In-residence, multiple route exposures to chlorpyrifos and diazinon estimated by indirect method models

One of the objectives of the National Human Exposure Assessment Survey (NHEXAS) is to estimate exposures to several pollutants in multiple media and determine their distributions for the population of Arizona. This paper presents modeling methods used to estimate exposure distributions of chlorpyrifos and diazinon in the residential microenvironment using the database generated in Arizona (NHEXAS-AZ). A four-stage probability sampling design was used for sample selection. Exposures to pesticides were estimated using the indirect method of exposure calculation by combining measured concentrations of the two pesticides in multiple media with questionnaire information such as time subjects spent indoors, dietary and non-dietary items they consumed, and areas they touched. Most distributions of in-residence exposure to chlorpyrifos and diazinon were log-normal or nearly log-normal. Exposures to chlorpyrifos and diazinon vary by pesticide and route as well as by various demographic characteristics of the subjects. Comparisons of exposure to pesticides were investigated among subgroups of demographic categories, including gender, age, minority status, education, family income, household dwelling type, year the dwelling was built, pesticide use, and carpeted areas within dwellings. Residents with large carpeted areas within their dwellings have higher exposures to both pesticides for all routes than those in less carpet-covered areas. Depending on the route, several other determinants of exposure to pesticides were identified, but a clear pattern could not be established regarding the exposure differences between several subpopulation groups.