DISCLAIMER: The tools, as they currently stand, are provided for research and informational purposes only. The underlying models, assumptions, data sources, and methodologies are experimental and might have not yet been peer-reviewed or independently validated. Outputs may be incomplete, uncertain, or inaccurate and should be interpreted with caution. The tools do not provide regulatory, medical, legal, toxicological, or professional risk assessment advice. For the time being, it must not be used as a substitute for expert judgment, regulatory review, or established risk-assessment frameworks, nor relied upon for decision-making related to human health, environmental protection, occupational safety, product registration, compliance, or policy.
Use of these tools for unlawful, harmful, misleading, or unethical purposes—including but not limited to regulatory circumvention, misrepresentation of risk, or inappropriate application to real-world pesticide use decisions—is strictly prohibited. The tool is provided “as is,” without warranties of any kind, express or implied, including but not limited to accuracy, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement.

Human (all CSS)

Humans were included in the study to illustrate the levels of pesticide residues in human bodies and to understand human exposure. Various types of samples were collected from participants, including farmers, their neighbors, and consumers. The results of the human samples were stratified by sex, gender, farming system, and participant type to allow for a comprehensive comparison across groups.

The figure below illustrates the design of the sampling campaign.

tbl 3a human 1

Grey blocks indicate samples from the SPRINT campaign that are not represented in this tool (mostly samples used for diversity or microbiome studies only).

Sampling Strategy

Urine sampling

Each participant collected a urine sample of approximately 60-125 mL and placed it in a cooling box (2-10°C) until pickup by a member of the research team. Within 24 hours of the sampling, the urine was aliquoted into different smaller cryotubes. After aliquoting, tubes were stored in the freezer (-18°C or lower) until transport to Wageningen Food Safety Research (WFSR) in the Netherlands, whereafter it was stored at -80°C until analysis.

Blood sampling

In total, 30-40 mL blood was drawn by venipuncture from each participant by trained healthcare personnel. After fractionating and aliquoting, whole blood, serum, and plasma were stored at -80°C until transportation to Radboud University Medical Centre in the Netherlands where it was stored at -80°C until further analysis.

Faeces sampling

Pre-labelled faeces sample collection tubes (5 in total) together with the provided collection materials were handed out to the participants before the pick-up visit by the SPRINT data collector. Participants were asked to collect a faeces sample of the first bowel movement of the day (1 scoop of faeces sample per collection tube). Faeces samples were kept at 2-10°C in a pre-delivered cooling bag until pick-up by the SPRINT data collector and were stored at -18 °C until transportation to WFSR in the Netherlands, whereafter it was stored at -80°C until analysis.

Wristband sampling

Participants were asked to wear a silicon wristband that absorbs pesticides from the surroundings (continuously for 7 consecutive days) to analyse which pesticides the person had been in contact with. After that the wristbands were placed inside a zip-lock bag and placed in the freezer. After collecting wristbands from the participants, the wristbands were stored at -20°C and sent to the analysis laboratory as one batch.