Sarah S. Birn, Dawn M. Bielawski, Enrique M. Ostrea Jr. and James J. Janisse
Analysis of pesticides in house dust, as an index of environmental pesticide exposure, is useful in the evaluation of pesticide effects in children. This study compares the prevalence and concentrations of pesticides (propoxur, transfluthrin, bioallethrin, cyfluthrin, and cypermethrin) in house dust collected by the HVS3 vacuum and by sweeping using the house broom. The pesticides were extracted from the dust samples by solid phase extraction and analyzed by gas chromatography/mass spectroscopy. There were significant correlations between the pesticides found in the swept and vacuumed samples (kappa=0.28 to 0.48, rho=0.31 to 0.55). Significantly higher prevalence and concentration of propoxur and higher concentrations of pyrethroids were found in the swept compared to vacuum dust samples. We conclude that ongoing exposure of children to pesticides can be monitored by the analysis of house dust collected by sweeping. Sweeping offers an excellent alternative for house dust collection in areas where vacuum collection is not feasible.
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