Pesticides in House Dust

Fourteen pesticides and all 10 of the target PAHs were detected in one or more of the seven size-fractionated samples.

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Subject:   Distribution of Your "Registered" POISONS in House Dust---
Date:       Sun, 13 Aug 2000 15:40:46 -0400
From:        Stephen Tvedten <steve@getipm.com>
Organization:     Get Set Inc. (www.getipm.com)

To:     Paul Helliker <phelliker@cdpr.ca.gov>
          Director, State of California, Department of Pesticide Regulation 

Dear Mr. Helliker, I thought you might like to read an article from Environ Health Perspect 1999 Sep;107(9):721-6 - entitled:  Distribution of pesticides and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in house dust as a function of particle size. By Lewis RG, Fortune CR, Willis RD, Camann DE, Antley JT - National Exposure Research Laboratory, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27711-2055, USA.  lewis.bob-dr@epa.gov

House dust is a repository for environmental pollutants that may accumulate indoors from both internal and external sources over long periods of time. Dust and tracked-in soil accumulate most efficiently in carpets, and the pollutants associated with dust and soil may present an exposure risk to infants and toddlers, who spend significant portions of their time in contact with or in close proximity to the floor and who engage in frequent mouthing activities. The availability of carpet dust for exposure by transfer to the skin or by suspension into the air depends on particle size. In this study, a large sample of residential house dust was obtained from a commercial cleaning service whose clients were homeowners residing in the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill (Research Triangle) area of North Carolina. The composite dust was separated into seven size fractions ranging from < 4 to 500 micron in diameter, and each fraction was analyzed for 28 pesticides and 10 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Over 20% of the fractionated dust sample consisted of particles < 25 micron in diameter. Fourteen pesticides and all 10 of the target PAHs were detected in one or more of the seven size-fractionated samples. Sample concentrations reported range from 0.02 to 22 microg/g; the synthetic pyrethroids cis- and trans-permethrin were the most abundant pesticide residue. The concentrations of nearly all of the target analytes increased gradually with decreasing particle size for the larger particles, then increased dramatically for the two smallest particle sizes (4-25 micron and < 4 micron).  PMID: 10464072, UI: 99394962.

Well Mr. Helliker your "registered" POISONS  have certainly created an awful  lot of  unnecessary "registered" CONTAMINATION.  Many people are writing me and asking me when you will allow your "registered"  POISON applicators to "legally" use safe and far more effective unregistered alternatives to control pest problems in California.  What should I tell them?  One of my favorite lines is from Babe Ruth, who said:  "It's hard to beat a person who never gives up".  You will find I take that saying to heart.

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