Personal and In-Home Exposures to Airborne Organophosphate Pesticides among Rural Residents of California's Central Valley.

ABSTRACT: Residents of agricultural communities may experience higher exposures to pesticides due to their proximity to agricultural operations. We applied a novel measurement approach, using Ultrasonic Personal Air Samplers (UPAS), to quantify particulate matter and organophosphate pesticides in air in California's Central Valley. We collected 124 personal, 126 in-home, and 32 outdoor air samples with 66 adults from 37 rural households in 2023 and 2024. We detected chlorpyrifos, acephate, malathion, diazinon, and naled in air samples. We detected gas-phase chlorpyrifos in 63% of personal samples and 86% of homeseven though use of chlorpyrifos has been banned in California (with few exceptions) since January 2021at 24 h average concentrations ranging up to 13 ng m^-3 (personal) and 5.8 ng m^-3 (in-home). We did not detect chlorpyrifos in outdoor air samples. Using linear mixed models, we found that higher indoor air temperatures and having more carpets/rugs were associated with higher indoor chlorpyrifos concentrations. The concentrations we measured were well below the California Department of Pesticide Regulation's health screening level of 510 ng m^-3 for chronic exposure to chlorpyrifos in air; nevertheless, our results suggest that persistent chlorpyrifos in home environments continues to contribute to nondietary exposure among California residents.

SUBMITTER: Tryner J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12910587 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature