Dr. Anna Proctor of the University of Iowa is asking farmers to send her their toenail clippings.
She will analyze them for chemical residues, such as pesticides and arsenic.
“I’m trying to see what kinds of chemicals have built up in farmers’ bodies as a result of them doing their job. Farming is a super diverse occupation and there’s a lot of occupational demands that may change daily,” Proctor said.
“This can result in a lot of exposures to multiple contamination sources, and these contaminates can be stored in the body.”
She said toenails can provide a six to nine-months record of a person’s exposure to the contaminants.
They’re also easier to collect, handle and store than blood or urine, the typical samples used to determine environmental exposure.
This project was created because Proctor wants to focus her career on improving the health of farmers.
“If the results of my dissertation show us what farmers in Iowa are being exposed to, we can better understand how to protect against those exposures,” she said.
“To go about doing that, you need to know what the specific contaminates being built up are so you can have tailored remediation approaches to mitigate exposures to chemicals that are believed to be health hazards.”
In addition to Iowa being the nation's top producer of corn, hogs and eggs, some parts of the state, in particular the north central region, have high levels of naturally occurring arsenic in groundwater that may be tapped for drinking water.
Although this research is starting in Iowa, Proctor believes it can be expanded.
