Peer-to-peer reduction of pesticide exposure to Latina youth
Creators: name: University Of California Office Of The President
Publisher: name: University of California Office of the President
publisherIdentifier: https://ror.org/00dmfq477
publisherIdentifierScheme: ROR
Year: 2024

description: Introduction: California is the leading agricultural state in the nation, with more than 185 million pounds of pesticides used each year. Many of these pesticides are probable or possible carcinogens. Others are “endocrine disruptors” that mimic or block the function of hormones such as estrogen, which is a key mechanism in the development of breast cancer. Although 7 million pounds of potentially carcinogenic or endocrine-disrupting pesticides are used in California annually, there is little data on how women and girls in agricultural communities, many from low-income Latino farmworker families, are exposed. Information is particularly lacking for adolescent girls, who are undergoing rapid reproductive development and breast cell proliferation and may be particularly sensitive to toxic exposures. 
 
 
 
 
 
 Research Questions: What potentially carcinogenic and endocrine-disrupting pesticides are adolescent Latina girls exposed to? Do agricultural pesticide applications in their communities increase exposure? Are there factors and behaviors (living with farmworkers, house cleaning practices) that impact exposures? 
 
 
 
 
 
 Methods: This study will be conducted in the agricultural Salinas Valley, California. Salinas has a large farmworker population, suffers from social and environmental injustices, and offers few opportunities for youth. Since 1998, our team has collaborated on the Center for Health Assessment of Mothers and Children of Salinas (CHAMACOS), a research study following more than 300 children from in utero to adolescence to determine health effects of environmental exposures. 
 
 
 
 
 
 We propose to recruit 100 14- and 15-year-old female CHAMACOS participants. For one week, girls will be asked to wear silicone bracelets, a novel tool that measures individual pesticide exposure, carry GPS loggers to track their movements, and allow collection of a house dust sample to measure pesticide levels in their homes. Unique to California, all agricultural pesticide use is reported to the state, including the active ingredient, the amount used, and the date, time, and location of each application. Using this data, we will map pesticide use around the places each girl spends time to determine how nearby use impacts her pesticide exposure. 
 
 
 
 
 
 This study will be a collaboration with the CHAMACOS Youth Community Council (YCC), a group of Salinas high school students engaged in learning about environmental health literacy and advocacy. YCC members will be hired as UC Berkeley Research Assistants during the summer, trained in scientific methods, and involved in all phases of the study, including data collection, analysis, and interpretation of study results. The YCC will take the lead in returning study results to the community, including showing local residents how to access maps of pesticide use around their homes, and spearheading education and advocacy efforts. 
 
 
 
 
 
 Innovation. This study will generate new information about pesticide exposures to Latina teenagers in agricultural communities, a population undergoing rapid hormonal and developmental changes that, if disrupted, may lead to breast cancer later in life. Learning more about teens' pesticide exposures will support the development of successful interventions and regulations to reduce exposure. By employing youth to conduct the research, we will be strengthening community involvement while also improving the quality of the science though culturally appropriate data collection. Youth in this agricultural community, being more acculturated and comfortable with English, are a conduit for educating parents. Thus, through youth, we hope to raise community awareness about chemical exposures and breast cancer risk. Youth participation will increase their empowerment, provide summer employment and marketable skills, and cultivate their long-term interest in science, community issues, breast cancer, and the environment. Youth participation in this rigorous scientific study will help transform them into environmental health leaders in their community. 
 
 
 
 
 
 Community Involvement. The proposed study is rooted in the 17-year-old CHAMACOS community-university partnership between UC Berkeley's Center for Environmental Research and Children's Health (CERCH) and Clinica de Salud del Valle Salinas (CSVS). The CHAMACOS project is guided by a Community Advisory Board with input from the YCC, a Grower Council (made up of agriculture industry representatives), and a Farmworker Council. The YCC will be involved in all phases of this project. 
 
 
 
 
 
 Future Plans. The YCC will take the lead on returning the results to the community, developing educational materials, and identifying advocacy projects to reduce local pesticide exposure. The ultimate goals are for the YCC youth to become nvironmental health champions in their own community, and in so doing to help minimize breast cancer and other disease risk attributable to pesticide exposure.