Higher proportion of agricultural land use around the residence is associated with higher urinary concentrations of AMPA, a glyphosate metabolite

Globally, pesticides, including herbicides, are widely used for agricultural and sanitary purposes and exposure to these products is associated with various health outcomes, such as cancer, diabetes, respiratory diseases and neurological disorders (Kim et al., 2017). At present, the determinants of exposure to specific pesticides are not fully understood. To date, the majority of pesticide studies that have been conducted are among farmers and their families; however, there are few studies of exposure levels among the general population. In particular, it is unclear to what extent living near agricultural fields where pesticides are applied determines and influences exposure.

The results of studies among farmers and their families show that pesticide exposure can occur by inhalation, dermal contact or ingestion, through direct exposure on the agricultural field or through residues tracked home from the field (Lopez-Galvez et al., 2019; US EPAa). However, pesticides could also be released into the environment via spray drift or volatilization, potentially affecting the population living around agricultural fields (Kubiak et al., 2008). Studies measuring pesticides in the environment have shown increased residual levels of glyphosate and its metabolite, aminomethyl-phosphonic acid (AMPA) in water, precipitation, and soil in the vicinity of crops where glyphosate is applied (Battaglin et al., 2014; Silva et al., 2018). In addition, pesticide and herbicide residues were also higher in indoor dust from houses in the vicinity of pesticide-treated agricultural fields for different insecticides and herbicides, including chlorpyrifos and glyphosate (Deziel et al., 2017).

Biomarkers of several pesticides have also been measured in biological samples (e.g. urine, blood) of the general population (Chevrier et al., 2014; Doganlar et al., 2018; Galea et al., 2015; Mercadante et al., 2018; Munoz-Quezada et al., 2012; Pirard et al., 2020). These studies mainly include children and pregnant women, and show generally higher concentrations among participants living close to agricultural fields (Dereumeaux et al., 2020). However, this association is not consistent across studies for all studied pesticide metabolites. In Chili, Muñoz-Quezada et al. found an association between the distance of housing to a farm and the urinary dialkylphosphate (DAP) organophosphate (OP) marker dimethyl alkyl phosphate (DMAP), but no clear association with diethyl alkyl phosphate (DEAP) levels, another DAP OP metabolite (Munoz-Quezada et al., 2012). In France, Chevrier et al. found an association between residential distance to corn fields and urinary concentrations of dealkylated triazine metabolites, but not with the other urinary herbicide metabolites investigated (acetochlor, alachlor, metolachlor, atrazine, hydroxylated triazine metabolites) (Chevrier et al., 2014). One of the reasons hypothesized for these inconclusive results is the fact that only the distance to the agricultural area is taken into account, but rarely the surface of agricultural land (Dereumeaux et al., 2020). In Wallonia (Belgium), Pirard et al. (2020) (Pirard et al., 2020) found significant associations between the agricultural surface around the residence and biomarker levels of different currently used pesticides (dimethyldithiophosphate (DMDTP), 3-phenoxybenzoic acid (3-PBA) and trans-3-(2,2-dichlorovinyl)-2,2-dimethylcylopropane (t-DCCA)) in children.

Building on these findings, we aimed to further investigate these associations between the agricultural land use around the residence and the concentrations of several pesticides and herbicides that are currently used in Flanders (Belgium). We used data from the fourth Flemish Environment and Health study (FLEHS IV), the fourth cycle of the human biomonitoring programme FLEHS in Flanders, Belgium. In this study, adolescents (14–15 years) were recruited through twenty schools spread across all five provinces and proportional to the population size of the province. More information can be found elsewhere (Schoeters et al., 2022). Previous studies conducted on the same study population reported the distribution of internal exposure to various pollutants, including urinary pesticide levels (Buekers et al., 2021; Schoeters et al., 2022). Here, we focussed on the associations of proportion of agricultural land use in different buffers around the residence and the concentrations of urinary levels of glyphosate and its metabolite AMPA, 3-PBA, 3,5,6-trichloro-2-pyridinol (TCPy), and 2,4-dichlophenoxy-acetic acid (2,4-D).

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