Wastewater-based epidemiology as an innovative tool to assess human exposure to pesticides

Application of pesticides have risen remarkably in the last few decades. Even if they offer many benefits for humanity and agriculture, they pose a potential risk to human health because of their widespread use and high biological activity. Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) is an innovative tool based on the chemical analysis of human urinary metabolites (biomarkers) in untreated wastewater that can provide data on human exposure. So far, WBE has been used to assess the human exposure to pyrethroid, triazine and organophosphate pesticides of several European countries covering millions of persons.