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

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

Pesticide risk perception and biomarkers of exposure in Florida female farmworkers.

OBJECTIVE: To compare workplace characteristics, workplace behaviors, and the health beliefs of female farmworkers of childbearing age with actual biomarkers of exposure to organophosphate pesticides and to the fungicide mancozeb. METHODS: Hispanic and Haitian farmworkers between the ages of 18 and 40 years working in nursery or fernery operations were recruited to participate in a cross-sectional survey, examining demographics, work practices, work-related hygiene, and pesticide exposure beliefs. Single-void (spot) urine samples were analyzed for organophosphate and ethylenethiourea metabolites. RESULTS: Women in nurseries worried less frequently about the effects of pesticides on their health than those in fernery operations. In summary, organophosphate and ethylenethiourea levels in nursery workers were significantly higher than levels in fernery workers and the control group. CONCLUSIONS: Results showed that perceived pesticide exposure did not correspond to actual metabolite levels within differing agricultural subpopulations.

High-throughput sample preparation for the quantitation of acephate, methamidophos, omethoate, dimethoate, ethylenethiourea, and propylenethiourea in human urine using 96-well-plate automated extraction and high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

Acephate, methamidophos, o-methoate, and dimethoate are organophosphorus pesticides, and ethylenethiouria and propylenethiourea are two metabolites from the bisdithiocarbamate fungicide family. They are some of the most widely used pesticides and fungicides in agriculture both domestically and abroad. The existing high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)-tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) method for the measurement of these compounds in human urine was improved by using a 96-well plate format sample preparation; the use of HPLC-MS/MS was comparable with a concentration range of 0.125 to 50 ng/ml. Deuterium-labeled acephate, ethylenethiouria, and methamidophos were used as internal standards. The sample preparation procedure, in the 96-well format with a 0.8-ml urine sample size, uses lyophilization of samples, followed by extraction with dichloromethane. The analytes were chromatographed on a Zorbax SB-C3 (4.6 × 150 mm, 5.0-µm) column with gradient elution by using 0.1% formic acid in aqueous solution (solvent A) and 0.1% formic acid in methanol (solvent B) mobile phase at a flow rate of 1 ml/min. Quantitative analysis was performed by atmospheric pressure chemical ionization source in positive ion mode using multiple-reaction monitoring of the precursor-to-product ion pairs for the analytes on a TSQ Quantum Ultra HPLC-MS/MS. Repeated analyses of urine samples spiked with high (15 ng/ml), medium (5 ng/ml), and low (1 ng/ml) concentrations of the analytes gave relative SDs of <13%. The limits of detection were in the range of 0.004-0.01 ng/ml. The method also has high accuracy, high precision, and excellent extraction recovery. Furthermore, the improved sample preparation method decreased the cost and labor required while effectively doubling the analytic throughput with minimal matrix effect.