Multi-class chemical exposure in rural Peru using silicone wristbands

Abstract

Exposure monitoring with personal silicone wristband samplers was demonstrated in Peru in four agriculture and urban communities where logistic and practical constraints hinder use of more traditional approaches. Wristbands and associated methods enabled quantitation of 63 pesticides and screening for 1397 chemicals including environmental contaminants and personal care products. Sixty-eight wristbands were worn for approximately one month by volunteers from four communities of Alto Mayo, Peru. We identified 106 chemicals from eight chemical classes among all wristbands. Agricultural communities were characterized by pesticides and PAHs, while the urban communities had more personal care products present. Multiple linear regressions explained up to 40% of variance in wristbands from chlorpyrifos, cypermethrin, and DDT and its metabolites (DDx) (r2=0.39, 0.30, 0.40, respectively). All three pesticides were significantly different between communities, and cypermethrin and DDx were associated with participant age. The calculated relative age of DDT suggested some communities had more recent exposure than others. This work aids health research in the Alto Mayo and beyond by identifying typical mixtures and potential sources of exposure to organic chemicals in the personal environment. Silicone wristband sampling with chemical screening is a candidate for widespread use in exposure monitoring in remote areas.

Analysis of brominated and chlorinated flame retardants, organophosphate esters, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in silicone wristbands used as personal passive samplers

“…Chromatographic cleanup procedures previously used for analysis of organic pollutants in wristbands include Florisil [12], C 18 solid phase extraction cartridges [4], and 5% acid silica columns [13]. Some other methods (mostly focusing on the screening of analytes) did not include any cleanup or fractionation [5,7,14]. In the initial trials, we found several interferences in the extracts that were limiting the analysis of some target analytes: one was siloxane, which was released from the wristbands during extraction; the other were lipids, which were transferred from the skin to the wristbands during deployment due to the direct skin-wristband contact.…”

“…As passive samplers, silicone wristbands work by chemical diffusion (absorption) of an environmental contaminant into the polymer of the silicone over time [4]. They were first introduced by O'Connell et al [5] in 2014 to assess exposure in an occupational setting, but have since been used in several studies, ranging from assessment of pesticide exposure among farmers in West Africa [6] and Peru [7] and flame retardant exposure among preschool children in the United States [4,8,9], to assessment of volatile organic chemicals emanating from the surface of human skin [10]. These studies have demonstrated that a commercial silicone wristband, worn by study participants, offers a non-invasive and simple way to quantify personal exposure to multiple chemicals from multiple microenvironments and within a multiday time period.…”

Silicone wristbands detect individuals' pesticide exposures in West Africa

“…Statistical power in comparisons between genders is limited because male participants outnumbered female six to one. Analysis of a trip blank was not included in this study, but we expect blank results as measured in a similar study [24]. The wristband is a proxy for exposure that incorporates both dermal and vapour-phase inhalation routes, and it does not consider oral and dietary pathways of exposure.…”

“…Trip blanks (unopened wristband samples in individual PTFE bags that are shipped to and from the study site alongside the samples) were not returned for analysis. However, in an analogous project in which samples travelled between Oregon and Peru, all wristband trip blank samples were below detection limit for all compounds [24]. Field blanks were not collected in the study.…”

Nicotine levels in silicone wristband samplers worn by children exposed to secondhand smoke and electronic cigarette vapor are highly correlated with child’s urinary cotinine

“…O'Connell et al (1) demonstrated that silicone wristband samplers were able to detect an individual's exposure to a wide range of compounds, including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), pesticides, phthalates, industrial compounds, and other consumer products. In Peru, wristbands worn for 30+ days by occupationally pesticide-exposed and nonoccupationally exposed community members detected a wide range of compounds, including PAHs and pesticides (3). Silicone wristbands have been used to estimate PAH exposures near fracking sites, with a higher level of the sum of PAHs found in participants' wristbands who lived near fracking sites compared to those living further away (4).…”