Hand to Mouth-Ingestion of Pesticides by Children Living on the US/Mexico Border

Stuart Shalat and Kirby Donnelly
University of Medicine and Dentisty of New Jersey and Texas A&M University
P30ES05022 and P30ES09106

Background: Many studies have shown that children are exposed to environmental chemicals including pesticides through different mechanisms and sometimes in greater amounts than adults. This can be especially troublesome in agricultural communities where the potential for pesticide exposure is higher than in the general population. Clearly, the potential for toxicity is dependent on the dose children receive. Children in general spend more time in contact with surfaces prone to pesticide contamination such as floors and soils. The pesticides are transferred to the hands and then ingested when mouthing behavior occurs.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate relationships between exposure to organophosphate containing pesticides in children living in border agricultural communities and dose levels determined by measuring metabolites in urine.

Advance: Seventy-six percent of housedust samples and 50% of hand rinse samples contained pesticides. Urine samples from all 52 children contained at least one pesticide metabolite and 95% contained metabolites of two or more pesticides. Younger children and infants had higher concentrations of urinary metabolites than older children. Levels of pesticides on the childrens' hands were more closely associated with urine concentrations than were housedust samples.

Implication: This study demonstrates the elevation of pesticide contamination in children living in border communities. The levels were higher in younger children suggesting the need for study in younger infants. The level of pesticides found on the childrens' hands was correlated higher with urine concentrations than housedust samples suggesting it is a better estimate of exposure. Little is known about the health hazards from long-term exposure to these chemicals. The findings presented illustrate the importance of continued study of environmental pesticide exposure and its possible involvement in chronic illness among children living in agricultural communities along the US/Mexico border.

Citation: Shalat SL, Donnelly KC, Freeman NC, Calvin JA, Ramesh S, Jimenez M, Black K, Coutinho C, Needham LL, Barr DB, Ramirez J. Nondietary ingestion of pesticides by children in an agricultural community on the US/Mexico border: preliminary results. J Expo Anal Environ Epidemiol. 2003 Jan;13(1):42-50.