Trends in Exposure to Chlorpyrifos and Pyrethroid Insecticides in the US Population

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Background: Organophosphates (OPs) and synthetic pyrethroids compose a significant portion of the insecticides used in U.S. commercial and residential settings. OPs were used as an alternative to the more toxic and persistent chlorinated pesticides, but toxicity of OPs was also well documented. Chlorpyrifos is still one of the most common OP insecticides in the United States even though it was phased out of most home uses and some agricultural applications in the early 2000s. As a result, pyrethroids, labeled as generally harmless to humans at low doses, now constitute the majority of commercial and household insecticides used. Aims: To examine temporal trends in the United States in biomarker concentrations of chlorpyrifos and commonly used pyrethroid insecticides and evaluate whether trends vary by demographic variables. Methods: We measured the urinary concentrations of biomarkers of exposure to chlorpyrifos (i.e., 3,5,6-trichloro-2-pyridinol) and pyrethroid (i.e., 3-phenoxybenzoic acid) insecticides in the general U.S. population to determine whether differences exist by age, sex, race, and year. Results: We observed demographic differences in urinary concentrations of 3,5,6-trichloro-2-pyridinol and 3-phenoxybenzoic acid. Also, we observed that while urinary concentrations of 3,5,6-trichloro-2-pyridinol follow a downward trend, urinary concentrations of 3-phenoxybenzoic acid appear to be increasing. Conclusions: These results suggest a downward trend in exposure to chlorpyrifos and a parallel upward trend in exposure to its alternatives, synthetic pyrethroids, in the United States since the early 2000s. Furthermore, these findings stress the usefulness of biomonitoring as a tool to assess the extent of human exposure to these commonly used insecticides and to track the public health effectiveness of legislative actions to reduce exposure to OP pesticides after phasing out the use of chlorpyrifos.

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