An environmental measurement and correlation study of nondietary ingestion of pesticides was carried out in a colonia in south Texas. The purpose of the study was to evaluate young children's exposure to environmental levels of organophosphate ( OP ) pesticides in the household. Samples were collected to measure levels of OP pesticides in housedust and on children's hands. These, in turn, were compared to levels of OP pesticide metabolites in urine. A total of 52 children, 25 boys and 27 girls, participated in the spring and summer of 2000. The children were 7 -53 months of age at the time of recruitment. Univariate and multivariate regression analyses were carried out using SAS statistical software. Seventy -six percent of housedust samples and 50% of hand rinse samples contained OP pesticides. All urine samples had at least one metabolite and over 95% had at least two metabolites above the limit of detection ( LOD ). Total OP loadings in the housedust ranged from nondetectable ( nd ) to 78.03 nmol / 100 cm 2 ( mean = 0.15 nmol / 100 cm 2 ; median = 0.07 nmol / 100 cm 2 ); total OP loadings on the children's hands ranged from nd to 13.40 nmol / 100 cm 2 ( mean = 1.21 nmol / 100 cm 2 ; median = 1.41 nmol / 100 cm 2 ), and creatinine corrected urinary levels ( nmol / mol creatinine ) of total OP metabolites ranged from 3.2 to 257 nmol / mol creatinine ( mean = 42.6; median 27.4 nmol / mol creatinine ). Urinary metabolites were inversely associated with the age of the child ( in months ) with the parameter estimate ( pe ) = À 2.11, P= 0.0070, and 95% confidence interval À 3.60 to À 0.61. The multivariate analysis observed a weak association between concentrations of OP pesticides in housedust, loadings in housedust, and concentration on hands, hand surface area, and urinary levels of OP metabolites. However, hand loadings of OP pesticides were more strongly associated ( r 2 = 0.28; P= 0.0156 ) with urinary levels of OP metabolites ( pe = 6.39; 95% CI 0.98 -11.80 ). This study's preliminary findings suggest that surface loadings of pesticides, on hands, are more highly correlated with urinary bioassays and, therefore, may be more useful for estimation of exposure in epidemiologic studies than levels of pesticides in housedust.

Children's mouthing and food-handling activities were measured during a study of nondietary ingestion of pesticides in a south Texas community. Mouthing data on 52 children, ranging in age from 7 to 53 months, were collected using questionnaires and videotaping. Data on children's play and hand-washing habits were also collected. Children were grouped into four age categories: infants (7-12 months), 1-year-olds (13-24 months), 2-year-olds (25-36 months) and preschoolers (37-53 months). The frequency and type of events prompting hand washing did not vary by age category except for hand washing after using the bathroom; this increased with increasing age category. Reported contact with grass and dirt also increased with increasing age category. The median hourly hand-to-mouth frequency for the four age groups ranged from 9.9 to 19.4, with 2-year-olds having the lowest frequency and preschoolers having the highest. The median hourly object to mouth frequency ranged from 5.5 to 18.1 across the four age categories; the frequency decreased as age increased (adjusted R 2 ¼ 0.179; P ¼ 0.003). The median hourly hand-to-food frequency for the four age groups ranged from 10.0 to 16.1, with the highest frequency being observed in the 1-year-olds. Hand-to-mouth frequency was associated with food contact frequency, particularly for children over 12 months of age (adjusted R 2 ¼ 0.291; P ¼ 0.002). The frequency and duration of hand-to-mouth, object-to-mouth and food-handling behaviors were all greater indoors than outdoors. Infants were more likely to remain indoors than children in other age groups. The time children spent playing on the floor decreased with increasing age (adjusted R 2 ¼ 0.096; P ¼ 0.031). Parental assessment was correlated with hand-to-mouth activity but not with object-to-mouth activity. The highest combined (hand and object) mouthing rates were observed among infants, suggesting that this age group has the greatest potential for exposure to environmental toxins.

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Risk assessments of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon mixtures are hindered by a lack of reliable information on the potency of both mixtures and their individual components. This paper examines methods for approximating the toxicity of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) mixtures. PAHs were isolated from a coal tar and then separated by ring number using HPLC. Five fractions (A-E) were generated, each possessing a unique composition and expected potency. The toxicity of each fraction was measured in the Salmonella/mutagenicity assay and the Chick Embryo Screening Test (CHEST). Their abilities to induce ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase and to inhibit gap junction intercellular communication in rat liver Clone 9 cells were also measured. In the Salmonella/mutagenicity assay, fractions were predicted to have potencies in the order C > D > E > B > A. Toxic equivalency factors (TEFs) for fractions A-E were in the order E > or = D > C > B > A. TEF values were 20,652, 20,929, 441, 306, and 74.1 micrograms of BaP equiv/g, respectively. A lack of agreement between assay-predicted potencies and chemical analysis-predicted potencies was observed with other assays and other methods of calculation. The results demonstrate the limitations of using a single method to predict the toxicity of a complex PAH mixture.

We used molecular methods and population genetic analyses to study the effects of chronic contaminant exposure in marsh frogs from Sumgayit, Azerbaijan. Marsh frogs inhabiting wetlands in Sumgayit are exposed to complex mixtures of chemical contaminants, including petroleum products, pesticides, heavy metals, and many other industrial chemicals. Previous results documented elevated estimates of genetic damage in marsh frogs from the two most heavily contaminated sites. Based on mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region sequence data, the Sumgayit region has reduced levels of genetic diversity, likely due to environmental degradation. The Sumgayit region also acts as an ecological sink, with levels of gene flow into the region exceeding gene flow out of the region. Additionally, localized mtDNA heteroplasmy and diversity patterns suggest that one of the most severely contaminated sites in Sumgayit is acting as a source of new mutations resulting from an increased mutation rate. This study provides an integrated method for assessing the cumulative population impacts of chronic contaminant exposure by studying both population genetic and evolutionary effects.

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The Caspian region and specifically the Apsheron peninsula of Azerbaijan are known to be polluted with a variety of environmental contaminants. These complex mixtures of contaminants make risk assessment difficult. We used the flow cytometry method (FCM) and the micronucleus assay (MN) to assess chromosomal damage in aquatic turtles (Emys orbicularis, the European pond turtle; and Mauremys caspica, the Caspian turtle) inhabiting contaminated wetlands in Azerbaijan. Evidence of genetic damage was found for two sites, Neftchala and Sumgayit, relative to a reference site, Ali Bairamly. Sediment samples from each site were analyzed for PAHs and mercury to evaluate potential contaminant associations with genetic damage. A significant positive correlation was documented between three-ring PAH sediment concentrations and FCM estimates of chromosomal damage in E. orbicularis. These data combine to show that the contaminated wetlands in Sumgayit and Neftchala are genotoxic and that three-ring PAHs are likely a significant influence on observed genotoxicity.

Sediment from a wetland adjacent to an industrial wastewater treatment plant in Sumgayit contained concentrations of total PAHs, total PCBs, aldrin, biphenyl, chlordane, DDT, mercury, beta-endosulfan, heptachlor, alpha-hexacyclohexane (alpha-HCH), gamma-HCH, and several individual PAH congeners that were elevated relative to published sediment quality guidelines. Chemical analyses of tissues from European pond turtles (Emys orbicularis) had increased levels of many of the same chemicals including aldrin, chlordane, heptachlor, alpha-HCH, total PCBs, total PAHs, and mercury, compared to reference turtles. In addition, turtle tissues contained elevated levels of DDD, hexachlorobenzene (HCB), and pentachlorobenzene that were not elevated in the sediment sample. Some differences were observed in contaminant levels between European pond turtles and Caspian turtles (Mauremys caspica) taken from the ponds in Sumgayit. Salmonella/microsome mutagenicity assays on pond sediments were negative or weakly positive. Micronuclei in European pond turtles were statistically correlated with tissue levels of mercury, heptachlor, DDD, HCB, and trans-nonachlor. Microcosm experiments using Russian sturgeon (Acipenser gueldenstaedtii) showed a positive dose-response relationship between exposure to suspended contaminated pond sediment and acute toxicity. Chemical and biological assays used in this study show the industrial area of Sumgayit is heavily contaminated with a complex mixture of toxic pollutants. Exposure to contaminated sediments produced acute effects in Russian sturgeon, but genotoxic effects appear to be slight.