{"id":39260,"date":"2025-08-15T00:01:54","date_gmt":"2025-08-15T04:01:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/?p=39260"},"modified":"2025-08-12T16:17:07","modified_gmt":"2025-08-12T20:17:07","slug":"pesticide-biomarkers-in-urine-find-high-pesticide-exposure-in-region-of-ecuador-cultivating-cut-flowers-for-export","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2025\/08\/pesticide-biomarkers-in-urine-find-high-pesticide-exposure-in-region-of-ecuador-cultivating-cut-flowers-for-export\/","title":{"rendered":"Pesticide Biomarkers in Urine Find High Pesticide Exposure in Region of Ecuador Cultivating Cut Flowers for Export"},"content":{"rendered":"

(Beyond Pesticides<\/em>, August 15, 2025) In analyzing the data present in an article in Data in Brief<\/em><\/a>, concerning levels of pesticide biomarkers are present in the urine of adolescents and young adults that are linked to numerous health implications. The biomonitoring data, collected at two time points from participants in a longitudinal cohort study in the agricultural county of Pedro Moncayo, Ecuador, encompasses a total of 23 compounds used as herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides and their associated metabolites<\/a> (breakdown products), which include organophosphates, pyrethroids, and neonicotinoids. The results highlight the disproportionate risks<\/a> to a Latin American population that occur as a result of living in areas with heavy chemical-intensive agriculture.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis article presents urinary pesticide metabolite concentrations for 665 participants in the \u2018Study of Secondary Exposure to Pesticides among Children, Adolescents, and Adults\u2019 (ESPINA), which were collected during two follow-up assessments,\u201d the authors describe. The first sampling period from July to October 2016, referred to as Follow-up Year [FUY]-8b, includes 529 of the participants, while the second sampling period from July to September 2022 (FUY-14a) includes 505 of the participants. All participants are within the agricultural community of Pedro Moncayo.<\/p>\n

As the authors note, \u201cThe ESPINA study aimed to include a balanced mix of children who did and did not cohabitate with a floricultural or agricultural worker.\u201d This highlights both the exposure routes from the surrounding environment as well as indirect occupational exposure from another occupant in the house through contaminated clothing and items.<\/p>\n

The use of biomonitoring data in relation to pesticide exposure, particularly in agricultural communities, shows real-world exposure as well as the heightened health risks to farmworkers, their families, and individuals living near agricultural land. \u201cUnlike self-reported data or environmental sampling, biomonitoring provides objective, quantitative evidence of exposure, capturing multiple pathways such as inhalation, ingestion, and dermal absorption,\u201d the researchers state.<\/p>\n

These pathways offer insight into acute, chronic, and low-dose exposure<\/a> that studies connect to long-term adverse health effects. With this study focused on Latin America, where agricultural work is prevalent and supports many individuals and families, biomonitoring data is valuable in understanding the impacts of chemical exposure.<\/p>\n

The ESPINA cohort was initially established in 2008 with a goal \u201cto investigate the impacts of pesticide exposure on development from childhood to adulthood in individuals living within the agricultural community of Pedro Moncayo, Pichincha, Ecuador.\u201d With cut flowers as one of the primary exports from Ecuador, and an emphasis in Pedro Moncayo on rose and flower cultivation, data from this region incorporates exposure to a variety of pesticides from multiple chemical classes.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf the 505 participants examined in 2022 (FUY-14), 212 were returning participants who had been examined in 2016, while the remaining 293 were newly recruited at that timepoint,\u201d the researchers note. They continue, \u201cAcross both 2016 and 2022, a total of 665 distinct individuals contributed to the dataset, with 212 individuals contributing data at both timepoints and the remaining participants providing data at only one of the two examination periods.\u201d<\/p>\n

To assess the levels of biomarkers for specific pesticide metabolites, urine samples were collected from participants in 2016 and 2022 upon awakening, considered a first morning void, and analyzed through chromatography and spectrometry techniques. (See additional Beyond Pesticides coverage of biomonitoring studies using urine samples in agricultural communities here<\/a>, in newborns and children here<\/a> and here<\/a>, and from nonoccupational exposure here<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

For the 2016 examination (FUY-8b), 19 metabolites are screened for that correlate with 21 total compounds. The second examination in 2022 (FUY-14a) screens for 14 metabolites that correlate with 20 total compounds, overlapping with 18 compounds from the first sampling period.<\/p>\n

In FUY-8b, biomarkers included are associated with the following pesticides:<\/p>\n