Application and demonstration of meso-activity exposure factors to advance estimates of incidental soil ingestion among agricultural workers

Soil is an understudied pathway of chemical exposure, particularly for agricultural workers. This study aimed to derive exposure factors describing how growers engage in different tasks and use those factors to estimate soil ingestion exposures. A meso-activity-based questionnaire was administered to 38 fruit and vegetable growers. Exposure factors were derived and used to estimate exposures via incidental ingestion using daily, hourly, and hourly-task-specific ingestion rates. Seasonal average daily doses (ADDs) were similar across ingestion rates, with no consistent patterns regarding task-specific contributions to ADDs. The study highlights the need for a more nuanced approach to estimating soil exposures among agricultural workers.

Sara N. Lupolt, Brent F. Kim, Jacqueline Agnew, Gurumurthy Ramachandran, Thomas A. Burke, Ryan David Kennedy, Keeve E. Nachman