Key considerations for assessing soil ingestion exposures among agricultural workers

Background: Soil ingestion is a critical, yet poorly characterized route of exposure to contaminants, particularly for agricultural workers. Objective: This qualitative investigation aims to identify and characterize key considerations for translating agricultural workers' soil ingestion experiences into recommendations to improve traditional exposure science tools. Methods: Qualitative in-depth interviews with 16 fruit and vegetable growers in Maryland. Results: Four emergent themes: (1) variability in growers' descriptions of soil and dust, (2) variability in growers' soil contact, (3) growers' concerns regarding soil contact, (4) growers' practices to modify soil contact. Six specific agricultural tasks impacting soil ingestion rates were also identified. Significance: This investigation fills an important gap in occupational exposure science methodology by providing four key considerations that should be integrated into indirect measurement tools for estimating soil ingestion rates in the agricultural context.

Sara N. Lupolt, Jacqueline Agnew, Thomas A. Burke, Ryan David Kennedy, Keeve E. Nachman