FY2005 Annual Performance Measure 33
"Compendium of NERL-sponsored children's exposure data and tools
for assessing aggregate exposure to residential-use pesticides
in support of the August 2006 reassessment."
National Exposure Research Laboratory
Office of Research and Development
Research Triangle Park, NC 27711
September 30, 2005

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DISCLAIMER
The National Exposure Research Laboratory, Office of Research and Development, United
States Environmental Protection Agency, prepared this compendium of research activities that
have been performed and/or funded by NERL and it's collaborators. The individual technical
reports summarized within this compendium have undergone Agency peer review. This report is
intended as a reference document for use by EPA and other exposure assessors. Mention of
trade names or commercial products does not constitute endorsement or recommendation for use.
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ABSTRACT
The Food Quality Protection Act of 1996 (FQPA, Public Law 104-170) requires EPA to upgrade
the risk assessment procedures for regulating pesticides, including the introduction of aggregate
exposure and cumulative risk assessments. FQPA also specifies that special consideration must
be given to infants and children when demonstrating that "no harm" will result from aggregate
pesticide exposures. Thus, exposure and risk assessments must be conducted for infants and
children. In 1997, scientists within the National Exposure Research Laboratory (NERL)
developed a conceptual model for identifying the highest priority FQPA-related exposure
research needed to fill the critical exposure data gaps and provide the science to reduce
uncertainty in future pesticide risk assessments. In collaboration with Agency scientists and risk
assessors, NERL implemented focused exposure methods, measures, and modeling research
activities to address the highest priority exposure needs, with special emphasis on research issues
addressing children's pesticides exposures. This report provides a compendium of NERL-
sponsored exposure research activities that have been implemented in support of the 2006 FQPA
mandate. Key research findings, along with copies and/or links to the corresponding technical
publications, are included as a reference for use by risk assessors in conducting future pesticide
exposure assessments. Pesticide exposure research activities that are currently on-going are also
included for completeness as these data will be used to support future FQPA mandates.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE	Error! Bookmark not defined.
DISCLAIMER	ii
ABSTRACT	iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS	iv
1.	INTRODUCTION	1
2.	OVERVIEW OF THE FOOD QUALITY PROTECTION ACT (FQPA)	5
3.	OVERVIEW OF NATIONAL EXPOSURE RESEARCH LABORATORY RESEARCH
	5
4.	CHILDREN'S EXPOSURE RESEARCH FRAMEWORK	6
5.	EXPOSURE METHODS AND PROTOCOL RESEARCH	10
5.1	Protocol Development	10
5.1.1	Draft Protocol for Measuring Children's Non-Occupational Exposures to
Pesticides by All Relevant Routes	10
5.1.2	Measurement and Analysis of Exposures to Environmental Pollutants and
Biological Agents during the National Children's Study (NCS)	11
5.2	Environmental and Biological Sampling and Analysis Methods	12
5.2.1	Methods Published in Peer Reviewed Journal Articles	13
5.2.2	Methods Published in Peer Reviewed EPA Technical Reports	14
5.2.3	NERL Approved Laboratory Analysis and Field Measurement Standard
Operating Procedures	14
5.2.4	Book Chapter	15
5.3	Survey Methods	15
6.	EXPOSURE MEASUREMENT RESEARCH	17
6.1 Laboratory and pilot scale studies to identify and evaluate factors influencing
children's exposures	17
6.1.1	Identification of Important Parameters for Characterizing Pesticide Residue
Transfer Efficiencies	17
6.1.2	Feasibility of Using the Macroactivity Approach to Assess Dermal Exposure.... 18
6.1.3	Distribution of Pesticides and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in House Dust
as a Function of Particle Size	19
6.1.4	Influence of Residential Lawn Pesticide Applications on Indoor Levels and
Exposures	19
6.1.5	The Distribution of Chlorpyrifos Following a Crack and Crevice Type
Application in the U.S. EPA Indoor Air Quality Test House	20
6.1.6	Study to Evaluate the Potential for Human Exposure to Pet-Borne Diazinon
Residues following Residential Turf Applications	21
6.1.7	Children's Dietary Lead Study	21
6.1.8	Transfer Efficiencies of Pesticides from Household Surfaces to Foods	22
6.1.9	Dietary Intake of Young Children	23
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6.2	Pilot scale studies to test and evaluate exposure protocols	24
6.2.1	Post-Application Exposure Studies (EOHSI and RTP)	24
6.2.2	Characterizing Children's Pesticide Exposures in Jacksonville, Florida	25
6.2.3	Exposures and Health of Farm Worker Children in California	26
6.3	Conduct of exposure and occurrence field measurement studies	27
6.3.1	National Human Exposure Assessment Survey (NHEXAS)	27
6.3.2	Children's Total Exposure to Persistent Pesticides and Other Persistent Organic
Pollutants (CTEPP)	31
6.3.3	First National Environmental Health Survey of Child Care Centers	33
6.3.4	Agricultural Health Study Pesticide Exposure Study	33
6.3.5	American Healthy Homes Survey	34
6.3.6	Children's Environmental Exposure Research Study	35
6.4	Data Analysis Activities to Inform Future Research	36
6.4.1	Analysis of available children's mouthing data	36
6.4.2	A Relative Comparison of Indoor Air Concentrations of Organochlorine,
Organophosphate and Pyrethroid Pesticides in the US Over Twenty Years	37
6.4.3	The Results for EPA's Workshop on the Analysis of Children's Measurement
Data	38
7.	EXPOSURE AND DOSE MODELING RESEARCH	38
7.1	Exposure Modeling Research	39
7.2	Dose Modeling Research	42
8.	EXPOSURE DATABASES	45
8.1	Consolidated Human Activity Database (CHAD)	45
8.2	Human Exposure Database System (HEDS)	47
9.	GENERAL CONCLUSIONS	47
10.	SUMMARY	50
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1. INTRODUCTION
The Food Quality Protection Act of 1996 (FQPA, Public Law 104-170, available at
http://www.epa.gov/oppfeadl/fgpa/gpogate.pdf) requires EPA to upgrade the risk assessment
procedures for regulating pesticides, including the introduction of aggregate exposure and
cumulative risk assessments. FQPA defines aggregate exposure as human exposures to a single
chemical via all routes and environmental pathways. Cumulative risks are defined as exposures
to multiple chemicals with the same mechanism of toxicity, also referred to as the chemicals with
a common mode of action (MOA). Under FQPA, EPA can establish or leave in effect a
tolerance (the legal limit for a pesticide chemical residue in or on a food) only if it is determined
to be "safe." "Safe" is defined as "a reasonable certainty that no harm will result from aggregate
exposures to the pesticide's chemical residue from all anticipated dietary sources as well as all
exposures from other sources for which there are reliable information." FQPA also specifies that
special consideration must be given to infants and children when demonstrating that "no harm"
will result from aggregate pesticide exposures. Thus, future exposure and risk assessments must
be include considerations for infants and children.
In 1997, the National Exposure Research Laboratory (NERL) of the Office of Research and
Development (ORD) designed and initiated an integrated research program to address the highest
priority FQPA-related exposure research needs. This research program was developed in
collaboration with the scientists and managers of EPA's Office of Pesticides Programs (OPP),
within the Office of Prevention, Pesticides, and Toxics Substances (OPPTS), and the Office of
Children's Health Protection (OCHP). A conceptual model was first developed to identify and
prioritize the exposure research needs, and then used to design NERL's future research program.
Fundamental sound science and specific problem driven research activities were implemented to
develop and apply the exposure tools (methods, measures and models) to generate the critical
data needed to better understand and quantify children's aggregate exposures to pesticides and to
estimate the dose resulting from these exposures. Specific NERL objectives included:
•	To develop aggregate and cumulative exposure and dose models to assess and predict
exposures from non-agricultural use of pesticides; these models will include both dietary
and non-dietary exposure sources;
•	To develop and use common and widely available platforms for exposure, exposure-to-
dose, and source-to-dose models;
•	To develop methods and approaches for understanding pesticide use by people in their
environments, especially in and around the home;
•	To identify and characterize major factors that contribute to the magnitude and variability
in human aggregate and cumulative exposure to pesticides;
•	To conduct surveys to determine distributions of aggregate and cumulative exposure for
the general population and sub-populations of interest; this includes seeking to better
understand food use and consumption patterns; and,
•	To design and implement exposure studies and to analyze, interpret and report the
exposure measurements data.
A wide variety of exposure research programs have been planned and implemented in
collaboration with the OPP and OCHP scientists since the enactment of FQPA. This Report
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compiles a listing of NERL pesticides exposure research activities and published results that can
be used by the Agency with other scientific and manufacturer data to respond to the 2006 FQPA
mandate. Completed and currently ongoing pesticides research activities are included in this
compendium. Brief synopses of the research activities and key findings, along with copies of
and/or links to the individual technical products, are provided as ready reference and use by the
Agency risk assessors. Each research activity was designed to fill one or more critical exposure
data gap(s), identify factors influencing exposures, and/or to provide risk assessors with the skills,
knowledge, abilities, and tools for reducing uncertainties in future pesticides exposure
assessments. The results of completed studies and key findings have been previously reported to
the OPP collaborators through a variety of media including publications, presentations, Annual
Performance Measures, technical reports, seminars, etc. These research results have also been
used in an iterative fashion by NERL and ORD to identify research gaps and to develop
hypotheses that will be used to inform and implement future FQPA-related research programs.
NERL's research program has been designed to develop the fundamental sound science tools for
filling critical data gaps and reducing uncertainties in pesticides exposure and risk assessments.
Significant research and technical support has been devoted over the past 10 years to assisting
OPP in addressing specific FQPA-related risk assessments. While this report was originally
intended to provide the Agency risk assessors with a ready reference of validated exposure
research results and tools that can be used in future pesticides risk assessment, it is important to
note where the NERL exposure research has already been used to fill critical data gaps and
reduce uncertainty in recent risk assessments. Table 1 summarizes where NERL exposure
research and/or tools have been used by OPP to inform its exposure and risk assessment
decisions.
OPP is the principal recipient of this Report. However, NERL's exposure research was designed
to also address the children's exposure-related scientific priorities for OCHP. In general, the
research results compiled in this Report are intended to inform all risk assessors within and
outside EPA who are challenged with the responsibility for protecting children and performing
aggregate/cumulative pesticide risk assessments.
This Report fulfills NERL's Fiscal Year 2005 Annual Performance Measure 33. It provides the
completed pesticides exposure research products and results to OPP in Fiscal Year 2005 for use
in addressing the 2006 mandates. Summaries of on-going exposure research, to include
anticipated outputs that will be used by the Agency to reduce uncertainties in risk assessments
and address future FQPA mandates are also provided. Products within this ready-reference
compendium include: published peer-reviewed journal articles and EPA reports; measurement-
method protocols for use in sampling and analyzing pesticides and pesticide residues in a variety
of environmental and biological media; databases of measured results from field and laboratory
studies related to children's exposure to pesticides; and models that can be used for assessing
pesticide exposures and doses for children and the general population. Collectively, these
products provide OPPTS and other exposure assessors with a set of knowledge tools that can be
used to enhance the scientific basis for future pesticides exposure and risk assessments,
especially for assessing children's aggregate pesticide exposures.
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Table 1. Significant FQPA-Related Exposure Research Accomplishments
RESEARCH
AREA
PRODUCT
DESCRIPTION
USE IN RISK ASSESSMENT
Models
Stochastic Human
Exposure Dose
Simulation
(SHEDS) Model
2-stage Monte-Carlo
concentration-to-exposure-to-
dose model yielding improved
estimates of variability and
reducing uncertainty in exposure
assessments
1)	Chlorpyrifos risk assessment (SHEDS chlorpyrifos assessment
was reviewed by OPP but not used directly in their risk
assessment)
2)	CCA-treated wood risk assessment
3)	Pyrethroid cumulative risk assessment (ongoing)
Exposure-Related
Dose Estimating
Model (ERDEM)
Physiologically-based
pharmacokinetic (PBPK) model
used to estimate internal tissue
dose resulting from exposure
1)	Diomethoate risk assessment
2)	Malathion in head lice risk assessment
3)	Carbaryl and other N-Methyl Carbamates cumulative risk
assessment (ongoing)
4)	Pyrethroid cumulative risk assessment (ongoing)
Children's Dietary
Intake Model
(CDIM)
Calculates total dietary intake by
a child of a chemical including
excess exposure due to handling
during consumption
1)	Provides accurate estimates of total dietary exposure of children
to chemical contaminants
2)	Incorporates excess dietary exposures caused by chemical
contaminant transfer from surfaces and/or hands to foods prior to
consumption
Measures
Children's
Exposure Studies
Various studies to include:
1)	Minnesota Children's Pesticide
Exposure Study
2)	Children's Daycare Study
3)	Children's Total Exposure to
Pesticides and Other Persistent
Pollutants (CTEPP)
4)	NAFTA Border Studies
5)	National Children's Study
6)	Dietary Intake of Young
Children
7)	Children's Dietary Lead Study
1)	Filling critical exposure data gaps for young children (3-6)
2)	Estimating children's exposures from various indoor
environments
3)	Identifying key factors influencing children's exposures
4)	Estimating aggregate exposures
5)	Providing validated protocols for collecting high quality
children's exposure data
6)	Designing future prospective children's studies (on-going)
7)	Providing data to support the Risk Assessment Forum
Children's Age Bins
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Population
Exposure and
Occurrence
Studies
Various studies including:
1)	Agricultural Health Study
2)	National Human Exposure
Assessment Survey Studies
3)	HUD/EPA Environmental
Health Survey of Child Care
Centers
4)	HUD/EPA American Healthy
Homes Survey
1)	Providing data relating farm children exposures to the general
population
2)	Providing estimates of general population exposures
3)	Providing pesticide occurrence data in daycares across the US
4)	Providing pesticide occurrence data in US residences (ongoing)
5)	Providing input data for exposure and dose models

In-house Research
to Understand
Factors
Influencing
Exposures
1)	Food transfer studies
2)	Test house
3)	Fluorescent Study
4)	Pet study
1)	Filling critical data gaps
2)	Estimating children's exposures from indoor environments
3)	Identifying key factors influencing children's exposures
4)	Provides input data for exposure and dose models
Databases
Consolidated
Human Activity
Database (CHAD)
A database compiling the results
of a wide variety of human
personal activity data from
studies reported in the literature
into a consistent and readily
assessable framework
Providing human activity data by age and gender for
understanding exposure and dose
Human Exposure
Database System
(HEDS)
A readily available database of
the validated exposure data from
the NERL-sponsored studies
Validated exposure data from NERL-sponsored exposure studies
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2. OVERVIEW OF THE FOOD QUALITY PROTECTION ACT (FQPA)
The Food Quality Protection Act of 1996 (FQPA, Public Law 104-170; available at
http://www.epa.gov/oppfeadl/fgpa/gpogate.pdf). mandated that the EPA consider aggregate
exposure of humans to pesticides and pesticide residues. Aggregate exposure refers to the
multiple environmental media and pathways by which humans are exposed to pesticides. In
setting tolerances or upper limits of pesticides for food, the EPA must determine "that there is a
reasonable certainty that no harm will result from aggregate exposure to the pesticide chemical
residue, including all anticipated dietary exposures and all other exposures for which there is
reliable information." (FQPA Section 405).
The FQPA specifically requires the EPA to consider the protection of infants and children in
setting tolerances for foods. For infants and children, assessments must consider their food
consumption patterns, their "special susceptibility" including neurological differences relative to
adults and in utero exposures, the cumulative effects of multiple chemicals that have a "common
mechanism of toxicity", and "exposure from other non-occupational sources".
Thus the FQPA places a scientific burden on EPA's exposure and risk assessors to consider all
pathways and routes of pesticide exposure. In addition, special interest must be given for
safeguarding children and infants. Furthermore, the FQPA requires EPA to use reliable
information in assessing such exposures.
3. OVERVIEW OF NATIONAL EXPOSURE RESEARCH LABORATORY RESEARCH
EPA's scientific responsibility to consider children's aggregate pesticide exposures using reliable
information motivates EPA's Office of Research and Development (ORD) to generate new and
refined information tools and provide technical support to OPP. Through ORD's Human Health
Research Program (HHRP), ORD strives "...to provide fundamental understanding of the
physical and biological processes that underlie environmental systems and human populations at
risk. It is expected that the products of this program will provide an integrated information base
for scientifically defensible risk assessment and risk management decisions..." (excerpt from the
Final Report of the HHRP Review by the ORD Board of Scientific Counselors, July 27, 2005).
ORD's National Exposure Research Laboratory (NERL) developed and implemented a
responsive pesticides exposure research program, framed within the ORD HHRP, to help address
the FQPA mandates. NERL established an FY 2005 Annual Performance Measure (APM 33) to
provide OPP/OPPTS with the validated data and tools for assessing aggregate exposures of
children to residential-use pesticides that could be used to meet the 2006 FQPA mandate. NERL
has addressed this commitment by pursuing, in an iterative fashion, a multiple-disciplinary
research program that has included the following major elements:
•	development and publication of a knowledge framework for understanding and studying
children's aggregate pesticide exposures;
•	development of a protocol that defines the data needs for quantifying aggregate exposures
by multiple routes and pathways
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•	development of analytical and exposure measurement methods for use in sampling and
analyzing pesticides and pesticide residues in a variety of environmental and biological
media;
•	development of methods for collecting and interpreting data on children's activities and
other exposure factors
•	implementation of field and laboratory studies related to children's exposure to
pesticides;
•	development and dissemination of databases of measured results from these studies;
•	development and application of computational models for assessment of pesticide
exposure and dose; and
•	publication of peer-reviewed journal articles and EPA reports.
This Report provides a compendium of the NERL research activities that have been implemented
since 1997. It includes brief synopses of the research activities and the key research findings,
and provides copies of the technical reports and/or appropriate linkages to the science products to
facilitate user access to these documents. Within each document, the reader can learn the
specifics regarding the research objectives, results, and guidance for how the research tools and
sound science findings can be used to inform future risk assessments.
4. CHILDREN'S EXPOSURE RESEARCH FRAMEWORK
NERL was already conducting research on children's exposures to pesticides and other
environmental contaminants prior to 2006 and FQPA. However, after the passage of the FQPA,
NERL increased its commitment to conducting focused pesticides exposure research in
collaboration with OPP/OPPTS and OCHP scientists and managers to help address the FQPA
mandates. A systematic approach was taken to planning and implementing the research that was
ultimately needed to provide exposure and risk assessors with the knowledge tools for
developing improved exposure and risk assessments for children. Several internal and external
workshops were conducted to gain a better understanding of the state of the science and frame
the research needs. One important workshop focused on dermal and non-dietary ingestion
exposure research, areas where the Agency had identified major research gaps. Information was
gathered on the state-of-the-art in measuring and assessing children's exposures to pesticides via
dermal contact with contaminated surfaces and objects as well as by non-dietary ingestion.
Special attention was given to methods and approaches for characterizing concentrations of
pesticides in the exposure media (on surface/object) and on quantifying the transfer of
contaminants to the skin surface or mouth. The workshop report summarizes the workshop
discussions and identifies research priorities based on a review of the literature, scientists
discussions, and expert input.
Concurrently, NERL initiated activities to systematically define and plan the future research
program. Two seminal papers outlined the children's pesticides exposure and assessment tools
research needs. The first of these papers, "Children's Exposure Assessment: A Review of
Factors Influencing Children's Exposure, and the Data Available to Characterize and Assess
That Exposure" (Cohen Hubal et al. 2000a) was published in Environmental Health Perspectives.
This paper lays out a conceptual framework for assessing children's aggregate exposure
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(Figure 1). Several equations and/or algorithms are presented that represent exposure via each of
several routes: inhalation; dermal contact and transfer for two different approaches (a
macroactivity approach, and a microactivity approach); nondietary ingestion due to mouthing of
hands and objects; and dietary ingestion. For each of these algorithms, the input factors are
defined and discussed. Data needed to implement the algorithms are described, and the
availability and quality of the needed data discussed. This approach resulted in the identification
of several general areas of research needed to fill critical exposure data gaps and reduce
uncertainty, including:
•	identification of appropriate age/developmental benchmarks for categorizing children in
exposure assessment;
•	development and improvement of methods for monitoring children's exposures and
activities;
•	collection of activity pattern data for children (especially young children) required to
assess exposure by all routes; and
•	collection of data on concentrations of environmental contaminants, biomarkers, and
transfer coefficients that can be used as inputs to aggregate exposure models.
This publication was followed by a second, related journal article "The challenge of assessing
children's exposure to pesticides" (Cohen Hubal et al. 2000b). This second paper specifically
described the research strategy NERL would employ in addressing the identified data gaps
specific to children's aggregate exposure to pesticides. Four priority exposure research areas
were identified:
•	pesticide use patterns in microenvironments where children spend time;
•	temporal and spatial distribution of pesticides following application in residential
settings;
•	dermal and nondietary ingestion exposure assessment methods and exposure factors; and
•	dietary exposure assessment methods and exposure factors for infants and young children.
Another important paper further developed the modeling framework for conducting children's
exposure assessments (Zartarian et al., 2000). In this paper, Zartarian et al. presented the first
generation of the Stochastic Human Exposure and Dose Simulation (SHEDS) modeling
framework for assessing pesticide exposure. The SHEDS model combines activity data from
NERL's Consolidated Human Activity Database (CHAD) with probability distributions of
environmental concentrations and exposure factors. This initial SHEDS publication described
the 1-stage Monte Carlo modeling framework and presented an assessment for children's
residential exposures to chlorpyrifos, an organophosphorus (OP) insecticide, from lawn, garden,
and indoor crack and crevice application methods. The paper focused on the difficult-to-model
pathways of dermal contact and transfer (using the micro-activity approach described by Cohen
Hubal et al. (2000a,b), and non-dietary ingestion that result from hand-to-mouth and object-to-
mouth activity of children, addressing the third highest-priority research areas identified by
Cohen Hubal et al. (2000b). This initial SHEDS paper identified non-dietary ingestion as an
important exposure pathway for children in residences. When evaluated against real-world data,
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Figure 1: Children's residential exposure to pesticides
Inhalation
X Inhalation /

Source
indoor
residential
outdoor
residential
industrial
agricultural
Release
&
Transfer
•
air
•
water
•
house

dust
•
food
•
surfaces
•
clothes
Exposure

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the SHEDS-Pesticides model simulated urinary excretion rates of the chlorpyrifos metabolite
3,5,6-trichloro-2-pyridinol that were comparable to other peer reviewed published measurements.
This evaluation of the model against real-world data supported the scientific robustness of the
model.
The SHEDS-Pesticides model was then enhanced to a 2-stage Monte Carlo aggregate model,
including the inhalation and dietary ingestion routes as well as the dermal route (using the
macro-activity approach described by Cohen Hubal et al. (2000a,b) and the non-dietary ingestion
route. This second generation model was an embodiment, in a computational software program,
of some of the aggregate exposure concepts identified in the framework papers.
These three papers provided NERL with a sound science foundation for defining and developing
a consistent conceptual framework for assessing children's aggregate exposures to residential
pesticides. They were use to systematically identify and prioritize research activities and
programs designed to improve the tools for performing these assessments.
Over the last five to seven years, NERL has conducted extensive research in the area of
children's residential pesticide exposures with the research designed to fill the identified critical
data gaps and provide scientific understandings that reduce uncertainty in risk assessment. The
research has been framed in four major categories: (1) the development of methods (sampling
and analytical) and protocols for characterizing pesticide residue levels in various
environmental and biological media and in microenvironments where children live and play; (2)
the conduct of laboratory and field measurement studies to obtain new data describing
children's aggregate residential pesticide exposure and the key factors influencing these
exposures; (3) the development and application of exposure and dose models for the simulation
of these exposures and the resulting doses; and, 4) development of internet accessible databases
to store, maintain, retrieve, and disseminate validated data. The remainder of this Report
provides the reader with brief summaries of NERL's research activities within each of these four
major categories.
References
Cohen Hubal, E. A., K. W. Thomas, J. J. Quackenboss, E. J. Furtaw Jr., and L. S. Sheldon.
Dermal and Non-Dietary Exposure Workshop. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
Washington, DC, EPA/600/R-99/039 (NTIS PB99-150922), 1999.
Cohen Hubal E.A., Sheldon L.S., Burke J.M., McCurdy T.R., Berry M.R., Rigas M.L., Zartarian
V.G., and Freeman N.C.G. "Children's exposure assessment: A review of factors influencing
children's exposure, and the data available to characterize and assess that exposure," Environ.
Health Perspect. 108:475-486, (2000a)
Cohen Hubal E.A., Sheldon L.S., Zufall, M.J., Burke J.M., and Thomas K.W., "The challenge of
assessing children's exposure to pesticides," J. Expo. Anal. Environ. Epidemiol. 10:638-649,
(2000b)
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Zartarian, V., Ozkaynak, A.H., Burke, J.M., Zufall, M.J., Rigas, M.L., and Furtaw, Jr., E.J., "A
modeling framework for estimating children's residential exposure and dose to chlorpyrifos via
dermal residue contact and non-dietary ingestion." Environmental Health Perspectives 108
(6):505-514 (2000). EPA/600/J-01/112.
5. EXPOSURE METHODS AND PROTOCOL RESEARCH
One of NERL's core capabilities is the expertise for developing sophisticated methods and
protocols for characterizing chemical contaminant concentrations in environmental and
biological media, characterizing potential human exposures to the chemicals, and identifying the
key factors influencing these exposures. During NERL's FQPA research needs assessment,
major shortfalls were identified regarding the availability of sophisticated methods and protocols
that would produce consistent, high quality data for characterizing very young children's
exposures to pesticides. Significant research was planned in three areas:
•	Protocol development
•	Environmental and biological sampling and analysis methods
•	Survey methods for characterizing
1.	Pesticide and other household product use
2.	Children's activity patterns, including diet diary, activity diary, accelerometer,
and videography
The following sections highlight the research accomplishments within each of these areas.
5.1 Protocol Development
5.1.1 Draft Protocol for Measuring Children's Non-Occupational Exposures to Pesticides by All
Relevant Routes
Prior to FQPA, standard protocols for conducting exposure field studies that provide data for
measurement-based exposure assessments did not exist. In addition, protocols for developing
exposure factor data to be used for modeling assessment were not available. Although children's
exposure research was on-going both within and outside EPA, the protocols that were being
employed in the various studies were developed to meet individual study objectives. More
importantly, researchers used a wide variety of methods that produced data of different quality
and quantity, and in many instances didn't collect all the necessary data required for reliable
exposure assessments. As a result of these differences in design and implementation, the data
from the various studies could not be readily compared and/or interpreted.
After the implementation of FQPA, NERL's children's aggregate exposure research program
was designed to address these shortfalls. Research was implemented to better understand
children's multimedia, multipathway exposures and to determine what environmental, biological,
exposure factor, and other physical and meta data needed to be collected to characterize and
estimate children's exposure to pesticides by each route and pathway. The goal of this program
was to develop and publish a protocol that could be used by all researchers examining children's
exposures to pesticides that could be used to generate comparable data across these studies for
assessing children's aggregate risk. As a result of this effort, a draft protocol was developed for
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measuring children's exposures to pesticides by all relevant pathways (EPA, 2001). This draft
protocol addressed approaches and methods for measurements for children's exposures that can
be used as part of future field monitoring studies. It describes the algorithms for each route of
exposure, specifies the data required to conduct the aggregate exposure assessment, and
describes the methodology for collecting the data. The protocol did not include the specific
sampling and analysis method or Standard Operating Procedures as there are numerous
comparable methods readily available within the scientific community. NERL implemented
methods research to address the key methods supporting selected NERL exposure studies. These
are described in the next section. The protocol provides the approach for estimating exposure by
each route. References are also provided to assist the reader in obtaining detailed information on
the utility of measurement methods, procurement of materials and supplies, and the
implementation of the methods and materials in the field.
Reference:
Berry, M.R.,Cohen Hubal, E.A., Fortmann, R.C., Melnyk, L.J., Sheldon, L.S., Stout, D.M.,
Tulve, N.S., and Whitaker, D.A., "Draft Protocol for Measuring Children's Non-Occupational
Exposure to Pesticides by all Relevant Pathways," EPA 600/R-03/026, September 2001.
5.1.2 Measurement and Analysis of Exposures to Environmental Pollutants and Biological
Agents during the National Children's Study (NCS)
In 1997 the President's Task force on Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks to Children
was charge with developing strategies to reduce or eliminate adverse effects on children caused
by environmental exposures. In addition, the Task Force proposed the conduct of a longitudinal
children's cohort study. The Children's Act of 2000 authorized the National Institute of Child
Health and Human Development (NCIHD) to conduct a national longitudinal study. The
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, and ORD/EPA were challenged to collaborate with NICHD in designing and
planning the National Children's Study (NCS), http://nationalchildrensstudv.gov/. The NCS is a
longitudinal study that will examine the effects of environmental influences on the health and
development of more than 100,000 children across the United States, following them from
before birth until age 21. The goal of the study is to improve the health and well-being of
children. The study defines the term "environment" broadly and will take a number of issues
into account, including:
•	Natural and man-made environment factors
•	Biological and chemical factors, including pesticides
•	Physical surroundings
•	Social factors
•	Behavioral influences and outcomes
•	Genetics
•	Cultural and family influences and differences
•	Geographic locations
Researchers will analyze how these elements interact with each other and what helpful and/or
harmful effects they might have on children's health. By studying children through their
different phases of growth and development, researchers will be better able to understand the
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role of these factors on health and disease. The study will also allow scientists to find the
differences that exist between groups of people, in terms of their health, health care access,
disease occurrence, and other issues, so that these differences or disparities can be addressed.
Since 2000, NERL and other EPA scientists have served on various workgroups and panels to
help plan and design the NCS. NERL and ORD scientists have also conducted specific research
activities in support of NCS hypotheses and research needs. Several methods and protocol
research activities have been completed by NERL scientists, and are discussed in the following
sections. One major NCS activity where NERL scientists contributed significantly has been in
the development of the white paper, "Measurement and Analysis of Exposures to Environmental
Pollutants and Biological Agents during the National Children's Study", located at
http://nationalchildrensstudv.gov/research/methods studies/final-white-paper-113004.cfm. This
document establishes the framework for the development of the future NCS study design, study
protocols, and the final implementation plan. While only limited pilot study data are currently
available, we anticipate that the future NCS study results will be used by all risk assessors in
assessing children's exposures and health, with key data being used to meet post-2006 FQPA
mandates.
References:
Needham L.L., Ozkaynak H., Whyatt R.M., Barr D.B., Wang R.Y., Naeher L., Akland G.,
Bahadori T., Bradman A., Fortmann R., Liu L.J., Morandi M., O'Rourke M.K., Thomas K.,
Quackenboss J., Ryan P.B., and Zartarian V., "Exposure assessment in the National Children's
Study: Introduction." Environ Health Perspect. 113(8): 1076-82. (2005)
Ozkaynak H., Whyatt R.M., Needham L.L., Akland G., and Quackenboss J., "Exposure
assessment implications for the design and implementation of the National Children's Study,"
Environ Health Perspect. 113(8): 1108-15. (2005)
5.2 Environmental and Biological Sampling and Analysis Methods
NERL's sampling and analysis methods research program has focused on providing the scientific
community with a toolbox of sophisticated methods that will produce the data quality and
quantity needed to support EPA aggregate risk assessments. Aggregate exposure sampling and
analysis methods are needed to provide risk assessors with accurate information on chemical
concentrations, relevant pathways and routes of human exposure. Key issues of analytical and
sampling uncertainty, including precision, accuracy, stability and recovery have been addressed.
NERL's high quality methods program, integrated with the exposure measurements program,
ensures consistently high quality exposure measurement data are collected for use in children's
aggregate risk assessments. Sampling and analytical methods for current-use and emerging
residential pesticides and their residues in various environmental media including air, food and
water, and surfaces (including dust) have been developed and validated. Innovative methods
have also been developed to address key uncertainties in assessing children's pesticides
exposures. Enhanced dietary methods have been developed to improve pesticide analyte and/or
metabolite extraction, detection and quantification in complex dietary samples. Sampling and
analysis methods for collecting urine in young children's diapers have been developed to allow
researchers to generate data filling critical gaps and better understanding the linkages between
environmental concentration, exposure and dose. NERL has also conducted research to develop
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biomarkers methods for collecting and analyzing human biological samples (urine, blood, etc.)
for the presence of the appropriate biomarker, i.e., the pesticide or its metabolite(s) as evidence
that exposure and dose have occurred.
In 2004, NERL provided OPP with a first "Compilation of Developed Methods Used to Measure
Children's Exposures to Pesticides and Other Environmental Contaminants" (Medina-Vera et al.,
2004). This report provided OPP and other Agency risk assessors with a readily accessible
inventory of validated Standard Operating Procedures for use in exposure laboratory and/or field
studies. It also provided SOPs for the analysis of numerous current-use residential pesticides and
other persistent pollutants that NERL historically has measured in the environment using these
sampling media. Since this publication, additional pesticide and pesticide-related sampling and
analysis methods have been developed and validated by NERL. These validated methods are
being reported herein for use in by scientists in future exposure research programs.
5.2.1 Methods Published in Peer Reviewed Journal Articles
Numerous analytical and sample measurement methods have been developed, evaluated, and
published in the peer reviewed scientific literature. These new methods produce the high quality
needed in exposure field studies to characterize children's pesticides multimedia exposures.
•	"Evaluation of Analytical Methods for Determining Pesticides in Baby Food". Chuang, J.
C., M. A. Pollard, M. Misita, and J. M. Van Emon. ANALYTICA CHIMICA ACTA
399(1-2): 135-142, (1999)
•	"Organophosphorus Hydrolase-Based Assay for Organophosphate Pesticides," Rogers, K.
R., Y. Wang, A. Mulchandani, P. Mulchandani, and W. Chen. BIOTECHNOLOGY
PROGRESS 15(3):517-521, (1999)
•	"Collecting urine samples from young children using cotton gauze for pesticide studies",
Hu, Y.A., Barr, D.B., Akland, G., Melnyk, L.J., Needham, L., Pellizzari, E.D., Raymer,
J.H., and Roberds, J.M.," Journal of Exposure Analysis and Environmental
Epidemiology, 10: 703-709, (2000)
•	"Dietary exposure of children in lead-laden environments", Melnyk, L.J., Berry, M.R.,
Sheldon, L.S., Freeman, N.C.G., Pellizzari, E.D., and Kinman, R.N., Journal of Exposure
Analysis and Environmental Epidemiology, 10: 723-731, (2000)
•	"Contribution of children's activities to lead contamination of food", Freeman, N.C.G.,
Sheldon, L.S., Jimenez, M., Melnyk, L.J., Pellizzari, E.D., and Berry, M.R., Journal of
Exposure Analysis and Environmental Epidemiology, 2001, 11: 407-413, (2001)
•	"Determination of pesticides in composite dietary samples by gas chromatography/mass
spectrometry in the selected ion monitoring mode by using a temperature-programmable
large volume injector with pre-separation column", Rosenblum, L., Hieber, T. and
Morgan, J.N., JAOACInternational, 84:891-900 (2001)
•	"Evaluation of Analytical Methods for Determining Pesticides in Baby Foods and Adult
Duplicate-diet Samples," Chuang, J.C., K. Hart, J.S., Chang, L.E. Boman, J.M. VanEmon,
and A.W. Reed Analytical Chimica Acta, 444 (2001) 87-95
•	"Human Blood and Environmental Media Screening Method for Pesticides and
Polychlorinated Biphenyl Compounds Using Liquid Extraction and Gas
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Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry Analysis". Liu, S. and J. D. Pleil. J.
Chromatraphy: B Biomedical Sciences and Applications 769(1): 155-167, (2002)
•	"Comparison of five extraction methods for determination of incurred and added
pesticides in dietary composites", Rosenblum, L., Garris, S. T. and Morgan, J.N., J AO AC
International, 85:1167-1176, (2002)
•	"Transfer efficiencies of pesticides from household flooring surfaces to foods", Rohrer,
C.A., Hieber, T., Melnyk, L.J., and Berry, M.R., Journal of Exposure Analysis and
Environmental Epidemiology, 13: 454 - 464, (2003)
•	"Determination of metals in composite diet samples by inductively coupled plasma-mass
spectrometry", Melnyk, L.J., Morgan, J.N., Fernando, R., Akinbo, O., and Pellizzari,
E.D. "Determination of Metals in Composite Diet Samples by ICP-MS," Journal of
AOACInternational, 86 (2): 439 - 447, (2003)
•	"Comparison of Immunoassay and Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry Methods for
Measuring 3,5,6-Trichloro-2-pyridinol in Multiple Sample Media". Chuang, J. C., J. M.
Van Emon, A. W. Reed, and N. Junod. ANALYTIC A CHIMICA ACTA 517(1-2): 177-
185, (2004).
•	"Development and Evaluation of an Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent (ELISA) Method
for the Measurement of 2,4- Dichlorophenoxyacetic Acid in Human Urine." Chuang, J.C.,
Van Emon, J.M., Durnford, J., Thomas, K.; Talanta 67 (2005) 658-666.
5.2.2	Methods Published in EPA Peer Reviewed Technical Reports
Four key methods have been produced and published as EPA documents, with two of these
designed to direct support the planning and design of the National Children's Study.
•	"Comparison of Methods for the Determination of Alkyl Phosphates in Urine". James, R.
R., S. N. Hern, G. L. Robertson, AND B. A. Schumacher. U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, Washington, DC, EPA/600/R-03/075 (NTIS PB2004-103372).
•	"Evaluating Commercially Available Dermal Wipes, Cotton Suits, and Alternative
Urinary Collection Materials for Pesticide Sampling from Infants", EPA/600/R-04/087
May 2004.
•	"Identification of Time-Integrated Sampling and Measurement Techniques to Support
Human Exposure Studies," EPA 600/R-04-043, May 2004
•	"Demonstration of Low Cost, Low Burden, Exposure Monitoring Strategies for Use in
Longitudinal Cohort Studies," EPA/600/R-04/109, September 2004.
5.2.3	NERL Approved Laboratory Analysis and Field Measurement Standard Operating
Procedures
Numerous NERL developed and approved procedures are available for use by Agency risk
assessors. Each procedure describes in detail the steps required for generating high quantity data
through the collection and analysis of environmental and biological samples. Each electronically
available procedure has been reviewed for quality assurance and updated, as needed, on a yearly
basis with the updated electronic versions available through http J/www, epa. gov/heds/.
•	Collection of Soil Samples for Persistent Organic Pollutants, NERL Standard Operating
Procedure EMAB 016. IE, Revision September 2004
•	Collection of Floor Dust Samples for Persistent Organic Pollutants, NERL Standard
Operating Procedure EMAB-015.1E, Revision September 2004
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•	Collection of Dislodgeable Residues-PUF Roller Samples for Persistent Organic
Pollutants, NERL Standard Operating Procedure EMAB-014.1E, Revision September
2004
•	Collection of Food Preparation Surface Wipe Samples for Persistent Organic Pollutants,
NERL Standard Operating Procedure EMAB-013.1E, Revision September 2004
•	Collection of Hard-Floor Surface Wipe Samples for Persistent Organic Pollutants, NERL
Standard Operating Procedure EMAB-012.1E, Revision September 2004
•	Collection of Dermal Hand Wipe Samples for Persistent Organic Pollutants Procedures,
NERL Standard Operating Procedure EMAB-011. IE, Revision September 2004
•	Collection of Urine Sample Procedures, NERL Standard Operating Procedure EMAB-
010. IE, Revision September 2004
•	Collection of Food Samples, NERL Standard Operating Procedure EMAB-009.1E,
Revision September 2004
•	Collection of Fixed Site Indoor and Outdoor Air Samples for Persistent Organic
Pollutants, NERL Standard Operating Procedure EMAB-008.1E, Revision September
2004
•	"Enantiomer specific analysis of the pyrethroid insecticide c/.s-permethrin in sample
extracts by chiral Gas Chromatography and Mass Spectrometry", NERL Standard
Operating Procedure MDAB-020.1, May 2005
•	"Experimental protocol for the determination of chlorpyrifos, permethrin, cyfulthrin and
diazinon in sample extracts by liquid chromatograpy tandem mass spectrometry
(LC/MS/MS)" NERL Standard Operating Procedure MDAB-049.0, August, 2005
•	Extraction of PUF for Pesticide Analysis by ASE, NERL Standard Operating Procedure
MDAB-047.0, August 2005
5.2.4 Book Chapter
•	Van Emon, J.M. and Chuang, J.C., "Immunoassay Methods for Measuring Atrazine and
3,5,6- Trichloro-2-Pyridinol in Foods, " in Pesticide Analysis: Methods and Protocols,
Volume I. Analysis for Human Exposure. Editor, Jose Luis Martinez Bidal, Department
of Analytical Chemistry, University of Almeria. 04071 Almeria Spain. (In press)
5.3 Survey Methods
As previously noted in the Protocol Development section, aggregate risk assessments require
knowledge regarding the environmental concentrations of the chemicals of interest that humans
may be exposed, the microenvironments where these exposures occur, when they occur, how
they occur, how often they occur, and other key factors that may influence multimedia human
exposures. This is particularly true when researchers are designing observational studies and
assessing children's exposures to pesticides and other important pollutants. Following the
implementation of FQPA, NERL identified the need to develop and refine survey methods for
consistently collecting key factor data that help researchers translate and interpret environmental
and biological sample results into children's aggregate exposures and understand where and how
these aggregate exposures occur. One focus area was the development of survey
tools/inventories that could be used to characterize pesticide and other household product use in
residences. Research was also conducted to generate and validate tools for capturing children's
activities and understanding how these activity patterns influence children's pesticide exposures
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by lifestage. Standard survey instruments were designed and validated for generating
reproducible data on children's activities and patterns, including diet. Techniques were
evaluated for characterizing the intensity of children's activities (accelerometer) and relate these
to their micro- or macroactivities. Videographic techniques were developed for assessing
activities to environmental concentrations. A suite of survey methods have been validated and
used in NERL's recent children's exposure studies, including:
•	Home Pesticide Inventory and Use Screening Questionnaire. Used to capture
information on the frequency of pesticide use over various periods, methods of
application, locations of application, who applied the pesticides, etc.
•	Time Activity Diary and Questionnaire. Both recall and real-time activity diaries and
questionnaires are available. Recall questionnaires are administered after a monitoring
event to identify where the child has spent his or her time during the period. At the end
of each day, parents and/or caretakers take a few minutes to record the time their child
spent in each of several specific locations, to include: the home, school, in transit, or
other locations. Real-time diaries capture macroactivity data during specific monitoring
periods, e.g., during a videotaping session. These tools focus on activity level (eating,
sleeping, quiet play, active play), locations, and other key factors that may influence
exposure, e.g., clothing and washing events.
•	Food Diary. A standard food diary has been developed to assess children's dietary intake
and potential exposures to pesticides. The current data form is designed to collect the
duplicate diet sample information during the 24-hour post-application data collection
period. The form is completed by the adult caregiver of the child and submitted at the
end of the 24-hour data collection period.
•	Accelerometer. A frequently used technique for assessing physical activity in the
exercise physiology field is accelerometry, and its use seems to be increasing due to
improvements in equipment design and construction. When a person moves, the body is
accelerated in rough proportion to change in muscular force, and thus, to energy
expenditure. Accelerometers utilize a one-, two-, or three-dimensional (3-D)
piezoelectric transducer in a cantilever mounting that generates a pulse which is counted
and stored in memory for a user-defined time period (e.g., from a second to one day).
These pulses are converted to "counts," and internal algorithms transform these counts
into energy expenditure estimates in terms of kilocalories per minute (or multiples
thereof). The algorithms also produce activity-specific METS (metabolic equivalents of
work) estimates, which are ratios of the work expended to the subject's basal metabolic
rate.
•	Videotaping. Videotaping techniques are commonly used to capture the activities and
related exposures for young children. Early research focused on developing
microactivity videography techniques. Recent research has been designed to capture and
interpret macroactivity level.
Copies of current NERL survey instruments, along with instructions for use, are available
electronically at http://:www.epa.gov/heds/ or by contacting Dr. Linda Sheldon, 919-541-2454
(Sheldon.linda@epa.gov).
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6. EXPOSURE MEASUREMENT RESEARCH
NERL researchers and their exposure researcher collaborators have conducted extensive
exposure measurement research over the past 10 plus years designed to fill critical data gaps and
reduce uncertainties in the following broad scientific areas:
•	the occurrence and co-occurrence of pesticides and relating these to residential pesticide
use
•	residential pesticide concentrations and the temporal and spatial distribution of these
pesticides in environments where you children spend their time
•	key factors influencing the dermal transfer and indirect ingestion of pesticides, and the
efficiency of these transfers
•	children's direct ingestion of pesticides
•	relationships between and among environmental concentrations of pesticides in various
media, children's activities, and the results of biomarkers of exposures as measured in
urine and/or blood.
NERL's exposure measurements research activities, addressing one or more of these broad areas,
are summarized below in four categories: 1) laboratory and pilot scale studies to identify and
evaluate factors influencing children's exposures; 2) pilot scale studies to test and evaluate
exposure protocols; 3) exposure and occurrence field measurement studies; and 4) data analysis
activities to inform future research. The validated NERL-sponsored study data have been
incorporated into the readily accessible Human Exposure Database System (HEDS)
http://www.epa.gov/hedsA discussed in the Modeling Research Section later.
6.1 Laboratory and pilot scale studies to identify and evaluate factors influencing
children's exposures
6.1.1 Identification of Important Parameters for Characterizing Pesticide Residue Transfer
Efficiencies
This laboratory study was designed to evaluate the various parameters that affect pesticide
residue transfer from surface-to-skin, skin-to-objects, skin-to-mouth, and object-to-mouth
(Cohen Hubal et al., 2004). The approach was to use fluorescent tracers as surrogates for
pesticide residues (Ivancic et al., 2004). Transfers of riboflavin, the tracer in the initial tests,
were compared to transfers of chlorpyrifos and bioallethrin. Following the application of the
tracers to common surfaces (e.g., carpet, laminate), controlled transfer experiments were
conducted to evaluate the importance of parameters such as surface type, surface loading, type of
contact (press versus smudge), contact duration, contact pressure, and skin condition (dry, moist,
or sticky). The study involved tests to evaluate repetitive contacts with contaminated surfaces,
measurements of transfers off the skin, and simulated mouthing removal using saliva moistened
polyurethane foam (PUF). Surface loading, skin condition, and surface type were determined to
be significant parameters in the initial tests. In the second phase of this study, an additional
tracer with different physiochemical properties was evaluated. Controlled transfer experiments
were performed to refine the understanding of significant parameters and to develop a more
comprehensive set of transfer efficiency data that can be used to predict dermal and indirect
ingestion exposure from field measurements. Key outputs include: transfer efficiency data,
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information on type of microactivity data needed to estimate dermal exposure, and inputs for
multipathway exposure models.
References:
Cohen Hubal, E.A., J.C. Suggs, M.G. Nishioka, W.A. Ivancic., "Characterizing residue transfer
efficiencies using a fluorescent imaging technique." Journal of Exposure Analysis and
Environmental Epidemiology. Vol 15, No.3, pp 261-270 (2005)
Cohen Hubal, E.A., P. Egeghy, M.G. Nishioka, W.A. Ivancic., "Applying a fluorescent imaging
technique to characterize potential pesticide residue transfer efficiencies" (In preparation.
Planned for 2006)
Ivancic W.A., Nishioka, M.G., Barnes, R.H., and Cohen Hubal E.A., "Development and
evaluation of a quantitative video fluorescence imaging system and fluorescent tracer for
measuring transfer of pesticide residues from surfaces to hands with repeated contacts." Annals
of Occupational Hygiene. Vol. 48, No. 6, pp. 519-532 (2004)
Riley, W.J., T.E. McKone, and Cohen Hubal, E.A., "Estimating Contaminant Dose for
Intermittent Dermal Contact: Model Development, Testing, and Application." Risk Analysis.
Vol 24, No. 1:73-85 (2004)
6.1.2 Feasibility of Using the Macroactivity Approach to Assess Dermal Exposure
This study was designed to test the feasibility of employing a macroactivity approach to assess
children's dermal exposures to pesticides in daycare centers. Two main approaches are currently
used by the scientific community to assess children's dermal exposure, the macroactivity and
microactivity approaches. In the macroactivity approach, exposure is estimated for each
macroactivity that the child conducts within each microenvironment (e.g. quiet play in the living
room, active play in the kitchen, etc.). Exposure is then estimated using empirically-derived
transfer coefficients to aggregate the mass transfer associated with a series of contacts with a
contaminated medium. In the microactivity approach, exposure is explicitly modeled as a series
of discrete transfers resulting from each contact with a contaminated medium. With this more
exacting approach, dermal exposure must be estimated for each individual contact made by the
child during an observational period, generally 24 hours. In the pilot study, screening
measurements were made in nine daycares where pesticides were applied as crack and crevice
treatments by commercial applicators. At one daycare, children were asked to wear full-body
cotton dosimeters for short time periods while involved in selected macroactivities (e.g., story
time, playtime indoors). Surface sampling of pesticide residues and videotaping of activities
were performed simultaneously. Results were used to calculate transfer coefficients and to
evaluate this approach for estimating dermal exposure. Significant results from the study
include: pesticide distributions in nine daycare centers; verified protocols for collecting both
aggregate surface measurements and transfer coefficients; and children's dermal transfer
coefficients developed for evaluation with the default assumptions used in OPP's Residential
SOPs.
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References:
Cohen Hubal, E. A., "Issues in dermal exposure of infants." Journal of Children's Health. Vol 2,
No. 3-4, pp 253-266 (2004)
Cohen Hubal, E.A., P. Egeghy, K Leovic, G Akland., "Measuring potential dermal transfer of a
pesticide to children in a daycare center. Environmental Health Perspectives. (2005)
doi:10.1289/ehp.8283 available via http://dx.doi.ors/ \Online 20 September 2005]
6.1.3	Distribution of Pesticides and Poly cyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in House Dust as a
Function of Particle Size
House dust is a repository for environmental pollutants that may accumulate indoors from both
internal and external sources over long periods of time. Dust and tracked-in soil accumulate
most efficiently in carpets, and the pollutants associated with it may present an exposure risk to
infants and toddlers, who spend significant portions of their time in contact with or in close
proximity to the floor and engage in frequent mouthing activities. The availability of carpet dust
for exposure by transfer to the skin or by suspension into the air depends on particle size. In this
study, a large sample of residential house dust was obtained from a commercial cleaning service
whose clients were homeowners residing in the Research Triangle area of North Carolina. The
composite dust was separated into seven size fractions ranging from <4 um to 500 um in
diameter, and each fraction analyzed for 28 pesticides and 10 poly cyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
(PAHs). Over 20% of the fractionated dust sample consisted of particles less than 25 um in
diameter. Fourteen pesticides and all 10 of the target PAHs were detected in one or more of the
seven size-fractionated samples. Sample concentrations reported range from 0.02 to 22 ug/g,
with the synthetic pyrethroids cis- and trans-permethrin being the most abundant pesticide
residue. The concentrations of nearly all of the target analytes were found to increase gradually
with decreasing particle size for the larger particles, then dramatically for the two smallest
particle sizes (<25 um and <4 um).
Reference:
Lewis, R. G., C. R. Fortune, R. D. Willis, D. E. Camann, and J. T. Utley. Distribution of
Pesticides and Poly cyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in House Dust as a Function of Particle Size
Environmental Health Perspectives 107(9):721-726, (1999)
6.1.4	Influence of Residential Lawn Pesticide Applications on Indoor Levels and Exposures
The transport of lawn-applied 2,4-D into 13 actual homes was measured following both
homeowner and commercial application of this herbicide to residential lawns. Collection of
floor dust in five rooms of each house, corresponding to an entryway, living room, dining room,
kitchen, and a child's bedroom, both prior to and after application, indicated that turf residues are
transported indoors and that the gradient in 2,4-D dust loading (ug/m2) through the house
follows the traffic pattern from the entryway. The removal of shoes at the door and the activity
level of the children and pets were the most significant factors affecting residue levels indoors
after application. Spray drift and fine particle intrusion accounted for relatively little of the
residues on floors. Prior to application, the median 2,4-D bulk floor dust loading was 0.5 ug/m2;
one week after application, the median 2,4-D floor dust level in the living room was 6 ug/m2,
with a range of 1-228 ug/m2 on all carpeted floors in occupied homes, and 0.5-2 ug/m2 in
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unoccupied homes. The 2,4-D loadings on the carpet surface (dislodgeable residue/dust) were
highly correlated with the 2,4-D bulk dust loadings. From these data we estimate that
approximately 1% of the bulk dust is on the carpet surface, and it is this surface dust that may be
readily available for dermal contact. Tabletop levels of 2,4-D were approximately 10% of carpet
loadings, and were largely due to in-home dust resuspension. Non-dietary ingestion of carpet
dust and inhalation for a 1-yr old child in these homes may produce exposures of 0.04-7 ug/day.
These exposure estimates would be substantially higher, 4-70 ug/day, if the non-dietary ingestion
was based on contact and transfer from hard surfaces such as contaminated table tops. In limited
cases, these hypothetical exposures would approach the U.S. EPA IRIS RfD limits for 2,4-D of
10 ug/kg/day.
References:
Nishioka, M. G., H. M. Burkholder, and M. C. Brinkman., "Distribution of 2,4-
Dichlorophenoxyacetic Acid in Floor Dust Throughout Homes Following Homeowner and
Commercial Lawn Applications: Quantitative Effects of Children, Pets, and Shoes."
Environmental Science and Technology 33(9): 1359-1365, 1999.
Nishioka, M. G., H. M. Burkholder, M. C. Brinkman, and C. E. Hines., "Transport of Lawn-
Applied 2,4-D from Turf to Home: Assessing the Relative Importance of Transport Mechanisms
and Exposure Pathways." U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC,
EPA/600/R-99/040 (NTIS PB99-156358), 1999
6.1.5 The Distribution of Chlorpyrifos Following a Crack and Crevice Type Application in the
U.S. EPA Indoor Air Quality Test House
This study was designed to examine the spatial and temporal distributions of the insecticide
chlorpyrifos following a routine crack and crevice application by a professional pesticide
applicator. The pilot study was conducted in the EPA Indoor Air Quality Test House located in
Cary, NC (Tichenor et al., 1990). Measurements were collected over a 21-day study period
immediately before and following the application. Samples collected included air concentrations
using both polyurethane foam (PUF) and the OSHA Versatile Sampler (OVS) sampler, surface
transferable residues using the PUF roller, surface concentrations (loadings) employing
deposition coupons and the total extractable residues from carpet sections. Results of the study
have been published (Stout and Mason, 2003). Findings demonstrate that the crack and crevice
application resulted in the deposition of chlorpyrifos residues onto non-target surfaces. Surface
deposition measured in the kitchen, where the application was performed, were non-uniform in
distribution. Airborne chlorpyrifos rapidly distributed within the house through diffusive
processes and an active air conditioning system. An exposure assessment employing
chlorpyrifos concentrations following a crack and crevice application and a total release aerosol
application (Mason et al., 2000) shows the latter application posing a higher potential risk. Key
outputs include decay rates for study sampling periods, identification of translocation and
exposure pathways, and data inputs to algorithms for SHEDS.
References:
Mason, M. A.; Sheldon, L. S.; Stout II, D. M., "The Distribution of Chlorpyrifos in Air,
Carpeting, and Dust and its Reemission from Carpeting Following the Use of Total Release
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Aerosols in an Air Quality Test House." In Engineering Solutions to Indoor Air Quality
Problems, Proceedings of a Symposium, Raleigh, NC, 17-19 July, 2000. pp. 92-102.
Stout II, D. M.; Mason, M. A., "The Distribution of Chlorpyrifos Following a Crack and Crevice
Type Application in the US EPA Indoor Air Quality Research House." Atmospheric
Environment 37: 5539-5549. (2003)
Tichenor, B. A.; Sparks, L. E.; White, J. B.; Jackson, M.D. Evaluating Sources of Indoor Air
Pollution. J. Air Waste Manage Assoc, 40: 487-492. (1990)
6.1.6	Study to Evaluate the Potential for Human Exposure to Pet-Borne Diazinon Residues
following Residential Turf Applications
A series of pilot exposure measurement studies were conducted to investigate the potential for
indoor/outdoor pet dogs to transport residues into homes following a routine residential turf
application of a granular formulation of diazinon. Initially, a demonstration pilot study was
conducted in one home to test the methodologies and feasibility for performing this assessment.
The results of this demonstration study (Morgan et al., 2001) showed that diazinon was
transferable from the treated turf by the pet indoors and/or to children up to 15 days after the
application. The study results also suggested that the diazinon intruded into the dwelling through
both the air and by track-in pathways. Analysis of fur clippings, and fur and paw wipes from the
family's dog suggested that these served as an important medium for the uptake of turf
transferable residues. The draft protocol was revised and subsequently tested at six homes in
North Carolina. In each home, the homeowner made a single application of a granular diazinon
formulation to turf following the application instructions. Samples were collected at pre-
application and at 1, 2, 4, and 8 days post-application. Environmental samples were collected to
determine the mass of diazinon applied to the lawn, the movement of residues into the structure,
and the spatial and temporal distribution following the application. Residues were measured in
samples from the fur, paws and blood of the family dog and from the hands and urine of a child
in each home. The study also included videotaping of the child playing with the dog and
collection of transferable residues by petting the dog with cotton gloves. The field
measurements have been completed and the samples have been chemically analyzed. The data
are currently undergoing a quality assurance review and further analysis will follow.
Reference:
Morgan, M. K., Stout, D. M., II; Wilson, N. K., "Feasibility study of the potential for human
exposure to pet-borne diazinon residues following lawn applications." Bull. Environ. Contamin.
Toxicol. 66, 295-300. (2001)
6.1.7	Children's Dietary Lead Study
The concept of potentially significant excess exposure (above levels associated with the inherent
levels on the foods themselves as a result of production and preparation) that is caused by how
young children consume foods in contaminated environments had been confirmed in a study of
children living in lead-laden homes (Melnyk et al., 2000). This study was conducted to measure
potential dietary lead intakes of children 2 to 3 years of age who live in homes contaminated
with environmental lead. Study objectives were to estimate lead intakes for children consuming
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food in contaminated environments, recognizing unstructured eating patterns and to investigate if
correlations exist between daily dietary exposure and measured blood lead levels. Dietary
exposure was evaluated by collecting samples that were typical of the foods the young children
ate in their homes. A 24h duplicate of all foods plus sentinel foods, i.e., individual items used to
represent foods contaminated during handling, were collected from 48 children. Ten homes
were revisited to obtain information on the variation in daily dietary intakes. Drinking water was
evaluated both as part of the segregated beverage sample composite and by itself. Additional
information collected included lead concentrations from hand wipes, floor wipes, and venous
blood; and questionnaire responses from the caregiver on activities potentially related to
exposure. Activities and hygiene practices of the children and contamination of foods in their
environment influence total dietary intake. Estimated mean dietary intakes of lead (29.2 |ig
Pb/day) were >3 times the measured 24-hr. duplicate-diet levels (8.37 |ig Pb/day), which were
almost six times higher than current national estimates (1.40 jag Pb/day). Statistically significant
correlations were observed between floor wipes and foods contacting contaminated surfaces;
hand wipes and foods contacting contaminated hands and surfaces; and hand wipes and floor
wipes. This study indicated that the dietary pathway of exposure to lead is impacted by eating
activities of children living in lead contaminated environments and that analysis of foods
themselves was not enough to determine excess dietary exposures that occurred. The methods
used in the lead study represented an initial attempt at quantifying dietary exposure of children,
which included excess exposures from their activities and unstructured eating habits associated
with surface contaminants. The study clearly demonstrated the potential importance of this
phenomena and laid the foundation for developing refined methods to more accurately
characterize and quantify dietary intake of pesticides by young children as required by FQPA.
Reference:
Melnyk, L.J., Berry, M.R., Sheldon, L.S., Freeman, N.C.G., Pellizzari, E.D., and Kinman, R.N.
"Dietary Exposure of Children in Lead-Laden Environments," Journal of Exposure Analysis and
Environmental Epidemiology, 2000, 10: 723-731.
6.1.8 Transfer Efficiencies of Pesticides from Household Surfaces to Foods
A young child's total dietary exposure includes both contaminants associated with the production
and preparation of foods and the physical transfer of the contaminant from a contaminated
surface to a food item during the act of ingestion. This transfer can occur through either direct
contact between a food item and a contaminated surface (surface-to-food) or through an
intermediate surface such as hands (surface-to-hand-to-food). The extent of food contamination
for young children during an eating event is determined by both the transfer efficiency of the
chemical from surfaces and the child's activity patterns. The amount or ratio of contaminant
transferred resulting from physical contact, called the mass transfer efficiency, plays an
important role in governing the extent of transfer to food per contact event. The child's activity
patterns are defined by the frequency, duration, and associated physical factors of food-to-
surface, hand-to-surface, and hand-to-food interactions and determines the extent of the net
transfer resulting from multiple contact events. The transfer of pesticides from household
surfaces to foods was measured to determine the degree of excess dietary exposure that occurs
when children's foods contact contaminated surfaces prior to being eaten (Rohrer et al, 2003).
Three common household surfaces (ceramic tile, hardwood flooring, and carpet) were
contaminated with an aqueous emulsion of commercially available pesticides (diazinon,
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heptachlor, malathion, chlorpyrifos, isofenphos, cis and trans-permethrin) frequently found in
residential environments. A surface wipe method, as typically used in residential studies, was
used to measure the pesticides available on surfaces as a basis for calculating transfer efficiency
to the foods. Three foods (apples, bologna, and cheese) routinely handled by children before
eating were placed on the contaminated surfaces and transfers of pesticides were measured after
10 minute contact. Other contact durations (1 and 60 min) and applying additional contact force
(1500g) to the foods were evaluated for their impact on transferred pesticides. More pesticides
transferred to foods from the hard surfaces, i.e., ceramic tile and hardwood flooring, than carpet.
Mean transfer efficiencies for all pesticides to the three foods ranged from 24 to 40% from
ceramic tile, and 15 to 29% from hardwood, as compared to mostly non-detectable transfers for
carpet. Contact duration and applied force notably increased pesticide transfer. The mean
transfer efficiency for all seven pesticides increased from around 1% at 1 minute to 55 - 83%
when contact duration was increased to 60 min for the three foods contacting hardwood flooring.
Mean transfer efficiency for 10-min contact increased from 15% to 70% when a 1500 g force
was applied to bologna placed on hardwood flooring. Contamination of food occurs from
contact with pesticide-laden surfaces, thus increasing the potential for excess dietary exposure of
children.
Reference:
Rohrer, C.A., Hieber, T., Melnyk, L.J., and Berry, M.R. "Transfer Efficiencies of Pesticides to
Household Flooring Surfaces," Journal of Exposure Analysis and Environmental Epidemiology,
2003, 13: 454-464.
6.1.9 Dietary Intake of Young Children
A small-scale field study was designed to test the efficacy of NERL's Children's Dietary Intake
Model (CDIM). The study was designed using a pharmakokinetic model to relate the important
design factors to diazinon metabolites measured in urine (Hu et al., 2004). The study was
designed to demonstrate that pesticide contamination in a home can contribute to excess dietary
exposures of children. Environmental concentrations were measured in a 3-home study designed
to evaluate a single pathway model from dietary intake of diazinon (Melnyk et al., submitted).
Environmental samples were collected following routine application of diazinon to determine
levels potentially available for food contamination. (Note: Diazinon was approved and
commonly used for indoor pesticide applications at the time of the study, but has since been
banned for residential use.) Indoor air concentrations ranged from 0.2 to 4.9 (J,g/m3 with Home 1
having consistently higher levels that remained constant up to 8 days after application. Surface
wipe concentrations from kitchen counters, floors, and play-mats ranged from 4 tolO ng/cm2,
whereas, press samples were below detectible levels (BDL) for most of the samples taken in the
same areas. Homes 2 and 3 had higher surface wipe (3 to 85 ng/cm2) and measurable press
sample concentrations (4 to 24 ng/cm2) from kitchen floors and counters. Soft surfaces were
press sampled with variable concentrations ranging from BDL tol8 ng/cm2. Diazinon on
children's hands were <0.2 ng/cm2. Air and surface diazinon levels indicate exposure potential
exists. Household surfaces are often contacted by foods that are handled, dropped, and then
eaten by children. When diazinon is transferred to food, the residential-use pesticide becomes a
dietary exposure issue requiring consideration in risk assessments for children.
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References:
Hu, Y.A., Akland, G.G., Pellizzari, E.D., Berry, M.R., and Melnyk, L.J. "Use of
Pharmacokinetic Modeling to Design Studies for Pathway-Specific Exposure Model
Evaluation " Environmental Health Perspectives, 2004, 112(17): 1697-1703.
Melnyk, L.J., Whitaker, D., Akland, G.G., Hu, Y., Pellizzari, E.D., and Berry, M.R. "Diazinon
Residues after Applications in Homes with Children," Environmental Health Perspectives,
submitted.
6.2 Pilot scale studies to test and evaluate exposure protocols
6.2.1 Children's Pesticide Post-Application Exposure Studies (EOHSI and RTP)
Two pilot field studies were performed to assess children's potential exposures to pesticides
resulting from the routine indoor application of residential pesticides. In both post-application
studies, aggregate exposure measurements were made following a crack and crevice application
by professional applicators. Objectives of these studies included the development of dermal
transfer coefficients for young children engaged in specific activities, the evaluation of the
macroactivity approach, and the evaluation of the methods and approaches needed to collect
environmental, biological, personal, and activity pattern data in an integrated manner. In a
collaborative study with researchers at the Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences
Institute (EOSHI), aggregate exposure measurements were made at nine residences following a
professional chlorpyrifos crack and crevice application (Hore, 2003; Hore et al., 2005).
Measurements included indoor air, air exchange rates, surface residue wipes, dust wipes, toy
wipes, dermal wipes (hands, knees, feet), activity diary, videotaping, cotton dosimeters, and
urine. Chlorpyrifos levels in the indoor air and surfaces ranged from 2.2 to 816 ng/m3 and 0.07
to 25 ng/cm2, respectively, reaching peak levels between days 0-2 (Hore, 2003; Hore et al., 2005).
Results of the study showed that pesticide loadings on the cotton dosimeters were related to
exposure duration, surface loading, activity level and type of surface, suggesting that the
macroactivity approach may be useful for estimating children's dermal exposure. Dermal
chlorpyrifos hand loadings also related to the activity level of the children (Freeman et al., 2005).
The second post-application exposure study, conducted in four homes in and around Research
Triangle Park (RTP), North Carolina, complemented the first study with similar objectives and
methods. This study, however, addressed potential exposures following a residential crack and
crevice application of the synthetic pyrethroid pesticide, cyfluthrin. The results showed that the
methods and approaches needed to systematically collect environmental, biological, personal,
and activity pattern data can be implemented by caregiver's of young children.
These studies provided key data describing pesticide distributions in microenvironments where
children spend their time. Important pathways of exposure were evaluated. Data describing the
transfer of pesticides from the microenvironmental media to the children and those key factors
influencing these transfers were also identified.
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References:
Freeman, NCG, Hore, P, Black, K, Jimenez, M, Sheldon, L, Tulve, N, Lioy, PJ., "Contributions
of children's activities to pesticide hand loadings following residential pesticide application."
Journal of Exposure Analysis and Environmental Epidemiology. 15:81-88 (2005)
Hore, P. May, 2003. Pesticide accumulation patterns for child accessible surfaces and objects
and urinary metabolite excretion by children for two weeks after a professional crack and crevice
application. Ph.D. Dissertation. Rutgers and the School of Public Health at the University of
Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey
Hore, P, Robson, M, Freeman, N, Zhang, J, Wartenberg, D, Ozkaynak, H, Tulve, N, Sheldon, L,
Needham, L, Barr, D, Lioy, PJ., "Chlorpyrifos accumulation patterns for child-accessible
surfaces and objects and urinary metabolite excretion by children for 2 weeks after crack-and-
crevice application." Environmental Health Perspectives. 113 (2) :211-219 (2005)
6.2.2 Characterizing Children's Pesticide Exposures in Jacksonville, Florida
NERL scientists collaborated with scientists from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC) and the Duval County Health Department (DCHD) on a study to characterize young
children's (4 to 6 years) exposures to pesticides in residential environments in Jacksonville, FL
in 2001. The goal of the study was to collect information on children's exposures to pesticides in
Jacksonville in order to enhance the DCHD community outreach efforts regarding pesticide-
related intervention and health education.
The study was comprised of three components:
•	Biological monitoring: the CDC recruited approximately 200 children (walk-ins for
routine immunizations and health care) at County health clinics; caregivers completed a
questionnaire and a urine sample was collected from each participating child.
•	Environmental screening assessment: the DCHD performed environmental screenings at
the homes of approximately 25% of the enrolled children; the screening included surface
wipe measurements, a pesticide inventory, and an additional urine sample.
•	Environmental measurements: at a subset of nine homes, the EPA collected
environmental samples (air, surface wipe, transferable residues), duplicate diet samples,
questionnaire information, pesticide inventories, and activity pattern data to evaluate the
methods and approaches for aggregate exposure assessments that could be applied in
large observational studies.
The design for the study was jointly developed by DCHD, CDC, and EPA. CDC assumed the
primary responsibility for coordination of the study and DCHD was responsible for
implementation. The DCHD was responsible for identifying and contacting participating
families, administering the questionnaire and consent form, compiling the completed forms,
maintaining the confidentiality of participating families, providing copies of the questionnaire
data to CDC for entry and analysis, collecting and shipping urine samples, and collecting and
shipping environmental samples. NERL assisted DCHD in developing protocols and methods
for the screening assessment and provided training on sample collection. NERL researchers
conducted the nine home pilot study to evaluate exposure assessment protocols and methods.
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Urine samples were analyzed for both the metabolites of organophosphate pesticides and
pyrethroid pesticides. Environmental samples were analyzed for 21 organophosphate pesticides,
15 pyrethroid pesticides, piperonyl butoxide (a synergist), and fipronil using a single multi-
residue analytical method.
Analyses of the data have been completed and draft manuscripts have been prepared for
publication in the peer-reviewed scientific literature. Following completion of internal peer
review, CDC will submit a manuscript on the biological monitoring in the fall of 2005. The EPA
principal investigators also plan to submit the manuscript on the pilot study methods evaluation
in the fall of 2005. Citations for these technical reports are not available as of this report date.
6.2.3 Exposures and Health of Farm Worker Children in California
A collaborative research effort was conducted between the University of California at Berkeley,
NERL, and EPA's National Center for Exploratory Research (NCER) in support of the National
Children's Study (NCS). The Center of Children's Environmental Health Research in
association with the Center for Health Assessment of Mothers and Children of Salinas Study
(CHAMACOS) conducted an aggregate exposure assessment for a sub-population of infants and
toddlers potentially exposed to pesticides. The study involved measuring pesticide exposures of
twenty children of farm workers in Salinas, CA, during the summer and fall of 2002. Ten
children ages 5 to 11 months and ten children ages 21 to 27 months were monitored.
Measurements were conducted for the relevant exposure sources and exposure routes to obtain
aggregate exposure assessments for the children in each age group. The following types of
samples were collected and analyzed in an attempt to identify potential exposure routes.
•	Indoor and outdoor air samples to estimate inhalation potential,
•	House dust to estimate amounts available for dermal adsorption and indirect ingestion,
•	Transferable residues (wipes) from floors and toys to estimate amounts available for
dermal adsorption and indirect ingestion,
•	Cotton union suits and socks to estimate dermal exposures,
•	Duplicate diet foods, water if from untreated source, and breast milk (when possible) to
estimate direct ingestion, and
•	Urine for metabolite measurements to estimate the total exposure.
Additional information was collected using activity diaries, videotaping, and questionnaires. For
several participants, exposure measurements of transferable residues were conducted
concurrently with videotaping to quantify exposure associated with the recorded activities. The
resulting data will be used to identify the most important pathways, evaluate factors and
algorithms for estimating exposures, and develop simple approaches and protocols for assessing
exposure as part of the National Children's Study. The goal of this research is to understand the
importance of each route and pathway, in order to classify children's aggregate exposure to
pesticides by a few simple measurements and/or exposure questions. Results will also be used to
evaluate multimedia exposure models for children, another important tool for classifying
aggregate exposures.
Results of this study indicated that pesticides were detected more frequently in house dust,
surface wipes, and clothing (union suits and socks) compared to other media. Chlorpyrifos,
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diazinon , dacthal and cis- and /ra/7.s-permethrin were detected in 90 -100% of these samples.
Concentrations on socks and union suits were higher for the toddlers compared to crawling
children. Several OP pesticides as well as 4-4'-DDE, atrazine, and dieldrin were detected in
food samples and a novel, low-literacy activity timeline survey instrument based on pictures was
successful for obtaining activity information for participants. A manuscript has been prepared
and is in the final stages of review prior to submission for publication.
Reference:
Bradman, A. ; Whitaker,D.; Quiros, L.; Castorina, R.; Claus-Henn, B.; Nishioka, M.; Morgan, J.;
Barr, D.; Harly, M.; Brisbin, J.; Kauffman, P.; Sheldon, L.; McKone, T.; and Eskenazi, B.,
"Quantitative Pesticide Exposure Assessment of Farmworker Children in the Salinas Valley,
CA" Draft manuscript to be submitted for publication. Anticipated submission October 2005.
6.3 Conduct of exposure and occurrence field measurement studies
6.3.1 National Human Exposure Assessment Survey (NHEXAS)
NHEXAS was a series of three field studies implemented in the mid-to-late 1990s designed to
evaluate methods and protocols for measuring the general population's (including children's)
exposures to pesticides and other environmental contaminants exposure. The overall objectives
of the NHEXAS pilot studies were to 1) test the methodologies and ensure they produced the
data needed to assess exposures, and 2) to evaluate the feasibility for conducting a truly national
survey. The NHEXAS studies considered multiple-pathway exposures to several different
classes of high risk pollutants including volatile organic compounds, metals, and pesticides.
Environmental, biological and survey questionnaire data were collected for the more than 500
individuals who participated in these three studies. Individual study designs were developed
based on the general NHEXAS scientific hypotheses and implemented in the three locations
across the US (EPA Region 5, Arizona, and Baltimore, MD). The NHEXAS Region 5 study
included a sub-study (the Minnesota Children's Pesticide Exposure Study (MNCPES)) focused
on assessing exposures to children. The study obtained pesticide exposure data (chlorpyrifos,
diazinon, malathion, and atrazine) for about 100 children (ages 3-13), including measurements of
personal exposure (air, hand rinse, duplicate diet), activity patterns (questionnaire, diary, and
videotaping), environmental concentrations (indoor and outdoor air, surface residues, drinking
water, soil), and metabolites in urine (Quackenboss et al., 2000; Adgate et al., 2001). The
Arizona NHEXAS study also included multi-media measurements of pesticides in households
with children (Robertson et al., 1999). Whereas the Region 5 and Arizona NHEXAS protocols
were cross-sectional in nature, the Baltimore NHEXAS study was designed to investigate
approaches for investigating longitudinal exposures with measurements repeated up to six times
during a year long period. The results of the NHEXAS studies have been reported through a
variety of NERL Annual Performance Measures (2001 APM 148, 2002 APM 31, 2003 APM 29)
and a variety of peer reviewed publications. The validated NHEXAS data is electronically
available at http://www.epa. gov/heds/.
In general, the NHEXAS studies provided data describing the occurrence, distributions, and
determinants of total exposure to the general population for selected environmental
contaminants; geographic trends in multimedia exposure; and total exposures in selected
minority and disadvantaged subsets of the population. Specific findings include:
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•	Pesticides were more frequently detected in food samples during the spring and summer
months (Baltimore)
•	Dermal contact and pesticide usage activities reported for a single day or short term may
not accurately reflect longer term activities and not be sufficient to estimate or classify
long-term (chronic) exposures (Baltimore)
•	Comparisons with measured dietary intakes, suggest the food consumption-chemical
residue model can reasonably estimate population distribution of dietary chlorpyrifos
intake, but has little ability to predict dietary exposure for individuals; the intake of
chlorpyrifos from food was a minor contributor to its metabolite concentration measured
in urine. (Baltimore)
•	Gender, age group, and racial/ethnic group were related to the frequency of contact with
soil, grass, and carpeting (Baltimore)
•	For adults, exposure from inhalation of indoor air accounted for the majority of aggregate
daily exposure to chlorpyrifos (Baltimore)
•	Pesticide exposures were greater for those living in households with more carpeting,
preparing or using pesticides in their homes or having higher household incomes (All
studies)
•	Food items ranked by their contribution to dietary chlorpyrifos exposure (Region V)
•	The major metabolite of chlorpyrifos was present in 98% of the participating children's
urine samples (MNCPES)
•	Urban children urine levels were higher than non-urban levels, and nearly twice the
measured values for adults in previous studies (MNCPES)
•	For children, intakes for all of the four primary pesticides appeared to come principally
from the ingestion rather than the inhalation route (MNCPES)
•	Despite the importance of the ingestion route for total intake, the urinary metabolite of
chlorpyrifos exhibited a stronger correlation with the air measurements than with the
dietary measures. This may be due to the short half-life of chlorpyrifos in the body and
the different time periods represented by the exposure measurements. (MNCPES)
•	Personal air samples were highly correlated with indoor air samples for chlorpyrifos,
malathion, and diazinon (MNCPES)
•	Indoor air chlorpyrifos and diazinon exposure represents about 25% of the total exposure
to these pesticides (Arizona)
•	The highest 10% of pesticide exposures related to questions about pesticide usage, at
home and at work (Arizona)
References
Arizona Study
Buck, R.J., Ozkaynak, A.H., Xue, J., Zartarian, V., and Hammerstrom, K., "Modeled estimates
of chlorpyrifos exposure and dose for the Minnesota and Arizona NHEXAS populations."
Journal of Exposure Analysis and Environmental Epidemiology 11 (3):253-268 (2001).
EPA/600/J-02/228.
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Gordon SM, Callahan PJ, Nishioka MG, Brinkman MC, O'Rourke MK, Lebowitz MD,
Mosschandreas DM. Residential environmental measurements in the National Human Exposure
Assessment Survey (NHEXAS) pilot study in Arizona: Preliminary results for pesticides and
VOCs. J Expo Anal Environ Epidemiol. 1999; 9(5): 456-470.
Lebowitz MD, O'Rourke MK, Rogan S, Reses J, Van De Water PL, Blackwell A, Moschandreas
DJ, Gordon S, Robertson G. Indoor and outdoor PM10 and associated metals and pesticides in
Arizona. Inhalation Toxicol. 2000; 12 (Suppl 1): 139-144.
Moschandreas DJ, Karuchit S, Kim Y, Ari H, Lebowitz MD, O' Rourke MK, Gordon S,
Robertson G. On predicting multi-route and multimedia residential exposure to chlorpyrifos and
diazinon. J Expo Anal Environ Epidemiol. 2001; ll(l):56-65.
Moschandreas DJ, Kimm Y, Karuchit S, Ari H, Lebowitz MD, O'Rourke MK, Gordon S,
Robertson G. In-residence, multiple route exposures to chlorpyrifos and diazinon estimated by
indirect method models. Atmospheric Environment 2001; 35:2201 -2213.
Moschandreas DJ, Karuchit S, Berry MR, O'Rourke MK, Lo D, Lebowitz MD, Robertson G.
Exposure apportionment: Ranking food items by their contribution to dietary exposure. J Expo
Anal Environ Epidemiol. 2002; 12(4): 233-243.
Robertson GL, Lebowitz MD, O'Rourke MK, Gordon S, and Moschandreas D./'National Human
Exposure Assessment Survey (NHEXAS) study in Arizona-introduction and preliminary
results " J Expo Anal Environ Epidemiol. 9(5):427-434. (1999)
Maryland Study
Macintosh DL, Spengler JD, Ozkaynak H, Tsai L, Ryan PB. Dietary exposures to selected
metals and pesticides. Environ Health Perspect. 1996; 104(2):202-9.
Macintosh DL, Needham LL, Hammerstrom KA, Ryan PB. A longitudinal investigation of
selected pesticide metabolites in urine. J Expo Anal Environ Epidemiol. 1999; 9(5): 494-501.
Macintosh DL, Hammerstrom KA, Ryan PB. Longitudinal exposure to selected pesticides in
drinking water. Human and Ecological Risk Assessment 1999; 5(3):575-588.
Macintosh DL, Kabiru CW, Ryan PB. Longitudinal investigation of dietary exposure to selected
pesticides. Environ Health Perspect 2001; 109(2): 145-50.
Macintosh DL, Kabiru C, Echols SL, Ryan PB. Dietary exposure to chlorpyrifos and levels of
3,5,6-trichloro-2-pyridinol in urine. J Expo Anal Environ Epidemiol. 2001; 11(4):279-85.
Echols SL, Macintosh DL, Ryan PB. Temporal patterns of activities potentially related to
pesticide exposure. J Expo Anal Environ Epidemiol. 2001; 11(5):389-97.
Pang Y, Macintosh DL, Camann DE, Ryan PB. Analysis of Aggregate Exposure to Chlorpyrifos
in the NHEXAS-Maryland investigation. Environ Health Perspect. 2002; 110(3):235-240.
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Egeghy PP, Quackenboss JJ, Catlin S, Ryan PB. Determinants of temporal variability in
NHEXAS-Maryland environmental concentrations, exposures, and biomarkers. J Expo Anal
Environ Epidemiol. 2004; 15(5):388— 397.
Minnesota Children's Pesticide Exposure Study (Region V Study)
Reed KJ, Jimenez M, Freeman NCG, Lioy P J. Quantification of children's hand and mouthing
activities through a videotaping methodology. J Expo Anal Environ Epidemiol. 1999; 9(5): 513-
520.
Quackenboss JJ, Pellizzari ED, Shubat P, Whitmore RW, Adgate JL, Thomas KW, Freeman CG,
Stroebel C, Lioy PJ, Clayton AC, Sexton K. Design strategy for assessing multi-pathway
exposure for children: the Minnesota Children's Pesticide Exposure Study (MNCPES). J Expos
Anal Environ Epi. 2000; 10:145-158
Adgate JL, Kukowski A, Stroebel C, Shubat PJ, Morrell S, Quackenboss JJ, Whitmore RW,
Sexton K. Pesticide storage and use patterns in Minnesota households with children. J Expo
Anal Environ Epidemiol. 2000; 10(2): 159-67.
Adgate JL, Clayton CA, Quackenboss JJ, Thomas KW, Whitmore RW, Pellizzari ED, Lioy PJ,
Shubat P, Stroebel C, Freeman NC, Sexton K. Measurement of multi-pollutant and multi-
pathway exposures in a probability-based sample of children: practical strategies for effective
field studies. J Expo Anal Environ Epidemiol. 2000; 10:650-61.
Rigas ML, Okino MS, Quackenboss JJ. Use of a pharmacokinetic model to assess chlorpyrifos
exposure and dose in children, based on urinary biomarker measurements. Toxicol Sci. 2001;
61:374-381.
Adgate JL, Barr DB, Clayton CA, Eberly LE, Freeman NCG, Lioy PJ, Needham LL, Pellizzari
ED, Quackenboss JJ, Roy A, Sexton K. Measurement of children's exposure to pesticides:
analysis of urinary metabolite levels in a probability-based sample. Environ Health Perspect.
2001; 109:583-590.
Freeman NCG, Jiminez M, Reed KJ, Gurunthan S, Edwards RD, Roy A, Adgate JL, Pellizzari
ED, Quackenboss JJ, Sexton K, Lioy PJ. Quantitative analysis of children's microactivity
patterns: The Minnesota Children's Pesticide Exposure Study. J Expo Anal Environ Epidemiol.
2001; 11 (6): 501-509.
Clayton C, Pellizzari E, Whitmore RW, Quackenboss JJ. Distributions, associations, and partial
aggregate exposure of pesticides and polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons in the Minnesota
Children's Pesticide Exposure Study (MNCPES). J Expo Anal Environ Epidemiol. 2003;
13(2): 100-111.
Pellizzari ED, Smith DJ, Clayton CA, Quackenboss JJ. Assessment of data quality for the
NHEXAS - Part II: Minnesota children's pesticide exposure study (MNCPES). J Expo Anal
Environ Epidemiol. 2003; 13(6), 465-479.
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Clayton CA, Mosquin PL, Pellizzari ED, Quackenboss JJ. Limitations on the Uses of
Multimedia Exposure Measurements for Multipathway Exposure Assessment-Part I: Handling
Observations Below Detection Limits. Quality Assurance, 10(3-4): 123-59, 2004.
Clayton CA, Michael L, Pellizzari ED, Quackenboss JJ. Limitations on the Uses of Multimedia
Exposure Measurements for Multipathway Exposure Assessment-Part II: Effects of Missing
Data and Imprecision. Quality Assurance, 10(3-4): 161-75, 2004.
6.3.2 Children's Total Exposure to Persistent Pesticides and Other Persistent Organic Pollutants
(CTEPP)
The CTEPP study (Morgan et al. 2004; Wilson et al., 2004) is the largest children's exposure
study undertaken to date. It examines the aggregate exposures of 257 preschool children, ages
18 months to 5 years, to environmental chemicals commonly found in their everyday
environments. The major objectives of this three-year pilot study were to quantify the children's
aggregate exposures, apportion the exposure routes, and identify the important exposure media.
Participants were recruited randomly from selected homes and daycare centers in six North
Carolina and six Ohio counties. Monitoring was performed over a 48-h period at the children's
homes and/or daycare centers. Samples collected included soil, dust, air, diet, dermal wipes,
surface wipes, and urine. The samples were analyzed for over 50 pollutants from such chemical
classes as pesticides, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, phthalates, phenols, and polychlorinated
biphenols.
The CTEPP study has been completed, and it has provided important data on the exposures of
preschool children to chemicals commonly found in their daily environments. Results of the
CTEPP study indicate that low levels of many chemicals were found in both homes and day care
centers. Chemicals found at these locations include pesticides, polycyclic aromatic
hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), phthalates, and phenols. The most
frequently detected chemicals were those that are commonly used in the home, products found in
the home, or from common processes such as combustion. Many of the chemicals were detected
in air, dust, solid food, and/or on hand wipes. Analysis of the urine samples indicated that
several of the chemicals studied were absorbed into the bodies of the children and adult
caregivers. For the children, food was the dominant route of exposure to the most frequently
detected chemicals. In particular, dietary intake accounted for >50% of the children's pesticide
exposures to chlorpyrifos, diazinon, c/.s-permethrin, trans-permethrin, and 2,4-D in both states.
CTEPP was one of the first exposure studies to analyze dietary samples and other environmental
media (i.e., air, carpet dust, and surface wipes) for two OP pesticide metabolites that are urinary
biomarkers of exposure in humans. For the OP insecticides, chlorpyrifos and diazinon, their
specific urinary biomarkers of exposure are 3,5,6-trichloro-2-pyridinol [TCP] and 2-isopropyl-6-
methyl-4-pyrimidinol [IMP], respectively. TCP and IMP were measurable in several
environmental media including food, air, dust and wipes at both the homes and daycare centers
in both states. An interesting finding was that median TCP concentrations were 12 and 29 times
higher than chlorpyrifos concentrations measured in the solid food samples collected at the NC
homes and day care centers, respectively (Morgan et al., 2005). Therefore, the study results
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suggested that some of the TCP found in the CTEPP subject urine samples may have come from
dietary TCP rather than from the metabolism of chlorpyrifos. From this observation we learned
that when trying to compare urinary metabolite concentrations to exposure measurements, it is
necessary to consider exposure to the metabolite as well as exposure to the parent chemical.
The CTEPP exposure data and associated study information are anticipated to be publicly
available on the Human Exposure Database System (http://www.epa.gov/heds/) by summer 2006.
References:
Chuang, J.C., Wilson, N.K., Morgan, M.K., Lordo, R.A., Chou, Y.L., and Sheldon, L.S.,
"Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Exposure of 257 Preschool Children." (inpreparation,
scheduledfor 2006)
Morgan, M.K., L.S. Sheldon, C.W. Croghan, J.C. Chuang, R.A. Lordo, N.K. Wilson, C. Lyu, M.
Brinkman, N. Morse, Y.L. Chou, C. Hamilton, J.K. Finegold, K. Hand, and S.M. Gordon., "A
pilot study of children's total exposure to persistent pesticides and other persistent organic
pollutants (CTEPP)" EPA/600/R-041/193 (2004)
Morgan, M.K., Sheldon, L.S, Croghan, C.W., Jones, P.A., Robertson, G.L., Chuang, J.C.,
Wilson, N.K., and Lyu, C.W., "Exposures of preschool children to chlorpyrifos and its
degradation product 3,5,6-trichloro-2-pyridinol in their everyday environments." Journal of
Exposure Analysis and Environmental Epidemiology 15: 297-309 (2005)
Morgan, M.K., Sheldon, L.S., Croghan, C.W., Jones, P.A. Chuang, J.C., and Wilson, N.K.,
"Exposures of preschool children to cis- and trans-permethrin at their homes and daycare centers
in North Carolina and Ohio." Environmental Health Perspectives (submitted 9/05).
Morgan, M.K., Sheldon, L.S., Croghan, C.W., Jones, P.A. Chuang, J.C., and Wilson, N.K.,
"Exposures of young children to 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid at their homes and daycare
centers in North Carolina and Ohio." (inpreparation, schedidedfor 2007)
Wilson NK, Chuang JC, Lyu C., « Levels of persistent organic pollutants in several child day
care centers." J Expo Anal Environ Epidemiol. 11(6):449-58. 2001
Wilson NK, Chuang JC, Lyu C, Menton R, Morgan MK., "Aggregate exposures of nine
preschool children to persistent organic pollutants at day care and at home." J Expo Anal Environ
Epidemiol. 13(3): 187-202. (2003)
Wilson NK, Chuang JC, Iachan R, Lyu C, Gordon SM, Morgan MK, Ozkaynak H, Sheldon LS.,
"Design and sampling methodology for a large study of preschool children's aggregate exposures
to persistent organic pollutants in their everyday environments." J Expo Anal Environ Epidemiol.
14(3):260-74. (2004)
Wilson, N.K., Chuang, J.C., Lordo, R.A., Morgan, M.K., and Sheldon, L.S., "Exposures of
preschool children to pentachlorophenol, bisphenol-A, and nonylphenol at home and daycare."
(inpreparation, schedidedfor 2006)
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6.3.3	First National Environmental Health Survey of Child Care Centers
EPA, in collaboration with the US Department of Housing and Urban Development and the US
Consumer Product Safety Commission, characterized young children's potential exposures to
pesticides, lead, and allergens in a randomly-selected nationally representative sample of
licensed institutional child care centers. Multi-stage sampling with clustering was used to select
168 child care centers in 30 primary sampling units across the US. Child care centers were
recruited into the study by telephone interviewers. Samples for pesticides, lead, and allergens
were collected at multiple locations in each child care center by field technicians. Wipe samples
from indoor surfaces (floors, tabletops, desks, etc.) and soil samples were collected at the child
care centers. A wide variety of pesticides were detected in the environmental measurements
with chlorpyrifos (0.004-28 ng/cm2 of surface; 4-1154 ng/g of soil), diazinon (0.002-18 ng/cm2
of surface; 1-110000 ng/g of soil), and cis- (0.004-90 ng/cm2 of surface; 4-128 ng/g soil) and
trans- (0.004-219 ng/cm2 of surface; 4-136 ng/g of soil) permethrin detected in >54% of the
child care centers. Based on the questionnaire responses, pyrethroids were the most commonly
used pesticides among child care centers applying pesticides. Furthermore, among the 63% of
centers reporting pesticide applications, the number of pesticides in each center ranged from 1 to
10 and the frequency of use ranged from 1 to 107 times annually. By participating in this study,
the EPA gained a better understanding of pesticide use practices in the nation's child care
facilities and an understanding of the potential exposures of young children (less than 6 years of
age) to pesticide residues in child care facilities.
References:
Rogers, J, Zhou, JY, Tulve, NS, Viet, SM, Marker, D, Fraser, A, Jones, PA, Croghan, CW,
Jacobs, D, Cave, CJ, Friedman, W. Lead, allergens, and pesticide use results in child care
centers in the United States. (In preparation, anticipated submission Dec 05).
Tulve, NS, Jones, PA, Fortmann, RC, Croghan, CW, Zhou, JY, Friedman, W, Fraser, A, Cave, C,
Nishioka, M., "Pesticide measurement results from the first national environmental health survey
of child care centers." (Inpreparation, anticipated submission Nov 05).
6.3.4	Agricultural Health Study Pesticide Exposure Study
The Agricultural Health Study is a collaborative effort between the National Cancer Institute
(NCI), the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), and the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA). This prospective epidemiological study was
designed to address the limitations observed in previous epidemiological studies of farm
applicators. It was also designed to quantify the cancer and non-cancer risks in the agricultural
community and to study the relationship between agricultural pesticide exposures and disease.
The larger AHS study uses questionnaires to provide information regarding pesticide use, work
practices, and other agricultural exposures, as well as information on other activities that may
affect either exposure or risk for a large (more than 89,000) cohort of licensed agricultural
pesticide applicators and their spouses in Iowa and North Carolina. In support of the larger AHS
objectives, NERL planned and conducted the AHS Pesticide Exposure Study (PES) to assess the
exposure-classification procedures developed from the AHS questionnaire data and to better
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understand factors leading to pesticide exposures for agricultural pesticide applicators and their
families. The AHS PES was an exposure-measurement field study for a relatively small subset
of agricultural pesticide applicators (-100 farm applicators) and, where they volunteered,
participating family members in the larger AHS cohort. The study was designed to provide real-
world exposure data for improving exposure and risk assessments for agricultural pesticide
applicators and their families by:
•	Improving survey questionnaires and the exposure-classification procedures based on
data from the questionnaires;
•	Increasing the power of the AHS epidemiological study through improved exposure
assessments;
•	Assessing critical exposure pathways and factors influencing applicator exposures to
agricultural pesticides;
•	Assessing how exposures for families of agricultural pesticide applicators compare to
exposures for the general population.
The research results will be used to improve health-risk assessments in the larger AHS
epidemiological study. The results may also provide information on how pesticides can be
handled more safely to reduce the exposure risks to farm-workers and their families. Study
findings will be used by pesticide-safety educators to improve training programs for agricultural
pesticide applicators and other pesticide handlers. Data analyses are near completion and science
journal articles describing results for farm pesticide applicators and farm family members are in
preparation for journal submission in late 2005.
References:
Jones, M., Thomas, K., Gordon, S., Reynolds, S., Nishioka, M., Raymer, J., Helburn, R., Lynch,
C., Knott, C., Sandler, S., Dosemeci, M., and Alavanja, M. "Summary of biological and
environmental monitoring results from the agricultural health study/pesticide exposure study."
5th International Symposium of Rural Peoples, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada October 19-23,
2003.
Sheldon, L., Thomas, K., Chapa, G., Gordon, S., Jones, M., Raymer, J., Sandler, D., Hopping, J.,
Dosemeci, M., Blair, A., and Alavanja, M.. "Results from the Agricultural Health Study -
Pesticide Exposure Study." North American Pesticide Applicator and Certification and Safety
Education Workshop in Madison, WI, August 18, 2005.
Thomas, K.W., Sheldon, L.S., Sandler, D.P., Dosemeci,M., and Alavanja, M.C.R. "Agricultural
Health Study/Pesticide Exposure Study: Study Design and Preliminary Biomarker Results."
International Symposium on Agricultural Exposures and Cancer, Oxford, U.K., November 17 -
22, 2002.
6.3.5 American Healthy Homes Survey
In June 2005, NERL, in collaboration with the US Department of Housing and Urban
Development (HUD), initiated a survey of US residences (public and private) designed to
examine key physical parameters related to the US residential housing stock and the spatial and
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temporal concentrations of selected environmental pollutants within these residences.
Approximately 1100 residences will be randomly selected out of the total population of US
residences. Each residence will be visited one time for the collection of various questionnaire
and environmental samples. Indoor floor surface wipe samples will be collected in each
residence and analyzed for the identical suite of pesticides and other persistent pollutants
reported in the CTEPP study. An inventory of household pesticides will also be collected. Soil
samples collected in the yard and near wood structures will be analyzed for lead and arsenic.
Indoor dust samples will also be analyzed for lead and arsenic. Where available, the
homeowners' vacuum cleaner bags will be collected and the vacuumed dust analyzed for
targeted mold species by via an innovative PCR technique developed by NERL researchers
(Vesper et al.,). The dust in the homeowner vacuum cleaner bags will also be analyzed for other
persistent pollutants. The PCR results will be compared to the HUD reported mold
concentrations from indoor residential dust samples analyzed via traditional culturing techniques.
The study results will provide EPA with high quality occurrence data describing pesticide use
and occurrence data across the US for a single point in time. The study results will also provide
EPA with an understanding of the range of concentrations for other important environmental
pollutants found in US residences by region. The data collected in this study will be used to
develop new distributions of exposure and risk, and to examine changes in the occurrence and
magnitude of these exposures and risks over time, where baseline data is available. The sample
collection is scheduled to be completed in January 2006 with the initial reports planned for June-
August 2006. Numerous EPA peer reviewed publications are anticipated from the study results
with many providing the Agency with distributions of pesticides and other pollutants in US
residences.
References:
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Draft Protocol and Sample Design
Report: American Healthy Homes Survey, Washington, D.C. 20410, December 2003
Meklin, T., Haugland, R.A., Reponen, T., Varma, M., Lummus, Z., Bernstein, D., Wymer, L. J.
Vesper, S. J. Quantititive PCR analysis of house dust can reveal abnormal mold conditions.
Journal of Environmental Monitoring. 6:615-620. (2004)
6.3.6 Children's Environmental Exposure Research Study
The Children's Environmental Exposure Research Study (CHEERS), formally titled the
"Longitudinal Study of Young Children's Exposures in Their Homes to Selected Pesticides,
Phthalates, Brominated Flame Retardants, and Perfluorinated Chemicals," was designed, based
on the Draft Protocol for Measuring Children's Non-Occupational Exposure to Pesticides by all
Relevant Pathways (EPA, 2001), as a two-year longitudinal field measurement study of very
young children's (aged 0 to 3 years) potential exposures to environmental contaminants routinely
found in US residences. Very little data is currently available that describes residential
exposures or the key factors influencing residential exposures for children of this age group.
CHEERS was an observational field monitoring study designed to fill these critical data gaps.
The targeted list of study analytes included current-use pesticides and selected phthalates,
polybrominated diphenyl ethers, and perfluorinated compounds, compounds reportedly measured
in residential environments by many researchers throughout the international scientific
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community. Environmental, biological, personal, activity pattern, and questionnaire data were to
be collected for up to six data collection events for the same participating families over the two-
year study period. The study was to be conducted in Duval County, Jacksonville, Florida.
Jacksonville was selected as the study location for a variety of reasons: 1) the earlier NOPES
data suggested Jacksonville residential pesticide levels may be relatively high compared to other
selected locations; 2) available pesticide use data suggested that environmental sample levels
would be above the calculated detection limit for the proposed sampling media; and 3) past
collaborative research relationships with Duval County Health Department. Sixty very young
children were to be recruited into this study into two approximately equal cohorts: 1) children
who were less than 3 months of age at the time of enrollment, and 2) children who were
approximately 12 months of age at the time of enrollment. The data collection events at the
participant households were to correspond to changes in the participant child's age,
corresponding with the EPA's Risk Assessment Forum (RAF) proposed developmental age bins:
3, 6, 9, 12, 18, 24, 30, and 36 months. Each data collection event was to last for five days,
during which visits were to be made on a daily basis to collect samples. The study data, along
with other exposure research data, would be used to evaluate the draft RAF age bins. The field
study was cancelled for perceived ethical issues. Nonetheless, numerous standard operating
procedures, methods, and protocols were developed in support of this study (see Methods and
Protocols section above) and that these science documents are readily available for exposure
assessment researchers to assist them in the design and conduct of all aspects of an aggregate
exposure study.
6.4 Data Analysis Activities to Inform Future Research
NERL has initiated several activities to analyze the results from multiple studies. Summaries of
these activities are provided below:
6.4.1 Analysis of available children's mouthing data
Young children may be more likely than adults to be exposed to pesticides following a
residential application as a result of hand- and object-to-mouth contacts in contaminated areas.
However, relatively few studies have specifically evaluated mouthing behavior in children less
than 5 years of age. Previously unpublished data collected by the Fred Hutchinson Cancer
Research Center (FHCRC) were analyzed to assess the mouthing behavior of 72 children (37
males/35 females). Total mouthing behavior data included the daily frequency of both mouth
and tongue contacts with hands, other body parts, surfaces, natural objects, and toys. Eating
events were excluded. Children ranged in age from 11 to 60 months. Observations for more
than 1 day were available for 78% of the children. The total data set was disaggregated by
gender into five age groups (10-20, 20-30, 30-40, 40-50, 50-60 months). Statistical analyses of
the data were then undertaken to determine if significant differences existed among the
age/gender subgroups in the sample. A mixed effects linear model was used to test the
associations among age, gender, and mouthing frequencies. Subjects were treated as random and
independent, and intrasubject variability was accounted for with an autocorrelation function.
Results indicated that there was no association between mouthing frequency and gender.
However, a clear relationship was observed between mouthing frequency and age. Using a tree
analysis, two distinct groups could be identified: children <24 and children >24 months of age.
Children <24 months exhibited the highest frequency of mouthing behavior with 81+7 events/h
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(mean+SE) (n=28 subjects, 69 observations). Children >24 months exhibited the lowest
frequency of mouthing behavior with 42+4 events/h (n=44 subjects, 117 observations). These
results suggest that children are less likely to place objects into their mouths as they age. These
changes in mouthing behavior as a child ages should be accounted for when assessing aggregate
exposure to pesticides in the residential environment.
Reference:
Tulve, NS, Suggs, JC, McCurdy, T, Cohen Hubal, EA, Moya J., "Frequency of mouthing
behavior in young children." Journal of Exposure Analysis and Environmental Epidemiology.
12:259-264. (2002)
6.4.2 A Relative Comparison of Indoor Air Concentrations of Organochlorine, Organophosphate
and Pyrethroid Pesticides in the US Over Twenty Years
Pesticides used to control indoor pests have transitioned across the chemicals classes of
organochlorine, organophosphate, and pyrethroid compounds from the 1980's to the present.
Research was performed to summarize and compare the pesticide concentrations measured from
the indoor air of homes from four studies sponsored by the US EPA. The studies included are
the Non-Occupational Exposure Study (NOPES) (EPA 1990, Whitmore et al., 1994), the
National Human Exposure Assessment Survey (NHEXAS-Maryland) (Macintosh et al, 2000),
the Minnesota Children's Pesticide Exposure Study (MNCPES) (Clayton et al., 2003), and the
Children's Total Exposure to Persistent Pesticides and Other Persistent Organic Pollutants
(CTEPP) (Morgan et al., 2004) study and were conducted during the periods of 1988-89, 1995-
96, 1997 and 2000-01, respectively. In general, the detection frequencies for DDT, DDE,
chlorpyrifos, diazinon, and permethrin increased from 1988 to 2001, due to increased method
sensitivity. Pesticides were commonly measured from residential air in all studies. Mean
airborne concentrations show highly variable heptachlor levels, while chlordane appears to have
declined from 1988 levels. DDT and DDE were present at measurable concentrations from
indoor air. The concentrations were remarkably similar and exhibited only slight variation
across all studies. All organophosphate concentrations were lower than those measured in the
NOPES-FL. Permethrin concentrations were variable and none was measured in NOPES-MA.
Results demonstrate the high degree of variability across studies associated with indoor air
concentrations measured from homes. Overall, the findings suggest decreasing concentrations
for some pesticides over time. Finally, the use of standardized techniques has strengthened the
comparability of airborne concentrations between studies, but comparability could be
significantly improved by collecting additional airborne measures in the same cities or states as
these studies.
References:
USEPA. (1990) Final Report: EPA/600/3-90-003.
Whitmore R. W., Immerman F.W., Camann D. E., Bond A. E., Lewis R. G., Schaum J.L. (1994)
Arch. Environ. Contamin. Toxicol. 26: 47-49.
Macintosh D. L., Kabiru C., Scanlon K. A., Ryan P. B. (2000) J. Exp. Anal. Environ. Epidemiol.
10: 1053-4245.
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Clayton C. A., Pellizzari E. D., Whitmore R. W., Quackenboss J. J., Adgate J., Sexton K. (2003)
J. Exp. Anal. Environ. Epidemiol. 13: 100-111.
Morgan M. K., Sheldon L. S., Croghan C. W. (2004) Report: EPA/600/R-04/193.
6.4.3 The Results for EPA's Workshop on the Analysis of Children's Measurement Data
An integral component to any research program is the analysis of the results in light of the study
objectives and the genesis of new research hypotheses. While researchers attempt to use the data
from other studies in their analyses and interpretation, the ability to examine data across studies
is hampered by the difficulty in obtaining all the validated data for those studies. The objective
of this research activity was to examine the results of all the NERL studies to identify trends,
major findings, and identify future research needs.
NERL sponsored a workshop on September 27-28, 2005, to:
•	review the results of the NERL-sponsored children's pesticide exposure studies that had
been conducted since the implementation of FQPA
•	propose analyses of these study data, along with other study data that could be made
available by the scientific community, to examine the results from across studies
•	identify where sufficient research has been performed to reduce uncertainty in a selected
are and where are the future research needs
Exposure researchers from within and outside EPA were invited to participate in this workshop
and assist NERL in accomplishing the objectives.
A draft report "Summary and Comparisons of Data Collected in NERL's Children's Pesticide
Exposure Studies" (Egeghy et al., 2005) was developed to promote the workshop discussions.
The final workshop report is scheduled for early 2006 and will include a variety of data analysis
activities that will ultimately result in peer reviewed scientific publications. In the interim, the
draft report provides new insights for risk assessors resulting from each individual NERL-
sponsored studies. It also provides risk assessors with a clearer understanding of the quality and
quantity of the available children's exposure data, the key factors influencing children's
exposures to pesticides, and the remaining critical gaps.
Reference:
Egeghy, P.,Croghan, C., Fortmann, R., Jones, P., Melnyk, L., Morgan, M., Sheldon, L., Stout, D.,
Tulve, N., and Whitaker, D. "Summary and Comparisons of Data Collected in NERL Children's
Pesticide Exposure Studies," NERL/EPA Report September 2005.
7. EXPOSURE AND DOSE MODELING RESEARCH
Computational models, both exposure and dose, along with their supporting databases, comprise
the third major category of exposure research products NERL has produced to support children's
pesticide-exposure assessments. Exposure models simulate human exposure or contact with
environmental media that contain the chemical(s) of interest, and the transfer of these chemicals
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to the person. Dose models simulate the absorption of chemicals into the exposed human and
describe the adsorption, distribution, metabolism and elimination (ADME) of the target
compound or its metabolite. Over the past 10 plus years, NERL's exposure and dose modeling
research has focused on developing and refining appropriate algorithms and modeling modules,
and linking these model capabilities to address real-world FQPA issues. In addition, modeling
approaches have been used to assist NERL researchers in developing and testing hypotheses,
identifying areas of greatest uncertainty, and developing future research study designs.
7.1 Exposure Modeling Research
NERL's principal exposure model for simulating children's aggregate exposure to pesticides is
the Stochastic Human Exposure and Dose Simulation (SHEDS) model. SHEDS uses human
activity pattern data from the NERL-developed database the Consolidated Human Activity
Database (CHAD), discussed later in the Database section. Although the data in CHAD are not
limited to the activities of children nor to residential pesticide-related activities, the data in
CHAD include those of children in residences. CHAD is an important resource for conducting
children's pesticide exposure assessments. CHAD and documentation about it are available
from EPA's Internet site at http ://www. epa. gov/chadnet 1 /
The initial development and application of the SHEDS model (see framework section), was for
the assessment of children's residential exposure to chlorpyrifos via the dermal and non-dietary
ingestion exposure pathways (Zartarian et al. 2000). This initial application of SHEDS provided
variability distributions for modeled exposure and dose within the simulated sub-population for
different post-application time periods.
The second generation SHEDS-Pesticides model is a 2-stage Monte Carlo aggregate model,
including the inhalation, dietary ingestion, dermal, and non-dietary ingestion routes. After the
initial chlorpyrifos application for dermal and non-dietary ingestion exposure assessment, the
SHEDS model was enhanced by incorporating two-dimensional variability and uncertainty
distributions of model inputs and outputs. This feature was added to address an important
scientific area of concern regarding exposure modeling - variability in the expected population's
distribution of exposures and the distribution of uncertainty around those variability distributions.
The second generation SHEDS model was used to model chlorpyrifos exposures for selected
NHEXAS participants (Buck et al., 2001) and children from the EOHSI home study (). The
modeled results compared favorably with the measured urine results, demonstrating the
robustness of the model.
In October 2001, ORD/NERL, at the request of OPP/HED, hosted a scientific Aggregate
Residential Exposure Model Comparison Workshop in Research Triangle Park, NC, which
included the second generation SHEDS-Pesticides model. The workshop focused on four
aggregate human exposure models being developed for the Food Quality Protection Act of 1996
(FQPA): Calendex (Novigen Sciences, Inc.), CARES (American Crop Protection Association),
Lifeline (The Lifeline Group), and SHEDS (EPA ORD's National Exposure Research
Laboratory). The primary objective of the workshop was to advance the science of aggregate
exposure modeling. The primary goal of the workshop was to demonstrate, compare, and
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contrast the outputs and capabilities of the four models given the same input scenarios. Specific
goals of the workshop were to:
•	identify similarities and differences among the four models, and where different outputs
are produced for the same scenario, to identify the source(s) of differences;
•	identify strengths and weaknesses of current modeling approaches relevant to OPP's
needs under FQPA;
•	identify the most critical parameters and default assumptions in the four models; and
•	identify and prioritize specific data needs necessary to improve the performance and the
application of these aggregate exposure models.
The major conclusion of the model-comparison exercise was that the four exposure models
provided generally similar outputs for a given scenario. The differences observed were
attributed primarily to how the respective model developers interpreted and assigned the input
variables. The workshop provided valuable insight into future modeling and data requirements
for human exposure assessment, and helped to further guide the development of the SHEDS-
Pesticides model.
The third generation SHEDS-Pesticides model is currently being developed to enhance version 2
to include pet, broadcast, and fogger application scenarios; co-occurrence algorithms using the
REJV (Residential Exposure Joint Venture) pesticide usage survey data; and separate source-to-
concentration and exposure-to-dose modules. The options for the source-to-concentration
module include probability distributions or user input of time series data for post-application
concentrations indoors and outdoors, treated and untreated rooms, and different surface types.
To generate time series data for indoor pyrethroid application scenarios, NERL and its
collaborators (Battelle/Harvard) developed another pesticide exposure-related model to simulate
indoor residential concentrations of pesticides that result from indoor pesticide application. This
model employs the chemical principle of fugacity to estimate transfer rates of pesticide between
air and solid-surface compartments within the modeled residence. Compartments in the model
include air and various types of surfaces (such as vinyl, carpet, and walls) within both the
pesticide-treated zone and the adjacent, non-treated zone. This so-called "indoor fugacity
model" was described in published papers (Bennett et al. 2002; Bennett and Furtaw 2004). The
model software has recently been coded for incorporation into SHEDS. When the indoor
fugacity model is run together with SHEDS, it will provide modeled air and surface
concentrations that SHEDS can use in its exposure simulations. The options for the exposure-to-
dose module include using a simple pharmacokinetic model or exporting SHEDS-generated
exposure time series to PBPK models such as ERDEM. Preliminary interfacing between
SHEDS and ERDEM has been conducted. This third version of SHEDS-Pesticides will be
applied to estimate residential pyrethroid exposures. The dietary module for SHEDS-Pesticides
version 3 was applied in June 2005 to assist OPP/HED with their dietary assessment for
carbamate. NERL exposure modelers worked closely with OPP to compare SHEDS dietary
estimates with those from CARES and Lifeline models, and found the results to be very
consistent.
At the request of OPP's Antimicrobials Division in 2001, major modifications were made to the
SHEDS-Pesticides model by NERL researchers to develop a scenario-specific version of SHEDS
(SHEDS-Wood; also with 2-dimensional Monte Carlo capabilities) for simulating children's
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exposures and doses to arsenic and chromium from chromated copper arsenate (CCA)-treated
wood playsets and decks, and soil surrounding these structures. The SHEDS-Wood model
methodology was presented to OPP's FIFRA SAP in August 2002, and the application of
SHEDS-Wood was reviewed favorably by the SAP December 2003. The draft and final reports
were delivered by NERL to OPP's Antimicrobials Division (Zartarian et al., 2003; Zartarian et
al., 2005) and several journal articles have been submitted to the journal of Risk Analysis. This
application of the SHEDS model was conducted over several years with extensive interaction
between scientists from NERL and from OPP's Antimicrobials Division. The results of the
SHEDS-Wood CCA exposure assessment provided the basis for OPP's risk assessment for
CCA-treated wood structures. For this SHEDS model application, skin contact with, and non-
dietary ingestion of, arsenic in soil and wood residues were considered for the population of
children in the United States who frequently contact CCA-treated wood playsets and decks.
Model analyses were conducted to assess the range in population estimates and the impact of
potential mitigation strategies such as the use of sealants and hand washing after play events. The
results include the following:
•	Predicted central values for lifetime annual average daily dose values for arsenic ranging
from 1E-6 to 1E-5 mg/kg/day, with predicted 95th percentiles on the order of 1E-5
mg/kg/day
•	There were several orders of magnitude between lower and upper percentiles
•	Residue ingestion via hand-to-mouth contact was determined to be the most significant
exposure route for most scenarios
•	Variables associated with these routes for which limited data are available (e.g., average
number of days per year children play around CCA-treated playsets; average fraction of
non-residential time a child plays on/around CCA-treated playsets) should be the focus of
future data collection efforts towards wood preservative exposure assessments
•	Results of several alternative scenarios were similar to baseline results, except for the
scenario with greatly reduced residue concentrations through hypothetical wood sealant
applications; in this scenario, exposures were lower, and the soil ingestion route
dominated
•	The model results compare well to those from other deterministic CCA exposure
assessments.
A general description of SHEDS can be found at: http://www.epa.gov/heasd/emrb/emrb.htm.
Various technical reports and users guides for SHEDS are available upon request from Dr. Linda
Sheldon (Sheldon.Linda@epa.gov) or at 919-541-2454. The EPA Council for Regulatory
Environmental Modeling (CREM) provides guidance for the development and application of
EPA models. Information regarding SHEDS and other related models can be found at:
http: //cfpub. epa. gov/crem/knowl ed ge b ase/knowb ase. cfm
References
Bennett, D.H., Furtaw, E.J.Jr., and McKone, T.E., "A fugacity-based indoor residential pesticide
fate model." Paper presented and published in the Proceedings: Indoor Air 2002, July 2002,
Monterey, CA.
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Bennett, D.H. and Furtaw, E.J.Jr., "Fugacity-Based Indoor Residential Pesticide Fate Model."
Environ. Sci. Technol. 38(7): 2142 - 2152. (2004)
Buck, R.J., Ozkaynak, A.H., Xue, J., Zartarian, V., and Hammerstrom, K. Modeled estimates of
chlorpyrifos exposure and dose for the Minnesota and Arizona NHEXAS populations. Journal
of Exposure Analysis and Environmental Epidemiology 11 (3):253-268 (2001). EPA/600/J-
02/228.
Lioy, P.J., Hore, P., Zartarian,V., Xue, J., Ozkaynak, H.,Wang, S.Yang, Y., Chu, P, Sheldon, L,
Robson, M, Needham, L., and Barr, D., "Children's Residential Exposure to Chlorpyrifos:
Application of CPPAES Field Measurements of Chlorpyrifos and TCPy within
MENTOR/SHEDS Pesticides Model." Science of the Total Environment (to be submitted)
Zartarian, V., Ozkaynak, A.H., Burke, J.M., Zufall, M.J., Rigas, M.L., and Furtaw, Jr., E.J., "A
modeling framework for estimating children's residential exposure and dose to chlorpyrifos via
dermal residue contact and non-dietary ingestion." Environmental Health Perspectives 108
(6):505-514 (2000). EPA/600/J-01/112.
Zartarian, V.G., Xue J., Ozkaynak H., Dang W., Glen G., Smith L., Stallings C., " Probabilistic
Exposure Assessment for Children Who Contact CCA-Treated Playsets and Decks Using the
Stochastic Human Exposure and Dose Simulation Model for the Wood Preservative Exposure
Scenario (SHEDS-Wood)," Draft Preliminary Report, prepared for EPA Office of Pesticide
Programs FIFRA (Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, Rodenticide Act) Science Advisory Panel
(SAP) meeting, December 3-5, 2003. EPA/600/X-04/089.
Zartarian V.G., J. Xue, H. A. Ozkaynak, W. Dang, G. Glen, L. Smith, and C. Stallings., "A
Probabilistic Exposure Assessment for Children Who Contact CCA-treated Playsets and Decks
Using the Stochastic Human Exposure and Dose Simulation Model for the Wood Preservative
Scenario (SHEDS-WOOD)" Final Report. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington,
DC, EPA/600/X-05/009. (http://www.epa.gov/heasd/sheds/caa_treated.htm)
V. Zartarian, J. Xue, H. Ozkaynak, W. Dang, G. Glen, L. Smith, C. Stallings. "A Probabilistic
Arsenic Exposure Assessment for Children Who Contact CCA-Treated Playsets and Decks: Part
1.	Model Methodology, Variability Results, and Model Evaluation." Risk Analysis (submitted;
review comments being addressed)
Xue, J., V. Zartarian, H. Ozkaynak, W. Dang, G. Glen, L. Smith, C. Stallings, "A Probabilistic
Arsenic Exposure Assessment for Children Who Contact CCA-Treated Playsets and Decks: Part
2.	Model Methodology, Variability Results, and Model Evaluation." Risk Analysis (submitted;
review comments being addressed)
7.2 Dose Modeling Research
NERL researchers have developed a physiologically-base, pharmacokinetic (PBPK) modeling
system for simulating the dose of chemicals that enter the body as a result of exposure. The
Exposure-Related Dose-Estimating Model (ERDEM) contains approximately 30 compartments
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corresponding to various physiological organs, tissues, and fluids. ERDEM has the ability to
model aggregate exposure by simulating chemical inputs to the organism via several different
portals, including inhalation, ingestion, dermal absorption, and injection. This latter portal is
available so that laboratory-animal injection dosage experiments can be simulated.
ERDEM is described in an EPA Report (Blancato et al., 2004). This report is available on
EPA's Internet site: http://www.epa.gov/heasd/erdem/erdem report.pdf.
A version of the ERDEM software is available for download from EPA's Internet site:
http://www.epa.gov/heasd/erdem/erdem.htm. Users can download this software free of charge
and actually conduct modeling runs using ERDEM. However, prospective users are cautioned
that using this model is a complex process that requires many user-provided inputs to produce
meaningful results.
ERDEM has been used in several different pesticide applications supporting OPP science needs.
These include:
•	multiple-organophosphorus insecticides for simultaneous exposure via several pathways;
•	malathion application as a head-lice treatment;
•	the carbamate insecticide carbaryl and the on-going N-methyl carbamates cumulative risk
assessment; and,
•	the on-going work to model dose from exposure to pyrethroid insecticides in support of
the pyrethroids cumulative risk assessment.
One application of ERDEM was for simultaneous exposure via multiple routes of exposure to
three organophosphorus (OP) insecticides - chlorpyrifos, isofenphos, and parathion. This
application simulated multiple-pathway pesticide exposure, and it also ventured into the complex
pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of "cumulative effects". In the language of the FQPA,
"cumulative effects" refers to the health effects of multiple chemicals that share a "common
mechanism of toxicity" (FQPA, Section 408). In this case the cumulative effect is cholinesterase
inhibition. Results from this modeling work were presented at an International Society for
Exposure Analysis (ISEA) conference in 2001. Electronic copies of the presentation are
available through Dr. Linda Sheldon (Sheldon.Linda@epa.gov).
Another recent pesticide application of ERDEM was for the assessment of malathion used for
head-lice treatment. This model application was developed in close cooperation with OPP
personnel. In this application, ERDEM was used to model the exposure, dose, and
cholinesterase-inhibition effect due to this usage of malathion. This work is described in the
draft EPA report "Malathion Exposures During Lice Treatment: Use of Exposure Related Dose
Estimating Model (ERDEM) and Factors Relating to the Evaluation of Risk" (Dary et al., 2004).
A third major pesticide-related application of ERDEM is for the risk assessment of carbaryl.
This is the first member of the carbamate family to be modeled in ERDEM. A poster was
presented at the March 2005 Annual Meeting of the Society of Toxicology. An EPA report has
also been prepared (Okino, et al, 2005). The intention is to eventually to conduct cumulative
dose and effect modeling in ERDEM for the other N-methyl carbamates. This class of
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compounds has the common mechanism of toxicity of cholinesterase inhibition. Electronic
copies of the presentation are available through Dr. Linda Sheldon (Sheldon.Linda@epa.gov).
The fourth and on-going pesticide application of ERDEM is for the pyrethroid insecticides. This
work is a collaborative project including scientists from NERL, ORD's National Health and
Environmental Effects Laboratory (NHEERL), ORD's National Center for Environmental
Assessment (NCEA), and OPP. This pyrethroid-modeling research will consider cumulative
effects of multiple-pyrethroid exposures; hence like the OP and carbamate dose modeling
described above, this work goes beyond aggregate exposure to one chemical, and considers
cumulative effects from several related chemicals. The ERDEM pyrethroid modeling approach
for addressing pyrethroids cumulative risks was presented at a seminar on the use of PBPK
models in risk assessment at the OPP offices in Washington, DC in August 2004. This seminar
provided prospective users with information on the ERDEM family of PBPK models. Many of
the presentations were on the pesticide applications of ERDEM, but the seminar also included a
presentation on the use of ERDEM for assessing exposure and dose of volatile organic
compounds from contaminated water. Electronic copies of the presentation are available through
Dr. Linda Sheldon (Sheldon.Linda@epa.gov).
The development and improvement of the ERDEM family of PBPK models continues. One
enhancement that is currently being developed is referred to as Cellular Modeling. This
technique will incorporate diffusional processes into many of the organ and tissue compartments
within ERDEM. This will make the physiological representation of movement of chemicals
(both parent compounds and metabolites) into and through tissues more mechanistically realistic,
thus improving the scientific basis of ERDEM. A draft report is currently being prepared that
describes both this Cellular Modeling, and the implementation of enzyme inhibition within the
ERDEM.
References
Blancato, J.N., Power, F.W., Brown, R.N., Dary, C.C., "Exposure Related Dose Estimating
Model (ERDEM) for Assessing Human Exposure and Dose," EPA Report EPA/600/R-04/060
December 2004.
Dary, C.C., Power, F.W., Blancato, J.N., "Malathion Exposures During Lice Treatment: Use of
Exposure Related Dose Estimating Model (ERDEM) and Factors Relating to the Evaluation of
Risk," draft EPA Report EPA/600/R-04/xxx July 2004
Okino, M.S., Power, F.W., Tornero-Velez, R., Blancato, J.N., Dary, C.C., "Assessment of
Carbaryl Exposure Following Turf Application Using a Physiologically Based Pharmacokinetic
Model," draft EPA Report EPA/600/R-05/xxx December 2005
"Exposure Related Dose Estimating Model (ERDEM), Implemention of Cellular Modeling",
NERL, August 2005.
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8. EXPOSURE DATABASES
Two electronically available databases, the Consolidated Human Activity Database (CHAD) and
the Human Exposure Database System (HEDS), have been developed to store, maintain, retrieve
and disseminate the validate results of NERL's exposure measurements research program.
These databases also store and maintain key input data that are used to develop and evaluate
exposure and dose models. Extensive research has been conducted to develop these two robust
databases and to ensure they provide the scientific community with consistent input data for the
exposure and dose models and to warehouse and make publically available the validated results
of NERL's exposure research measurement and modeling activities. Brief descriptions of these
databases are provided below.
8.1 Consolidated Human Activity Database (CHAD)
Past exposure monitoring and modeling study research demonstrated the importance of activity
pattern data in explaining and predicting variation in human exposures to environmental
pollutants (McCurdy 1994, 1995, 1997a). These studies also have demonstrated that aggregated
time-activity pattern data developed from general population studies often have little scientific
value in understanding activity patterns, exposures experienced, or dose received of children or
any other population subgroup (Graham & McCurdy, 2004; McCurdy & Graham, 2003, 2004).
Factors such as age, mobility, dermal-oral transfer, habitual daily activities, lifestyle (e.g.,
propensity of exercising frequently), residential and worksite locations, and mode of
transportation used on a daily basis influence the intensity (magnitude), frequency, duration, and
pattern of pollutant exposure (McCurdy 1997c).
The Consolidated Human Activity Database (CHAD) has attempted to address these concerns by
assembling data from 13 existing human activity databases and making them easily accessible to
the public via http://www.epa.gov/chadnetl/ (McCurdy et al., 1990). CHAD includes data from
EPA-funded random-probability activity surveys, including the 1992-1998 National Human
Activity Pattern Survey (NHAPS), and the Denver and Washington DC surveys undertaken in
the mid-1980s. CHAD includes a national random-probability study undertaken by the Institute
of Social Research at the University of Michigan that includes over 5,000 person-days of
children's activities. CHAD also includes data from a Cincinnati survey funded by the Electric
Power Research Institute; a survey of activities in Valdez, Alaska funded by Alyeska, a
consortium of petroleum companies; two small panel activity surveys in Los Angeles undertaken
by the American Petroleum Institute; and the two large random-probability studies of
Californian's activities conducted by the State's Air Resources Board in the early 1990s. Finally,
CHAD includes EPA's panel study of elderly inhabitants of an apartment complex in Baltimore
MD.
A common set of activity and location codes was developed so that the separate formats used by
the original databases could be easily accessed by exposure analysts. There are 140 activity
codes and 114 location codes arranged in a hierarchal structure in CHAD, and the database
developers attempted to retain as much detail in the original surveys as possible. A common
format for handling time also was established, so that all of the individual diary days of activity
start and end at midnight. This facilitates computer modeling, because code "translations" no
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longer have to be used to bring together the data. A unique feature of CHAD is that a
distribution of physiologically-based ratios of personal energy expenditure to basal metabolism
(called a MET) is provided for every activity coded in the database (McCurdy 2000). Since
inhalation, water consumption, and food ingestion can be related to the MET indicator, CHAD
facilitates multi-route exposure/uptake dose modeling.
Over 22,000 person-days of data are included in the database. About one half of these data focus
on children (~ 10,100 person-days of data). CHAD provides a synoptic basis for undertaking
multi-route, multi-media exposure and dose assessments. The data can be accessed by age,
gender, location of the country, housing characteristics, and/or socioeconomic factors. The
significant portion of these data which focus on children's activities represent a valuable
contribution to understanding children's time-activity patterns, exposure, and risk, and to
developing multi-route exposure and dose models.
References:
McCurdy, T. (1994). "Human exposure to ambient ozone," pp. 85-127 in: D.J. McKee (ed.)
Tropospheric Ozone. Ann Arbor MI: Lewis Publishers
McCurdy, T. (1995). "Estimating human exposure to selected motor vehicle pollutants using the
NEM series of models: Lessons to be learned." J. Exp. Anal. Environ. Epidem. 5: 533-550
McCurdy, T. (1997a). "Comparison of cumulative inhaled ozone dose estimates using a
disaggregated, sequential approach and alternative recommended approaches." Paper presented
at the 7th Annual Meeting of the International Society of Exposure Analysis
McCurdy, T. (1997b). "Human activities that may lead to high inhaled intake doses in children
aged 6-13." Environ. Tox. Pharm. 4:251-260
McCurdy, T. (1997c). "Modeling the dose profile in human exposure assessments: ozone as an
example." Rev. Tox.: In Vivo Tox. Risk Assess. 1: 3-23
McCurdy, T. (2000). "Conceptual basis for multi-route intake dose modeling using an energy
expenditure approach." J. Expos. Anal. Environ. Epidem. 10: 86-97
McCurdy, T., Glen, G., Smith, L., and Lakkadi, Y. (2000). "The National Exposure Research
Laboratory's Consolidated Human Activity Database." J. Exp. Anal. Environ. Epidem. 10: 566-
578
McCurdy, T. and Graham, S. (2003). "Using human activity data in exposure models: Analysis
of discriminating factors." J. Exp. Anal. Environ. Epidem. 13:294-317
McCurdy, T. and Graham, S. (2004). Analyses to Understand Relationships Among
Physiological Parameters in Children and Adolescents Aged 6-16. Research Triangle Park, NC:
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA/600/X-04/092)
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McCurdy, T. and Xue, J. (2004). "Meta-analysis of Physical Activity Index data for US children
and adolescents." J. Child. Health 2: 297-319
Graham, S.E. and McCurdy, T. (2004). "Developing meaningful cohorts for human exposure
models." J. Expos. Anal. Environ. Epidem. 14: 23-43
8.2 Human Exposure Database System (HEDS)
NERL has established an electronically available repository for the validated exposure research
data, the Human Exposure Database System (HEDS), available at http://www.epa.gov/heds/.
The HEDS website provides information about the studies as well as information on how to use
the database system. HEDS is a web-enabled data repository for validated human exposure
studies. It provides the validated data sets, supporting documents (protocols, SOPs, etc.), and
other important metadata for human exposure studies that can be easily accessed and understood
by a diverse set of users. Although the data are provided about human exposure, NERL strives
to protect the confidentiality of all study participants. HEDS operates in conjunction with the
Environmental Information Management System (EIMS), ORD's metadata repository. HEDS
provides only data and accompanying documentation from research studies; it does not provide
interpretations. It allows a user to download documents for review or data sets for analysis on
their own computer system. Currently the validated NHEXAS are readily available for exposure
researchers on HEDS. The validated CTEPP and Arizona Border study results are anticipated to
be electronically available by the end of FY 2006.
9. GENERAL CONCLUSIONS
Significant progress has been made in children's pesticide exposure research since the passage of
FQPA in 1996. The results of NERL's research have filled numerous data gaps and provided
risk assessors with refined methods, knowledge, data and models for estimating children's
exposures to pesticides.
A brief summary of areas where important progress has been made is highlighted below.
• Those pesticides that are most frequently used for residential pest control have been
identified. Information on the occurrence and co-occurence of pesticides in the
environmental (air, dust, soil, and surface wipe) and personal exposures measured via
hand wipe and urine samples has also been developed.
o The pyrethroid pesticides are currently the most frequently used insecticides for
indoor applications. Their use is expected to become more widespread since the
discontinuation of registrations for indoor use of chlorpyrifos (2001) and diazinon
(2002).
o cis- and /ra/7.s-Permethrin and cypermethrin were the most frequently detected
pyrethroid pesticides in environmental samples. Chloropyrifos is still the most
frequently detected pesticide in residential environmental samples despite its
discontinued residential indoor use.
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•	High quality data are now available documenting pesticide concentrations in
environmental and personal samples for children. These data will be used to substantially
improve future exposure assessments.
o Concentrations distributions of pesticides in environmental and personal samples
have been measured for a number of populations across the country. Results for
these general population and nationally representative occurrence studies gives
information on background levels since pesticide applications are intermittent and
monitoring is not targeted to any particular monitor application event in these
studies.
o Data on the temporal and spatial distribution of pesticides after applications have
also been generated. Preliminary results suggest that pyrethroid pesticides
accumulate in the dust and may be persistent in the home for much longer time
periods than were reported for organophosphate pesticides. Thus residential
applications may result in chronic exposures to these pesticides.
•	Pesticides can be categorized as either semivolatile (i.e., chlorpyrifos, diazinon) or
nonvolatile (i.e., pyrethroids) based on their vapor pressure. The volatility characteristics
of a given pesticide will have a substantial impact on the fate and transport of pesticides
in residential environments, as well as routes and pathways for exposure.
o Semivolatile pesticides are present primarily in the air and as residues on surfaces.
Nonvolatile pesticides are primarily bonded to dust particles in the home. These
factors change the transfer characteristics and efficiency for pesticides,
o Particles can transfer more efficiently from one media to another. Thus,
nondietary exposure through surface-to-hand and hand-to-mouth activities should
be considerably greater for the nonvolatile particle-bound pesticides compared to
the semivolatile pesticides,
o Dermal exposure is expected to be less for the nonvolatile pesticides because the
particle-bound pesticides are likely to stay on the particles rather than transfer to
and through the skin surface.
•	An understanding of the relative magnitude of exposure by different routes has been
developed. This information will allow us to apply route specific PBPK models to more
accurately predict target tissue dose, biomarker levels, and health outcomes. It also will
provide focus for future exposure monitoring and epidemiological studies and will allow
model sensitivity analysis to be framed based on the most important exposure routes.
o Inhalation - Even when semivolatile pesticides such a chlorpyrifos are measured
at relatively high concentrations in air samples, there appears to be little impact on
absorbed dose as estimated by urinary biomonitoring data. These results suggest
that chlorpyrifos may be poorly absorbed through the lung and inhalation may not
be an important exposure route in residential settings,
o Dermal Absorption - Calculations using skin loading measurements and default
assumptions for dermal penetration rates give very low values for absorbed dose
compared to aggregate absorbed dose estimated by biomonitoring. Additional
research is needed in the areas of dermal absorption and biomonitoring.
o Nondietary Ingestion - this appears to be an important route of children's
exposure for nonvolatile pesticides such as the pyrethroid pesticides.
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¦	Nondietary ingestion can account for -25% of aggregate exposure in areas
that have moderate residential pesticide use. This includes states such as
Ohio and North Carolina where the CTEPP study was conducted.
¦	In high pesticide use areas such as Florida, nondietary ingestion could be
substantially higher.
¦	Methods need to be improved to accurately estimate exposure by this
route.
o Dietary - for most pesticides, especially in moderate use areas, this is the
predominant exposure pathway. For some pesticides, the dietary route accounts
for greater than 90% of aggregate exposure.
¦	Methods for measuring dietary exposure must be improved - better
analytical methods, refinements in duplicate diets sample collections, and
methods for estimating the impact of preparation and handling in the home
are needed.
¦	Models for estimating dietary exposure need to be refined and evaluated
against existing data on both foods consumed and measured intake levels.
•	Based on reported biomonitoring data, there are areas of the country where children have
substantially higher exposures to pyrethroid pesticides. This appears to be due to high
residential use. Additional information is needed to understand the sources, routes, and
pathways for children's exposures in these areas.
•	Longitudinal Exposures - few studies have addressed longitudinal exposures and relate
these to lifestage and activities. Additional research is needed.
•	Biomonitoring is a useful tool for understanding exposures and absorbed dose especially
when comparing across populations. Substantial research has been conducted to
understand the limitations and to improve the methods for using biomarkers to estimate
exposure and absorbed.
o For some pesticides, high levels of degradation products are in the environment.
This is a potential confounder especially for risk assessments.
o Quantitative exposure estimates require measures of urinary output rather than
concentration. Collection methods, including diaper collection methods for
young children, have been refined so that urinary output rates can be calculated.
Progress has been made in many areas and we are beginning to understand the environment that
children live in, their activities, and the resulting exposures. However, research is still needed to
adequately characterize the magnitude, routes and pathways of exposure. We still need to
understand the key factors that influence the dermal transfer and indirect ingestion of pesticides.
We need to be able to more accurately assess dietary exposure. In order to evaluate exposure
models, we must be able to quantify the relationships between and among environmental
concentrations of pesticides in various media, children's activities, and the results of biomarkers
of exposures as measured in urine and/or blood. Exposure models outputs that include the
timing and route of exposure need to be linked to PBPK models in order to develop accurate
assessment of target tissue dose. Research, especially model development, needs to extend
beyond single chemical aggregate exposures and dose to include exposures and risks that
accumulate across chemicals and over time.
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10. SUMMARY
Since 1996, NERL has conducted significant research to develop and provide tools and data for
use in assessing children's aggregate exposure to pesticides. High quality research products have
been provided to Agency risk assessors to address FQPA-related issues, including: publications
describing a framework for systematically conducting related research; measurement methods
for sampling and analysis of environmental media to which humans are exposed; data from
numerous studies of children's pesticide exposure; and the development and application of
exposure and dose models for simulation of aggregate (and in some cases cumulative) pesticide
exposure and dose.
This report has compiled a list of NERL research activities and available technical products that
have already been used in selected cases, and that can be used in the future by Agency exposure
and risk assessors in conducting scientifically sound pesticide exposure and dose assessments.
The NERL researchers realize the complexity associated with conducting these assessments, and
of employing newly developed state-of-the-art knowledge tools in conducting risk assessments.
NERL encourages risk assessors to contact the individual researchers and/or senior NERL
leadership to find opportunities for collaboration in using these tools to address key scientific
problems associated with children's risk. The NERL researchers invite and encourage pesticide
exposure assessors and risk assessors to contact Dr. Linda Sheldon (Sheldon.linda@epa.gov. or
919-541-2454)) to obtain assistance in the usage of these products.
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