Comparison of Current-Use Pesticide and Other Toxicant Urinary Metabolite Levels among Pregnant Women in the CHAMACOS Cohort and NHANES

BackgroundWe measured 34 metabolites of current-use pesticides and other precursor compounds in urine samples collected twice during pregnancy from 538 women living in the Salinas Valley of California, a highly agricultural area (1999-2001). Precursors of these metabolites included fungicides, carbamate, organochlorine, organophosphorus (OP), and pyrethroid insecticides, and triazine and chloroacetanilide herbicides. We also measured ethylenethiourea, a metabolite of the ethylene-bisdithiocarbamate fungicides. Repeat measurements of the compounds presented here have not been reported in pregnant women previously. To understand the impact of the women's regional environment on these findings, we compared metabolite concentrations from the CHAMACOS (Center for the Health Assessment of Mothers and Children of Salinas) cohort with U.S. national reference data for 342 pregnant women sampled by the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1999-2002).ResultsThe eight metabolites detected in > 50% of samples [2,4-dichlorophenol (2,4-DCP); 2,5-dichlorophenol (2,5-DCP); 1- and 2-naphthol; ortho-phenylphenol (ORTH); para-nitrophenol (PNP); 2,4,6-trichlorophenol (2,4,6-TCP); and 3,4,6-trichloro-2-pyridinol (TCPy)] may be related to home or agricultural pesticide use in the Salinas Valley, household products, and other sources of chlorinated phenols. More than 78% of women in this study had detectable levels of at least one of the OP pesticide-specific metabolites that we measured, and > 30% had two or more. The 95th percentile values of six of the most commonly detected (> 50%) compounds were significantly higher among the CHAMACOS women after controlling for age, race, socioeconomic status, and smoking [(2,4-DCP; 2,5-DCP; ORTH; PNP; 2,4,6-TCP; and TCPy); quantile regression p < 0.05].ConclusionsFindings suggest that the CHAMACOS cohort has an additional burden of precursor pesticide exposure compared with the national sample, possibly from living and/or working in an agricultural area

Organic contaminants in western pond turtles in remote habitat in California

Remote aquatic ecosystems are exposed to an assortment of semivolatile organic compounds (SOCs) originating from current and historic uses, of local and global origin. Here, a representative suite of 57 current- and historic-use pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were surveyed in the plasma of the western pond turtle (Emys marmorata) and their potential prey items and habitat. California study sites included Sequoia National Park, Whiskeytown National Recreation Area, and Six Rivers National Forest. Each was downstream of undeveloped watersheds and varied in distance from agricultural and urban pollution sources. SOCs were detected frequently in all sites with more found in turtle plasma and aquatic macroinvertebrates in the two sites closest to agricultural and urban sources. Summed PCBs were highest in Whiskeytown National Recreation Area turtle plasma (mean; 1.56 ng/g ww) compared to plasma from Sequoia National Park (0.16 ng/g ww; p = 0.002) and Six Rivers National Forest (0.07 ng/g ww; p = 0.001). While no current-use pesticides were detected in turtle plasma at any site, both current- and historic-use pesticides were found prominently in sediment and macroinvertebrates at the Sequoia National Park site, which is immediately downwind of Central Valley agriculture. SOC classes associated with urban and industrial pollution were found more often and at higher concentrations at Whiskeytown National Recreation Area. These findings demonstrate a range of SOC exposure in a turtle species with current and proposed conservation status and shed additional light on the fate of environmental contaminants in remote watersheds