As a further indication that regulations are effective in reducing pesticide levels in household environments, we found no significant change in carpet dust concentrations of carbaryl, cypermethrin or permethrin, which were still approved for residential use at the time of our study. Results from repeated samples collected from a subset of 15 residences further support our findings that concentrations of chlordane, diazinon and propoxur in carpet dust decreased over time. Our findings are consistent with previous studies that also reported decreasing levels of chlorpyrifos and diazinon after the residential phase-out of these insecticides. A study of 15 farm worker homes in Salinas, California found that chlorpyrifos and diazinon concentrations in dust collected in 2006 were 40–80% lower than dust concentrations from 197 farm worker homes in Salinas collected 2000 – 2002.28 A study of 50 homes in North Carolina that collected air, dust, soil, hand wipes, urine and diet samples once per year from 2003 – 2005 found that estimated doses of chlorpyrifos and diazinon from these media decreased for children over time.Concentrations of chlorpyrifos and diazinon in maternal air samples and chlorpyrifos levels in cord blood decreased between 1999 and 2002 in New York City.In the same cohort, biomarkers of prenatal chlorpyrifos exposure showed significant decreases in detection frequencies for subjects enrolled in 2003 – 2004 compared to those enrolled in 2001 – 2002.Average urinary metabolite levels of chlorpyrifos and diazinon decreased approximately 50% in the United States National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 1988 – 1994 and 2003 – 2004.Taken together, modular cannabis grow racks these studies provide strong evidence that regulatory changes in residential use of chlorpyrifos and diazinon as a result of the Food Quality Protection Act resulted in decreased indoor environmental levels and decreased human exposure.
Concentrations of propoxur also decreased in maternal personal air samples and cord blood samples collected from 1999 – 2002 in New York City.Decreases in environmental and biological levels of propoxur may have been related to changes in the formulation of propoxur products during this time from ready-to-use sprays to pet collars that release less insecticide into the environment.We also found that levels of chlordane, DDT, chlorpyrifos and propoxur were higher in older residences, and that DDT and chlordane were higher in the San Francisco Bay Area, where development occurred earlier than other areas of Northern and Central California and historical indoor residential use of these compounds was more likely. A previous U.S. study observed higher DDT dust concentrations in homes built before 1940 and higher chlordane dust concentrations in residences built from 1940 – 1959 compared to homes built more recently.Levels of lead, polychlorinated biphenyls, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are also higher in dust from older NCCLS homes compared to newer homes, suggesting that people living in older homes are exposed to higher levels of multiple persistent chemicals.In an earlier analysis of a subset of 89 of the study homes that were located near agricultural fields, we found that agricultural pesticide use near residences was a significant determinant of pesticide concentrations in carpet dust, including chlorpyrifos and four other pesticides not analyzed in this study, but not diazinon or carbaryl.However, in the current study of 434 homes, we found a significant correlation between carpet dust concentrations and agricultural use near the residence during the 12 months prior to sample collection for three of five of the study insecticides currently used in agriculture: chlorpyrifos, diazinon and carbaryl. Chlorpyrifos and diazinon are still used widely in agriculture,especially in the Central Valley of California.We observed levels of these two pesticides in carpet dust of residences in this region to be two to three times higher than in residences located in the urban San Francisco Bay Area . In APS homes located near agricultural land in the Central Valley county of Fresno, we did not observe a within-home decrease in chlorpyrifos concentrations in repeat dust samples collected over time . This may indicate that agricultural use of chlorpyrifos near APS homes, which remained fairly constant during our study period, may have obscured the effect of regulatory changes in residential chlorpyrifos use. Previous studies have observed higher chlorpyrifos concentrations in carpet dust of residences with nearby agricultural use and agricultural workers living in the home.
The significant temporal decline in carbaryl concentrations observed in repeated samples from APS homes , but not in the first sample collected from all 434 homes , may have been the result of declining agricultural use near APS homes in Fresno County from 64,589 pounds in 2002 to 15,813 pounds in 2005.In our study, permethrin concentrations in carpet dust were almost two orders of magnitude higher than the other insecticides and were relatively stable over time. Synthetic pyrethroids such as permethrin were designed to be photo stable, have a low vapor pressure and persist on surfaces for crop protection purposes.High dust concentrations of permethrin in residences are likely related to the low vapor pressure of permethrin and increasing use of permethrin for treating insects in and around homes. In previous studies, permethrin concentrations in house dust were also at least an order of magnitude higher than other insecticides in agricultural Salinas, California,in North Carolina,and in low-income homes in Boston, Massachusetts.Detection frequencies of permethrin in personal air samples among pregnant women in New York City increased significantly from 2000 to 2006.A study of 90 families in Northern California found higher pyrethroid metabolite levels and lower chlorpyrifos metabolite levels in urine samples collected in 2007–2009 than the general U.S. population in 2001–2002.In NHANES, the geometric mean urinary concentration of 3-phenoxybenzoic acid, a metabolite of cypermethrin and permethrin, increased from 0.32 µg/g-Creatinine in 2001 – 2002 to 0.43 µg/g-Creatinine in 2007 – 2008.Further studies of exposure to pyrethroid insecticides from residential use and potential health effects are warranted given the high concentrations observed in carpet dust samples in this study and increasing urinary metabolite concentrations observed in other studies.Our study has several limitations. We only collected one carpet dust sample from most homes. Although pesticide measurements were conducted in the same laboratory and similar questionnaires were used to assess occupational and home insecticide use, we combined data on insecticide concentrations in carpet dust from two studies with different objectives and designs, including the eligibility criteria for APS residences having at least 25% of land within 500 m of the home in agricultural production. We only had information on home insecticide use during the 12 months prior to sample collection and did not ask about product formulation. The California Pesticide Use Report data does not include location information on neighborhood insecticide use for pest control. Our sampling period from 2001 – 2006 likely underestimated the impact of FQPA on residential levels of chlorpyrifos and diazinon after removal of these insecticides from the residential market in 2001 and 2004, due to the long indoor half-life and potential to store these products for long periods of time prior to use.
This study also has several strengths including a large number of carpet dust samples collected over a long period of time from a diverse study population and wide geographic area. We collected repeat house dust samples from a subset of homes and the temporal trends were similar to those observed across all homes in our study for most insecticides. We were able to adjust for potentially important confounders including home, modular green house grow rack occupational and nearby agricultural insecticide use as well as residential and carpet age. Our findings suggest that regulations limiting residential use of OP insecticides resulted in lower concentrations of these compounds in the residential environment, but these declines may be attenuated by contamination of homes due to fugitive emissions from nearby agricultural use and insecticides tracked-in by residents. Our results indicate that the persistence of OC insecticides indoors results in the potential for continued exposure, particularly in older residences. Permethrin concentrations were an order of magnitude higher than other insecticides, warranting further study. Our findings combined with bio-monitoring studies provide strong evidence that the Food Quality Protection Act resulted in decreased indoor environmental levels and human exposure to chlorpyrifos and diazinon. For the 2005-2006 Forty-Seventh Arizona Legislature, tobacco policy scores were obtained for all members. Each member’s score reflects the average of scores assigned by 6 individuals polled who demonstrated knowledge and experience with the Arizona Legislature and tobacco control policy. Each legislator was evaluated on a 0 to 10 scale, with 0 indicating a legislator was extremely pro-tobacco industry and 10 indicating the legislator was extremely pro-tobacco control. Legislators with scores ranging from 0.0 to 3.9 are considered pro-tobacco industry, those with scores from 4.0 to 6.0 are considered neutral or inconsistent, and those with scores from 6.1 to 10.0 are considered pro-tobacco control . The average for policy scores in the House and Senate were the same, but there were large differences between the two parties . Republicans in the Senate had an average tobacco policy score of 4.2 while Democrats had an average tobacco policy score of 9.0. In the Senate Edward Ableser and Ken Cheuvront shared the highest tobacco policy scores of 9.8, while Jack Harper and Robert Burns had the lowest. In the House, Meg Burton Cahill , Martha Garcia , and Linda Lopez , all shared pro-public health tobacco policy scores of 10, while Ted Carpenter , Russell Jones , and Steven Yarbrough had the lowest scores. In regression analysis, the relationship between campaign contributions from 1997 through 2006 and tobacco policy scores for 2004-2006 legislators was not statistically significant. Neither direct contributions from the tobacco industry, tobacco industry lobbying, nor tobacco lobbyist personal campaign contributions to candidates showed statistical significance in relation to tobacco policy scores. These other measures of the tobacco companies’ expenditures to candidates were included in the tobacco policy score analyses because of the low number and small amounts of direct tobacco industry contributions in Arizona.
The tobacco industry hires powerful, well-connected lobbyists in Arizona . Often, the more influential tobacco company lobbyists have other significant non-tobacco clients, sometimes obscuring which client’s interests are represented when these lobbyists make campaign contributions to candidates. The question of potential conflicts of interest also arise when Arizona’s lobbyists for the two largest tobacco companies, John Mangum for Philip Morris and Don Isaacson for R J Reynolds, also represent medical groups, including the Mayo Clinic, and health insurance companies . Arizona tobacco industry lobbyists contributed $52,391 in personal campaign contributions to Arizona candidates from 1997 through 2006, more than three times as much as the tobacco industry did.These contributions to candidates were made personally by lobbyists who represent the tobacco industry among other clients; so no clear link can be made between a particular contribution and the tobacco industry. Confidential retainer agreements from 1997 and 1998 between lobbyist Phillip MacDonnell and R J Reynolds for $50,000 a year plus expenses and Don Isaacson, show that in addition to their salaries, these lobbyists were also permitted the monthly reimbursement of “expenses” in performing “all services and assistance necessary and appropriate to perform effectively” representing tobacco company interests.It cannot completely be ruled out that none of tobacco industry lobbyists’ personal campaign contributions to candidates were given on behalf of a tobacco company client. Money represented in the Appendix does not necessarily reflect all money candidates received from lobbyists because many entries in the Arizona Secretary of State’s database of lobbying expenditures on the behalf of tobacco companies do not show who the expenditure went to or how much was given.These gaps in information decrease the usefulness of the disclosures because the recipient is not always named. Even so, the Arizona Secretary of State records show that lobbyists spent $25,367 on politicians between 1997 and 2006 on the behalf of the tobacco industry .By comparison, the tobacco industry spent $16,201 in direct campaign contributions to candidates during this same period. The tobacco industry has allied with powerful Arizona hospitality and trade associations for many years by becoming dues paying members.The Tobacco Institute paid dues to the Arizona Licensed Beverage Association, the Arizona Restaurant and Hospitality Association, The Arizona Retail Grocers Association, the Arizona Retailers Association, the Tucson Chamber of Commerce, and the Arizona Tax Research Association throughout the 1990s.These organizations generally allied with the tobacco industry for specific issues,usually around elections.