8 Summary
Peak pyrethroid air concentrations can occur during application of pesticides both
outdoors and indoors. Professional applicators should be deploying appropriate
personal protective equipment to reduce their internal pyrethroid exposure and
protect their health. Further, pyrethroids should not be sprayed when it may cause
others to encounter elevated air levels. Indoor pyrethroid air concentration is
impacted by drift from agricultural uses, exterior spraying of nearby areas, spraying
indoors, and resuspension or volatilization of pyrethroids on house dust. Indoor
pyrethroid air concentrations can exceed outdoor levels and expose vulnerable
populations. Current studies typically measure urinary metabolites of pyrethroids
rather than air concentrations to evaluate exposure to these compounds and have
found that for cumulative exposure inhalation of air generally contributes <10% of
the total dose that is received to the general population. Air concentration present
during or shortly after applications such as spraying, use of mosquito repellent coil
or vaporizers and foggers can result in higher air concentration and more significant
inhalation exposures if proper precautions are not taken.
Acknowledgments The author wishes to acknowledge Dr. Elisabeth Cook for her assistance with
this manuscript. Partial support is received from NIEHS Center for Environmental Exposures and
Disease (NIH-NIEHS P30 ES005022).
References
1. Atwood D, Paisley-Jones C (2017) Pesticides industry sales and usage 2008-2012 market
estimates. U.S.EPA, Washington, DC
2. Lu C et al (2006) A longitudinal approach to assessing urban and suburban children’s exposure
to pyrethroid pesticides. Environ Health Perspect 114(9):1419
3. Casida JE, Quistad GB (1998) Golden age of insecticide research: past, present, or future? Annu
Rev Entomol 43(1):1–16
4. Oros DR, Werner I (2005) Pyrethroid insecticides: an analysis of use patterns, distributions,
potential toxicity and fate in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and Central Valley. San
Francisco Estuary Institute, Oakland
5. Jiang W et al (2016) Occurrence, distribution, and accumulation of pesticides in exterior
residential areas. Environ Sci Technol 50(23):12592–12601
6. Hofmann JN et al (2015) The biomarkers of exposure and effect in agriculture (BEEA) study:
rationale, design, methods, and participant characteristics. J Toxicol Environ Health A 78
(21-22):1338–1347
7. Guha N et al (2013) Characterization of residential pesticide use and chemical formulations
through self-report and household inventory: the Northern California Childhood Leukemia
study. Environ Health Perspect 121(2):276
8. Horton MK et al (2011) Characterization of residential pest control products used in inner city
communities in New York City. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol 21(3):291–301
9. U.S. EPA (2019) Pyrethrins and pyrethroids. https://www.epa.gov/ingredients-used-pesticideproducts/pyrethrins-and-pyrethroids. Accessed 31 Aug 2019
240
C. P. Weisel
Peak pyrethroid air concentrations can occur during application of pesticides both
outdoors and indoors. Professional applicators should be deploying appropriate
personal protective equipment to reduce their internal pyrethroid exposure and
protect their health. Further, pyrethroids should not be sprayed when it may cause
others to encounter elevated air levels. Indoor pyrethroid air concentration is
impacted by drift from agricultural uses, exterior spraying of nearby areas, spraying
indoors, and resuspension or volatilization of pyrethroids on house dust. Indoor
pyrethroid air concentrations can exceed outdoor levels and expose vulnerable
populations. Current studies typically measure urinary metabolites of pyrethroids
rather than air concentrations to evaluate exposure to these compounds and have
found that for cumulative exposure inhalation of air generally contributes <10% of
the total dose that is received to the general population. Air concentration present
during or shortly after applications such as spraying, use of mosquito repellent coil
or vaporizers and foggers can result in higher air concentration and more significant
inhalation exposures if proper precautions are not taken.
Acknowledgments The author wishes to acknowledge Dr. Elisabeth Cook for her assistance with
this manuscript. Partial support is received from NIEHS Center for Environmental Exposures and
Disease (NIH-NIEHS P30 ES005022).
References
1. Atwood D, Paisley-Jones C (2017) Pesticides industry sales and usage 2008-2012 market
estimates. U.S.EPA, Washington, DC
2. Lu C et al (2006) A longitudinal approach to assessing urban and suburban children’s exposure
to pyrethroid pesticides. Environ Health Perspect 114(9):1419
3. Casida JE, Quistad GB (1998) Golden age of insecticide research: past, present, or future? Annu
Rev Entomol 43(1):1–16
4. Oros DR, Werner I (2005) Pyrethroid insecticides: an analysis of use patterns, distributions,
potential toxicity and fate in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and Central Valley. San
Francisco Estuary Institute, Oakland
5. Jiang W et al (2016) Occurrence, distribution, and accumulation of pesticides in exterior
residential areas. Environ Sci Technol 50(23):12592–12601
6. Hofmann JN et al (2015) The biomarkers of exposure and effect in agriculture (BEEA) study:
rationale, design, methods, and participant characteristics. J Toxicol Environ Health A 78
(21-22):1338–1347
7. Guha N et al (2013) Characterization of residential pesticide use and chemical formulations
through self-report and household inventory: the Northern California Childhood Leukemia
study. Environ Health Perspect 121(2):276
8. Horton MK et al (2011) Characterization of residential pest control products used in inner city
communities in New York City. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol 21(3):291–301
9. U.S. EPA (2019) Pyrethrins and pyrethroids. https://www.epa.gov/ingredients-used-pesticideproducts/pyrethrins-and-pyrethroids. Accessed 31 Aug 2019
240
C. P. Weisel