School of Public and Population Health Associate Professor Cynthia Curl and her research team recently published a study titled, “The Effect of Pesticide Spray Season and Residential Proximity to Agriculture on Glyphosate Exposure among Pregnant People in Southern Idaho,” in Environmental Health Perspectives.
The team’s research shows that pregnant people living near farm fields have significantly increased concentrations of glyphosate in their urine during pesticide season. Glyphosate is the most heavily used pesticides in the world. Until recently, little has been known about glyphosate exposure among pregnant people.
The researchers evaluated 453 urine samples from 40 pregnant people in Southern Idaho from February 2021 to December 2021. During the spray season, participants who lived within a third of a mile from agricultural fields had significantly higher glyphosate exposures than those who lived further away.
The study includes researchers from the University of Washington, the University of California, Berkeley, King’s College London, and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It has been featured in The Conversation, The Guardian, The New Lede and The Idaho Press.
Curl is also the director of Boise State’s Agricultural Health Lab where you can learn more about her research on similar topics.