels of children in eastern North Carolina farmworker households

Thomas A Arcury  1 , Joseph G Grzywacz, Dana B Barr, Janeth Tapia, Haiying Chen, Sara A Quandt
Affiliations

Pesticide urinary metabolite levels of children in eastern North Carolina farmworker households

Thomas A Arcury et al. Environ Health Perspect. 2007 Aug.

Abstract

Background: In this investigation we documented the pesticide urinary metabolite levels of farmworker children in North Carolina, determined the number of different metabolites detected for each child, and delineated risk factors associated with the number of metabolites.

Methods: Urine samples were collected from 60 Latino farmworker children 1-6 years of age (34 female, 26 male). Interviews were completed by their mothers in Spanish. We analyzed urine samples for 14 pesticide metabolites, including the organophosphate pesticides chlorpyrifos, coumaphos, diazinon, isazaphos, malathion, pirimiphos, and parathion and its methyl counterpart; a common metabolite of at least 18 pyrethroid insecticides; the repellent DEET; and the herbicides 2,4,5-trichlorphenoxyacetic acid, 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, acetochlor, atrazine, and metolachlor. Predictors included measures of paraoccupational, residential, and environmental exposure, child characteristics, and mother characteristics.

Results: Thirteen metabolites were present in the urine samples. Organophosphate pesticide metabolites were detected in a substantial proportion of children, particularly metabolites of parathion/methyl parathion (90.0%; geometric mean 1.00 microg/L), chlorpyrifos/chlorpyrifos methyl (83.3%; geometric mean 1.92 microg/L), and diazinon (55.0%; geometric mean 10.56 microg/L). The number of metabolites detected ranged from 0 to 7, with a mode of 4 detected (28.3%). Boys, children living in rented housing, and children with mothers working part-time had more metabolites detected.

Conclusions: Children in farmworker homes experience multiple sources of pesticide exposure. Pesticides may remain in their environments for long periods. Environmental and occupational health changes are needed to address these exposures. Research is needed with more precise measures of exposure and on the health effects of concurrent exposure to multiple pesticides.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Arcury TA, Grzywacz JG, Davis SW, Barr DB, Quandt SA. Organophosphorus pesticide urinary metabolite levels of children in farmworker households in eastern North Carolina. Am J Ind Med. 2006;49:751–760. - PubMed
    1. Arcury TA, Quandt SA. Participant recruitment for qualitative research: a site-based approach to community research in complex societies. Hum Organ. 1999;58:128–133.
    1. Arcury TA, Quandt SA, Cravey AJ, Elmore RC, Russell GB. Farmworker reports of pesticide safety and sanitation in the work environment. Am J Ind Med. 2001;39:487–498. - PubMed
    1. Arcury TA, Quandt SA, Rao P, Doran A, Snively BM, Davis S, et al. Organophosphate pesticide exposure in farm-worker family members in western North Carolina and Virginia: case comparisons. Hum Organ. 2005;64:40–51. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Barr DB, Allen R, Olsson AO, Bravo R, Caltabiano LM, Montesano A, et al. Concentrations of selective metabolites of organophosphorus pesticides in the United States population. Environ Res. 2005;99:314–326. - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources