| Comparison of Pesticides and Other Compounds in Carpet Dust Samples Collected from Used Vacuum Cleaner Bags and from a High-Volume Surface Sampler Joanne S. Colt,1 Shelia H. Zahm,1 David E. Camann,2 and Patricia Hartge1 1Epidemiology and Biostatistics Program, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD 20892-7364 USA;
2Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX 78228 USA Abstract
Epidemiologic studies of the association between residential pesticide use and cancer risk require an assessment of past pesticide exposures. Pesticide levels in carpet dust are believed to reflect long-term pesticide use. Recent epidemiologic studies have found collection of dust samples using the high-volume surface sampler (HVS3) to be expensive and cumbersome. We compared the levels of pesticides and other compounds in dust obtained from subjects' personal used vacuum cleaner bags to that collected by the HVS3 to see if this simpler method could replace the HVS3 in epidemiologic research. We visited the homes of 15 subjects, took the used bags from their vacuums, and collected carpet dust samples with the HVS3. The samples were analyzed for 42 target compounds: 26 pesticides, 10 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) , and six polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners using GC/MS in selected ion monitoring mode. The two methods agreed in detecting the presence of the target compounds between 80% and 100% of the time. Neither sampling method was consistently more sensitive. The median target compound concentrations were similar, and a paired t-test showed no significant differences. For many compounds, the concentrations of compounds in the HVS3 samples were higher than those in the used bag samples at the upper end of the concentration ranges. However, the Spearman rank correlation coefficients were 0.85 or higher for most compounds, indicating that homes would be ranked similarly using both methods. Overall, there appears to be no clear difference in the quality of the pesticide, PAH, or PCB concentration data for the two dust collection methods. Key words: carpet dust, high-volume surface sampler, pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Environ Health Perspect 106:721-724 (1998) . [Online 14 October 1998] http://ehpnet1.niehs.nih.gov/docs/1998/106p721-724colt/ abstract.html Address correspondence to J. Colt, Occupational Epidemiology Branch, National Cancer Institute, 6130 Executive Boulevard, Room 418, Bethesda, MD 20892-7364 USA. Received 22 April 1998 ; accepted 24 June 1998.
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