TEMPEST - A Task Exposure
Matrix for Pesticides
Web pages for further information about TEMPEST - A Task Exposure Matrix for PESTicides.
The TEMPEST TEM and the associated database was developed as part of the TEMPEST study, a collaborative project carried out by the Department of Environmental and Occupational Medicine at the University of Aberdeen (DEOM) and the Institute of Occupational Medicine (IOM) in Edinburgh.
The aim of the TEMPEST project was to better characterise pesticide exposures in a study of Parkinson's disease by the creation of a pesticide task exposure matrix (TEM) for Scotland for the period from 1945 to 2005. Professional and amateur uses were considered, including veterinary medicines (e.g. sheep dips) and biocides that contain the relevant active ingredients.
Once developed, TEMPEST was used to re-estimate cumulative exposure in a re-analysis of pesticide exposure data from the Scottish component of the GEOPARKINSON study. This is described in the final project report.
This site provides information on the development of the TEMPEST database with background on its use in the study of Parkinson's disease. Fuller descriptions of the GEOPARKINSON and TEMPEST studies and their analytical results are reported in their research reports and related papers located elsewhere (see background to study). You are strongly advised to consult the details of these studies before making any use of the TEMPEST database.
The site also provides downloadable versions of the TEMPEST database together with guidance on its use. As a successful proof of concept it is hoped that, whilst TEMPEST currently relates to pesticide data for Scotland, its principles and techniques may be applied and adapted for use by researchers in other areas.
The contents of the TEMPEST web pages on this site cover:
- The general background to development and essential introduction to the TEMPEST and GEOPARKINSON studies
- How the TEMPEST TEM and database was constructed
- A worked example of exposure estimation for soft fruit (raspberry) growing in Scotland
- Examples showing trends in pesticide exposure over the seven TEMPEST decades
- The downloadable implementations of TEMPEST and introductions to their use
- Report links and contacts for the GEOPARKINSON and TEMPEST studies
- Links to further resources on the theory, development and use of JEMs and TEMs
A paper based on the work of TEMPEST - Development of a Task-Exposure Matrix (TEM) for Pesticide Use (TEMPEST), F. D. Dick, S. E. Semple, M. Van Tongeren, B. G. Miller, P. Ritchie, D. Sheriff and J. W. Cherrie, Annals of Occupational Hygiene Vol - was published in March 2010, and is available via http://annhyg.oxfordjournals.org/
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