Background

Previous research has shown that many current-use pesticides can be detected in air around application areas. Environmental exposure to pesticides may cause adverse health effects, necessitating accurate assessment of outdoor and indoor air concentrations for people living close to spraying sites. We evaluated outdoor and indoor air concentrations of different pesticides, as well as factors influencing spatial and temporal variations.

Methods

We collected outdoor air samples at 58 homes located within 250 m of bulb fields and 15 control homes located further than 500 m from any agricultural field. Outdoor air sampling following a pesticide spray event was performed 24-h a day for 7 consecutive days. Two full day samples were collected at the same locations during a non-use period. In homes located within 50 m from agricultural fields (N = 18), indoor air was also sampled for the first 24 h after field spraying. Samples were analysed for a total of 46 pesticides and degradation products. From these, 11 were actively used on nearby fields, 3 were used in bulb disinfection and 6 were degradation products.

Results

Compared to non-use periods, pesticides concentrations were 5–10 times higher in outdoor air during application periods. Similar concentration differences were observed between exposed homes and controls both during pesticide use and non-use period. For 14 pesticides, there were moderate correlations (spearman > 0.4–0.7) between outdoor and indoor air concentrations. Wind direction, evapotranspiration and agricultural area surrounding a home were the most important determinants of air concentration of the applied pesticides.

Conclusions

This study provides strong evidence suggesting that environmental exposure to pesticides via air is not limited to the day of application and may occur year-round. The concentrations appeared higher during the use period. Factors influencing the local fate of pesticides in air may differ significantly between compounds.

中文翻译：

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农田附近家庭室外和室内农药空气浓度的时空变化

背景

先前的研究表明，可以在应用区域周围的空气中检测到许多当前使用的农药。环境暴露于杀虫剂可能会对健康造成不利影响，因此需要对居住在喷洒地点附近的人的室外和室内空气浓度进行准确评估。我们评估了不同农药的室外和室内空气浓度，以及影响时空变化的因素。

方法

我们在距球茎田 250 m 以内的 58 个家庭和距任何农田 500 m 以上的 15 个对照家庭收集了室外空气样本。农药喷洒事件后的室外空气采样连续 7 天，每天 24 公顷。在非使用期间在相同地点收集两个全天样品。在距离农田 50 m 以内的家庭（N = 18），还在田间喷洒后的前 24 小时内对室内空气进行采样。样品分析了总共 46 种农药和降解产物。其中，有 11 种被积极用于附近田地，3 种用于球茎消毒，6 种是降解产物。

结果

与未使用期间相比，使用期间室外空气中的农药浓度高出 5-10 倍。在农药使用和非使用期间，暴露的房屋和对照之间观察到类似的浓度差异。对于 14 种农药，室外和室内空气浓度之间存在中等相关性（spearman > 0.4–0.7）。风向、蒸散量和房屋周围的农业面积是施用农药空气浓度的最重要决定因素。

结论

这项研究提供了强有力的证据，表明通过空气接触农药的环境不仅限于施用当天，而且可能全年发生。在使用期间浓度似乎更高。影响农药在空气中局部归宿的因素可能因化合物而异。