title: Pesticide exposure and self reported home hygiene: practices in agricultural families.
abstract: Little is known about environmental exposure to pesticides and the extent to which exposure is affected by drift from agricultural applications and take home exposure from agricultural workers. The study focused on 24 agricultural families in the northwestern United States and measured levels of organophosphate pesticides (OP) in house dust. Pesticide residues were significantly associated with the number of individuals in the home whose work included high exposure pesticide activities. Mean levels of pesticides were higher in the homes of workers who reported waiting more than 2 hours before changing out of their work clothes compared with homes where workers change within 2 hours after returning from work (p < .01). The results of this study provide evidence that workers can inadvertently carry agricultural chemicals from their work into their homes, thereby increasing the risk of pesticide exposure to other family members inside the home.
authors.affiliation: Center for Research on Occupational and Environmental Toxicology at Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon, USA.
authors.forename: Linda A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: McCauley
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Michaels
authors.forename: Joan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rothlein
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Muniz
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lasarev
authors.forename: Carin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ebbert
mesh_terms: D000383:Agriculture; D004391:Dust / Q000032:analysis*; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000032:analysis*; D005190:Family; D006798:Housing; D006801:Humans; D015205:Northwestern United States; D010573:Pesticide Residues / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D004391:Dust; D010573:Pesticide Residues