| Pesticide exposure, especially for farm spouses children, is an area of concern for those interested in public health and an active area for research. A limitation of research to date is the lack of high quality exposure measurement data and reliable surrogate methods to estimate pesticide exposures accurately. To help bridge this data gap, a number of major agricultural companies formed a task force under the auspices of CropLife America to sponsor a comprehensive Farm Family Exposure Study (FFES). The FFES used biomonitoring of 3 pesticides in urine to quantify the exposure of farmer/applicators, their spouses, and their children before, during, and after a pesticide application event conducted under real world conditions. The goals of the FFES were: 1) to quantify the extent of pesticide exposure in farm families through urinary biomonitoring, 2) to evaluate the correlation between urinary pesticide levels and application practices as reported in questionnaires; and 3) to use the results of this study to help farm families minimize their pesticide exposures.
In 1999, a feasibility study was completed under the sponsorship of eight companies (BASF, Dow Chemical, DuPont, FMC, Monsanto, Novartis, Rhone Poulenc, and Zeneca). The results of this pilot study confirmed feasibility and the FFES was initiated through a research grant with the University of Minnesota with Professors Jack Mandel and Bruce Alexander. Members of the sponsoring Task Force include Bayer, Dow Agrosciences, DuPont, FMC, Monsanto, Syngenta, and the American Chemistry Council. |
