Jazan Elisa, Griffin Timothy, Woodin Mark
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Tufts University School of Engineering, 200 College Ave, Medford, MA, 02155, USA.
Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University, 150 Harrison Avenue, Boston, MA, 02111, USA.
Sci Rep. 2025 Jul 2;15(1):23441. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-06955-1.
Estimating pesticide exposure in environmental settings is complex due to limited data, evolving agricultural practices, and increasing use driven by weed resistance and genetically engineered crops. One of the most widely used herbicides, 2,4-D, is a concern for populations near agricultural fields due to its rapidly increasing use. We used a geospatial approach to show spatio-temporal trends of pesticide use and identify at-risk populations for non-occupational pesticide exposure. 2,4-D application on soybeans in Illinois during the years 2017, 2020 and 2023 were used. We calculated the rate of change on the county level using reported 2,4-D use and soybean crop area. Then we created a crop area, pesticide density buffer model using 1 km buffer zones correlated with 1000 m x 1000 m gridded census data to identify where populations were at risk of non-occupational exposure in Champaign County. Between 2017 and 2023, there was a median increase of 341% in 2,4-D application on soybeans in each county in Illinois. We found that 98.9-99.7% of the population of Champaign County lived within 1 km of at least 0.04 km (10 acres) of soybean crops from 2017 to 2023. Using 4.4 kg of 2,4-D as a threshold within the 1 km buffer zone, 24.5% of the population was potentially exposed in 2017, this increased to 44.5% of the population in 2023. In 2017, the area where the most 2,4-D (30 kg) was applied to soybean crops represented 0.01% (14 people) of the population potentially exposed. Using 30 kg as a reference point, in 2023, 20.2% (~ 47,000 people) of the population were at potential risk of this level of exposure. Previous research has shown increasing 2,4-D agricultural use has been associated with increased 2,4-D physiological levels. We mapped at-risk populations for 2,4-D exposure due to 2,4-D application on soybeans that has increased from 2017 to 2023 using GIS. This is a cost-effective method that identifies areas to focus further studies.
由于数据有限、农业实践不断演变，以及杂草抗性和转基因作物导致的使用量增加，估算环境中的农药暴露情况十分复杂。2,4-D是使用最广泛的除草剂之一，因其使用量迅速增加，令农田附近的居民感到担忧。我们采用地理空间方法来展示农药使用的时空趋势，并确定非职业性农药暴露的高危人群。研究使用了2017年、2020年和2023年伊利诺伊州大豆上2,4-D的施用情况。我们根据报告的2,4-D使用量和大豆种植面积，计算了县级层面的变化率。然后，我们创建了一个作物面积-农药密度缓冲模型，使用与1000米×1000米网格化人口普查数据相关的1公里缓冲带，以确定尚佩恩县哪些人群面临非职业性暴露风险。在2017年至2023年期间，伊利诺伊州各县大豆上2,4-D的施用量中位数增长了341%。我们发现，2017年至2023年期间，尚佩恩县98.9%-99.7%的人口居住在距离至少0.04公里（10英亩）大豆作物1公里范围内。以1公里缓冲区内4.4千克2,4-D作为阈值，2017年有24.5%的人口可能暴露，到2023年这一比例增至44.5%。2017年，大豆作物上施用2,4-D最多（30千克）的区域占可能暴露人口的0.01%（14人）。以30千克作为参考点，2023年有20.2%（约47000人）的人口面临这种暴露水平的潜在风险。此前的研究表明，2,4-D在农业中的使用增加与2,4-D生理水平升高有关。我们使用地理信息系统绘制了2017年至2023年因大豆上2,4-D施用增加而面临暴露风险的人群分布图。这是一种经济有效的方法，可确定需要进一步研究的重点区域。
