title: Characterization of residential pesticide use and chemical formulations through self-report and household inventory: the Northern California Childhood Leukemia study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Home and garden pesticide use has been linked to cancer and other health outcomes in numerous epidemiological studies. Exposure has generally been self-reported, so the assessment is potentially limited by recall bias and lack of information on specific chemicals.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  As part of an integrated assessment of residential pesticide exposure, we identified active ingredients and described patterns of storage and use.
  
  
  METHODS
  During a home interview of 500 residentially stable households enrolled in the Northern California Childhood Leukemia Study during 2001-2006, trained interviewers inventoried residential pesticide products and queried participants about their storage and use. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency registration numbers, recorded from pesticide product labels, and pesticide chemical codes were matched to public databases to obtain information on active ingredients and chemical class. Poisson regression was used to identify independent predictors of pesticide storage. Analyses were restricted to 259 participating control households.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Ninety-five percent (246 of 259) of the control households stored at least one pesticide product (median, 4). Indicators of higher sociodemographic status predicted more products in storage. We identified the most common characteristics: storage areas (garage, 40%; kitchen, 20%), pests treated (ants, 33%; weeds, 20%), pesticide types (insecticides, 46%; herbicides, 24%), chemical classes (pyrethroids, 77%; botanicals, 50%), active ingredients (pyrethrins, 43%) and synergists (piperonyl butoxide, 42%). Products could contain multiple active ingredients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our data on specific active ingredients and patterns of storage and use will inform future etiologic analyses of residential pesticide exposures from self-reported data, particularly among households with young children.
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, California, USA.
authors.forename: Neela
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Guha
authors.forename: Mary H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Ward
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gunier
authors.forename: Joanne S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Colt
authors.forename: C Suzanne
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Lea
authors.forename: Patricia A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Buffler
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Metayer
mesh_terms: D002140:California / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007938:Leukemia / Q000139:chemically induced*; D008297:Male; D010575:Pesticides / Q000633:toxicity*; D012650:Self Disclosure; D014481:United States; D014484:United States Environmental Protection Agency
chemical_list: D010575:Pesticides