Pesticide Exposure of Residents Living Close to Agricultural Fields in the Netherlands: Protocol for an Observational Study
Figueiredo, Daniel M; Krop, Esmeralda J M; Duyzer, Jan; Gerritsen-Ebben, Rianda M; Gooijer, Yvonne M; Holterman, Henk J; Huss, Anke; Jacobs, Cor M J; Kivits, Carla M; Kruijne, Roel; Mol, Hans J G J; Oerlemans, Arné; Sauer, Pieter J J; Scheepers, Paul T J; van de Zande, Jan C; van den Berg, Erik; Wenneker, Marcel; Vermeulen, Roel C H
(2021) JMIR Research Protocols, volume 10, issue 4, pp. 1 - 17
(Article)
Abstract
Background: Application of pesticides in the vicinity of homes has caused concern regarding possible health effects in residents living nearby. However, the high spatiotemporal variation of pesticide levels and lack of knowledge regarding the contribution of exposure routes greatly complicates exposure assessment approaches. Objective: The objective of this paper was
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to describe the study protocol of a large exposure survey in the Netherlands assessing pesticide exposure of residents living close (<250 m) to agricultural fields; to better understand possible routes of exposure; to develop an integrative exposure model for residential exposure; and to describe lessons learned. Methods: We performed an observational study involving residents living in the vicinity of agricultural fields and residents living more than 500 m away from any agricultural fields (control subjects). Residential exposures were measured both during a pesticide use period after a specific application and during the nonuse period for 7 and 2 days, respectively. We collected environmental samples (outdoor and indoor air, dust, and garden and field soils) and personal samples (urine and hand wipes). We also collected data on spraying applications as well as on home characteristics, participants' demographics, and food habits via questionnaires and diaries. Environmental samples were analyzed for 46 prioritized pesticides. Urine samples were analyzed for biomarkers of a subset of 5 pesticides. Alongside the field study, and by taking spray events and environmental data into account, we developed a modeling framework to estimate environmental exposure of residents to pesticides. Results: Our study was conducted between 2016 and 2019. We assessed 96 homes and 192 participants, including 7 growers and 28 control subjects. We followed 14 pesticide applications, applying 20 active ingredients. We collected 4416 samples: 1018 air, 445 dust (224 vacuumed floor, 221 doormat), 265 soil (238 garden, 27 fields), 2485 urine, 112 hand wipes, and 91 tank mixtures. Conclusions: To our knowledge, this is the first study on residents' exposure to pesticides addressing all major nondietary exposure sources and routes (air, soil, dust). Our protocol provides insights on used sampling techniques, the wealth of data collected, developed methods, modeling framework, and lessons learned. Resources and data are open for future collaborations on this important topic.
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Keywords: Agriculture, Biomonitoring, Environmental samples, Modeling, Pesticide exposure assessment, Pesticides, Residents, General Medicine
ISSN: 1929-0748
Publisher: JMIR Publications Inc.
Note: ©Daniel M Figueiredo, Esmeralda J M Krop, Jan Duyzer, Rianda M Gerritsen-Ebben, Yvonne M Gooijer, Henk J Holterman, Anke Huss, Cor M J Jacobs, Carla M Kivits, Roel Kruijne, Hans J G J Mol, Arné Oerlemans, Pieter J J Sauer, Paul T J Scheepers, Jan C van de Zande, Erik van den Berg, Marcel Wenneker, Roel C H Vermeulen. Originally published in JMIR Research Protocols (https://www.researchprotocols.org), 28.04.2021. Funding Information: This study was funded by the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy. We would like to thank all participants and growers for their willingness to participate in this study, the stakeholders for providing continuous feedback, and all the parties involved in the OBO study group. Publisher Copyright: © 2021 JMIR Publications. All rights reserved.
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