Studies that quantify pesticide exposures to agricultural workers and their families have been conducted in developed countries.
Less information is available for similar populations in developing countries.
During the last decade, agricultural production and pesticide use has increased substantially in larger developing countries such as Mexico. The main objective of this study is to quantitatively assess exposure to organophosphate pesticides in farm workers and their families. Families living in these areas are exposed to pesticides from residues in soil, groundwater, harvested crops, as well as exposure from spray drift. Work and hygiene practices, pesticide use, and storage practices are factors that will affect OP pesticide residue levels in the home and OP urinary metabolite levels in agricultural workers and their families. A sampling strategy which integrated the target pesticides, multi-media, and multiple exposure pathways was necessary to determine the contribution of environmental and occupational exposures to the total OP pesticide exposures for pesticide applicators and their families.