Design strategy for assessing multi-pathway exposure for children: the Minnesota Children's Pesticide Exposure Study (MNCPES)

Although children are exposed to a variety of environmental hazards, includ ing pesticides, there is a scarcity of information available to estimate ex posures realistically. This article reports on one of the first attempts to measure multi-pathway pesticide exposures in a population-based sample of urban and nonurban children. A design strategy was developed to assess mult i-pathway pesticide exposures in children using personal exposure measureme nts in combination with complimentary measurements of biological markers of exposure, concentrations in relevant environmental media, and time spent i n important microenvironments and participating in exposure-related activit ies. Sample collection and analysis emphasized measurement of three insecti cides (i.e., chlorpyrifos, diazinon, and malathion) and one herbicide (i.e. , atrazine). These compounds were selected because of their frequent use, p resence in multiple environmental media, expected population exposures, and related hazard/toxicity. The study was conducted during the summer of 1997 in Minnesota and involved a stratified sample of households with children ages 3 - 12 years. Participants resided in either (a) the cities of Minneap olis and St Paul (urban households), or (b) Rice and Goodhue Counties just south of the metropolitan area (non-urban households). Results from a resid ential inventory documenting storage and use of products containing the tar get pesticides were used to preferentially select households where children were likely to have higher exposures. The study successfully obtained pest icide exposure data for 102 children, including measurements of personal ex posures (air, hand rinse, duplicate diet), environmental concentrations (re sidential indoor/outdoor air, drinking water, residential surfaces, soil), activity patterns (obtained by questionnaire, diary, videotaping), and inte rnal dose (metabolites in urine).