Assessing the External Exposome Using Wearable Passive Samplers and High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry among South African Children Participating in the VHEMBE Study

Children
in low- and middle-income countries are often exposed
to higher levels of chemicals and are more vulnerable to the health
effects of air pollution. Little is known about the diversity, toxicity,
and dynamics of airborne chemical exposures at the molecular level.
We developed a workflow employing state-of-the-art wearable passive
sampling technology coupled with high-resolution mass spectrometry
to comprehensively measure 147 children’s personal exposures
to airborne chemicals in Limpopo, South Africa, as part of the Venda
Health Examination of Mothers, Babies, and Their Environment (VHEMBE).
637 environmental exposures were detected, many of which have never
been measured in this population; of these 50 airborne chemical exposures
of concern were detected, including pesticides, plasticizers, organophosphates,
dyes, combustion products, and perfumes. Biocides detected in wristbands
included p,p′-dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane
(p,p′-DDT), p,p′-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethane (p,p′-DDD), p,p′-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (p,p′-DDE), propoxur, piperonyl butoxide, and
triclosan. Exposures differed across the assessment period with 27%
of detected chemicals observed to be either higher or lower in the
wet or dry seasons.