Institute of Occupational Medicine, Riccarton, Edinburgh, UK.
BMC Public Health. 2011 Nov 10;11:856. doi: 10.1186/1471-2458-11-856.
There is currently a lack of reliable information on the exposures of residents and bystanders to pesticides in the UK. Previous research has shown that the methods currently used for assessing pesticide exposure for regulatory purposes are appropriate for farm workers 1. However, there were indications that the exposures of bystanders may sometimes be underestimated. The previous study did not collect data for residents. Therefore, this study aims to collect measurements to determine if the current methods and tools are appropriate for assessing pesticide exposure for residents living near agricultural fields.
METHODS/DESIGN: The study will recruit owners of farms and orchards (hereafter both will be referred to as farms) that spray their agricultural crops with certain specified pesticides, and which have residential areas in close proximity to these fields. Recruited farms will be asked to provide details of their pesticide usage throughout the spray season. Informed consenting residents (adults (18 years and over) and children (aged 4-12 years)) will be asked to provide urine samples and accompanying activity diaries during the spraying season and in addition for a limited number of weeks before/after the spray season to allow background pesticide metabolite levels to be determined. Selected urine samples will be analysed for the pesticide metabolites of interest. Statistical analysis and mathematical modelling will use the laboratory results, along with the additional data collected from the farmers and residents, to determine systemic exposure levels amongst residents. Surveys will be carried out in selected areas of the United Kingdom over two years (2011 and 2012), covering two spraying seasons and the time between the spraying seasons.
The described study protocol was implemented for the sample and data collection procedures carried out in 2011. Based on experience to date, no major changes to the protocol are anticipated for the 2012 spray season although the pesticides and regional areas for inclusion in 2012 are still to be confirmed.
目前，英国缺乏关于居民和旁观者接触农药的可靠信息。先前的研究表明，目前用于评估监管目的的农药接触情况的方法适用于农场工人 1。然而，有迹象表明，旁观者的接触情况有时可能被低估。先前的研究没有收集居民的数据。因此，本研究旨在收集测量数据，以确定目前的方法和工具是否适用于评估居住在农田附近的居民的农药接触情况。
方法/设计：本研究将招募喷洒特定农药的农场和果园（此后两者都将被称为农场）的所有者，并且这些农场的住宅区与这些田地相邻。招募的农场将被要求提供整个喷洒季节农药使用情况的详细信息。知情同意的居民（18 岁及以上的成年人和 4-12 岁的儿童）将被要求在喷洒季节期间以及喷洒季节前后的有限几周内提供尿液样本和伴随的活动日记，以确定背景农药代谢物水平。选择的尿液样本将用于分析感兴趣的农药代谢物。统计分析和数学建模将使用实验室结果以及从农民和居民收集的其他数据，来确定居民中的系统暴露水平。调查将在英国的选定地区进行，为期两年（2011 年和 2012 年），包括两个喷洒季节和喷洒季节之间的时间。
本研究方案描述的是 2011 年实施的样本和数据收集程序。根据迄今为止的经验，预计 2012 年喷洒季节不会对方案进行重大修改，尽管仍需确认 2012 年要包括的农药和地区。
