Pesticides in house dust from urban and farmworker households in California: an observational measurement study

Table 1 Demographic and household characteristics for study participants from farmworker homes in Salinas, CA and urban homes in Oakland, CA.^a

	Salinas farmworker homes (n = 15)		Oakland urban homes (n = 13)
	n	(%)	n	(%)
Maternal education (highest grade completed)
< completed 9^th grade or lower	8	(53.3)	8	(61.5)
Grades 10-12 (no diploma)	3	(20.0)	1	(7.7)
High school diploma/GED or technical school	2	(13.3)	4	(30.8)
College graduate	2	(13.3)		---
Paternal education (highest grade completed)
< completed 9 ^th grade or lower	12	(85.7)	10	(83.3)
Grades 10-12 (no diploma)	1	(7.1)	1	(8.3)
High school diploma/GED or technical school	1	(7.1)	1	(8.3)
College graduate		---		---
Family income relative to federal poverty level^b
≤ Poverty level	10	(66.7)	9	(69.2)
> Poverty level but <200% poverty level	5	(33.3)	4	(30.8)
Number of household members
3-5	8	(53.3)	5	(38.5)
> 6	7	(46.7)	8	(61.5)
Reported rodent sighting in the home
Yes	2	(13.3)	3	(23.1)
No	13	(86.7)	10	(76.9)
Reported cockroach sighting in the home
Yes	3	(20.0)	5	(38.5)
No	12	(80.0)	8	(61.5)
Reported pesticide application in the last 3 months
Yes	10	(66.7)	11	(84.6)
No	5	(33.3)	2	(15.4)
Farmworkers wore work clothing indoors^c
Yes	12	(80.0)		---
No	2	(20.0)
Farmworkers wore work shoes indoors^c
Yes	7	(50.0)		---
No	7	(50.0)
Farmworkers living in the home (past 3 months)
0		---	11	(84.6)^d
1-3	15	(100.0)	2	(15.4)
Farmworkers currently living in the home
0	1	(6.7)		---
1-3	11	(73.3)		---
4-7	3	(20.0)		---
Distance of home to nearest field/orchard
50-20 feet	1	(6.7)		---
> 200 feet-1/4 mile	3	(20.0)		---
> 1/4 mile	11	(73.3)		---

a. No statistically significant differences were observed between locations for demographic factors unrelated to farmworker status. b. Families' poverty levels were based on U.S. Department of Health and Human Services thresholds for 2006. Source: http://aspe.hhs.gov/POVERTY/06poverty.shtml. c. One participant in the Salinas group reported that the father was a farmworker during the eligibility screening; however, the father was not living in the home during the sample collection period so information is only available for 14 of the 15 farmworker households for this demographic characteristic. d. Two participants reported having a parent or parent's sibling working in a field/golf course doing maintenance/landscaping work potentially involving pesticide use; however, they were not doing this work during sample collection.

ISSN: 1476-069X