Farmworker and nonfarmworker Latino immigrant men in North Carolina have high levels of specific pesticide urinary metabolites

Abstract

This paper compares detections and concentrations of specific organophosphate, bis-dithiocarbamate, and pyrethroid insecticide urinary metabolites among Latino male farmworkers and non-farmworkers in North Carolina. Data are from interviews and urine samples collected in 2012 and 2013. Farmworkers and non-farmworkers frequently had detections for OP and pyrethroid pesticide urinary metabolites. Detections of bis-dithiocarbamate urinary metabolites were less frequent, but substantial among the non-farmworkers. The concentrations of organophosphate, bis-dithiocarbamate, and pyrethroid pesticide urinary metabolites were high for farmworkers and non-farmworkers compared to National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey results. Pesticide urinary metabolite detection was not associated with occupation in non-farmworkers. Research for reducing pesticide exposure among farmworkers remains important; research is also needed to determine pesticide exposure pathways among Latino non-farmworkers.

Migrant Farmworkers’ Exposure to Pesticides in Sonora, Mexico

“…To the best of our knowledge, no other study has evaluated the urine concentrations of pyrethroid metabolites in a migrant Mexican population. In comparison to studies outside of Sonora, urinary concentrations of 3PBA were higher than the results obtained from the North Carolina studies by Raymer et al [41] and Arcury et al [38] as well as those reported by Panawet et al [38] in Thailand and a study conducted by Handal et al [40] in Ecuador with rose-workers (Table 5). Meanwhile, urinary concentrations for 4F3PBA and t-DCCA in our exploratory study were higher than the results reported by Handal et al [40] in Ecuador, but they were not reported in the other farmworker studies [38,39,41] (Table 5).…”

“…However, Aldana-Madrid et al [32] studied local field workers from Sonora, which are not representative of our study population, that frequently migrate from the Southern Mexican States and temporarily reside in migrant dormitories located within the farm where they are employed. Interestingly, when comparing our OP results with other farmworker pesticide studies outside of the Sonora region, we found that concentrations of the chlorpyrifos metabolite (TCPY) in our study participants were higher than those reported in studies conducted in Ecuador, Thailand, and a study conducted in Latino farmworkers from North Carolina [38,39,41]. In addition, similar TCPY concentrations were reported in another study from North Carolina in male migrant tobacco workers who did not participate in any pesticide application processes [41].…”

“…The current study participants resided temporally in dormitories provided by farm owners located inside of the farms, and migrant workers might have been exposed to pesticides in dorms through drift, take-home pathway, or/and insecticide application within dorms to control pests such as bedbugs [47,48]. Even though some OPs such as chlorpyrifos have not been used for residential purposes in the U.S., evidence exists of relatively high levels of OPs and pyrethroids inside U.S. farmworker camps [38,49]. Regardless of the pesticides present in farmworkers’ housing in the U.S., there is limited to no information on the housing of Mexico’s migrant farmworkers.…”

Pesticide Urinary Metabolites Among Latina Farmworkers and Nonfarmworkers in North Carolina

“…The percentage of Latina farmworkers and non-farmworkers in this analysis with pesticide urinary metabolite detections and the concentrations of these metabolites are similar to those reported for male farmworkers and non-farmworkers in companion analyses. 4,5 Like this study, there were limited differences in detections and concentrations between male farmworkers and non-farmworkers in the companion analyses. Also like the results for male farmworkers and non-farmworkers in companion analyses, 4,5 detections and concentrations for each pesticide urinary metabolite differed between 2012 and 2013.…”

Isolation and Fear of Deportation: Intersectional Barriers to Well‐Being Among Latina Farmworkers in Southwestern Idaho

“…Most research on farmworkers has focused on men and migrant farmworkers. While some studies have focused explicitly on women (Arcury et al 2014; Arcury et al 2018a,2018b; Block 2014; Carney 2015; Golichenko and Sarang 2013; Meierotto and Som Castellano 2019a; Meierotto and Som Castellano 2019b; Quandt et al 2020), most research does not consider the intersection of gender and structural violence. In the discussion below, we provide a space for women to describe, in their own words, ways in which geography, gender, and immigration status intersect at multiple levels to increase isolation.…”