Pesticide Exposure among Latinx Children in Rural Farmworker and Urban Non-Farmworker Communities: Associations with Locality and Season

Thomas A. Arcury (), Haiying Chen, Sara A. Quandt, Jennifer W. Talton, Kim A. Anderson, Richard P. Scott, Phillip Summers and Paul J. Laurienti
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Thomas A. Arcury: Department of Family and Community Medicine, and Center for Worker Health, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC 27157, USA
Haiying Chen: Department of Biostatistics and Data Science, Division of Public Health Sciences, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC 27157, USA
Sara A. Quandt: Department of Epidemiology and Prevention, Division of Public Health Sciences, and Center for Worker Health, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC 27157, USA
Jennifer W. Talton: Department of Biostatistics and Data Science, Division of Public Health Sciences, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC 27157, USA
Kim A. Anderson: Department of Environmental and Molecular Toxicology, Oregon State University, 2750 SW Campus Way, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA
Richard P. Scott: Department of Environmental and Molecular Toxicology, Oregon State University, 2750 SW Campus Way, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA
Phillip Summers: Department of Radiology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC 27157, USA
Paul J. Laurienti: Department of Radiology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC 27157, USA

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 9, 1-23

Abstract: This study uses repeated measures to document the pesticide exposure of rural and urban Latinx children (age eight at baseline), and to compare these children in terms of the frequency and concentration of their exposure to a large set of pesticides, accounting for season. We used silicone wristbands worn for one week up to ten times at quarterly intervals from 2018 to 2022 to assess pesticide exposure in children from rural farmworker ( n = 75) and urban non-farmworker ( n = 61) families. We determined the detection and concentrations (ng/g) of 72 pesticides and pesticide degradation products in the wristbands using gas chromatography electron capture detection and gas chromatography mass spectrometry. The most frequently detected pesticide classes were organochlorines, pyrethroids, and organophosphates. Controlling for season, organochlorine or phenylpyrazole detections were less likely for rural children than for urban children. Detections of organochlorines, pyrethroids, or organophosphates were lower in spring and summer versus winter. Controlling for season, urban children had greater concentrations of organochlorines, while rural children had greater concentrations of pyrethroids and Chlorpyrifos. Pesticide concentrations were lower in winter and spring compared with summer and fall. These results further document that pesticides are ubiquitous in the living environment for children in vulnerable, immigrant communities.

Keywords: child health; pesticides; exposure assessment; personal monitoring; farmworkers; community-based participatory research; health equity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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