The broadband herbicide glyphosate (N-[phosphonomethyl]-glycine) and its main metabolite aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA) were analyzed by GC-MS-MS in 24h-urine samples cryo-archived by the German Environmental Specimen Bank (ESB). Samples collected in 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015 were chosen for this retrospective analysis. All urine samples had been provided by 20 to 29 years old individuals living in Greifswald, a city in north-eastern Germany. Out of the 399 analyzed urine samples, 127 (=31.8%) contained glyphosate concentrations at or above the limit of quantification (LOQ) of 0.1μg/L. For AMPA this was the case for 160 (=40.1%) samples. The fraction of glyphosate levels at or above LOQ peaked in 2012 (57.5%) and 2013 (56.4%) after having discontinuously increased from 10.0% in 2001. Quantification rates were lower again in 2014 and 2015 with 32.5% and 40.0%, respectively. The overall trend for quantifiable AMPA levels was similar. Glyphosate and AMPA concentrations in urine were statistically significantly correlated (spearman rank correlation coefficient=0.506, p≤0.001). Urinary glyphosate and AMPA levels tended to be higher in males. The possible reduction in exposure since 2013 indicated by ESB data may be due to changes in glyphosate application in agricultural practice. The ESB will continue monitoring internal exposures to glyphosate and AMPA for following up the time trend, elucidating inter-individual differences, and contributing to the ongoing debate on the further regulation of glyphosate-based pesticides.

Glyphosate-based pesticides are the highest-volume used herbicides worldwide. International concerns regarding the potential human adverse effects of glyphosate exposures have heightened since IARC classified glyphosate as probably carcinogenic to humans. Human biomonitoring (HBM) studies have identified ubiquitous exposure to glyphosate and its main breakdown product, aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA), from environmental exposures. The IMAGE research project aimed to investigate farm and non-farm families’ exposure to glyphosate while aligning with the Human Biomonitoring for Europe (HBM4EU) initiative. The study recruited non-farm and farm families (who use glyphosate on their farms). Each family member provided a urine sample that was analysed using gas chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry, with a limit of quantification of 0.05 µg/L for glyphosate and AMPA. In addition to general information on background exposures in farm and non-farm families, we investigated relationships in exposure between families and family members. We recruited 68 families, including 54 non-farm and 14 farm families (180 vs. 45 individuals). Some pesticide users (n = 14, all male farmers) had slightly elevated AMPA levels compared to other adult participants but, overall, we observed no significant differences between farm and non-farm families. The main metabolite, AMPA, was quantifiable in twice as many samples as glyphosate (61% vs. 32%), with a maximum concentration of 7.24 µg/L vs. 3.21 µg/L. Compared to previous studies, exposure levels were relatively low and far below current health-based guidance values (3% or less for glyphosate and AMPA). Study results suggest potential exposures from residential co-exposures or living with a pesticide user. This is the first study internationally to investigate glyphosate and AMPA across family members (farm and non-farm). We found comparably low glyphosate and AMPA exposures among these families. These results enhance our understanding of glyphosate exposures for different demographic groups and contribute to the scientific knowledge on exposures required for regulatory risk assessments and the re-evaluation of glyphosate in 2022 by the European Commission.

Public green spaces have a high potential for a positive impact on people’s health and wellbeing, especially in urban areas. Studies on environmental justice indicate socially unequal access possibilities to urban green spaces. This article presents results on associations between individual socioeconomic position (SEP) and walking time from home to public green spaces in young people living in urban areas with more than 20,000 inhabitants in Germany. Data were derived from the German Environmental Survey for Children and Adolescents 2014–2017 (GerES V), the environmental module of the German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Children and Adolescents (KiGGS Wave 2). The sample comprises 1149 participants aged 3 to 17 years. A total of 51.5% of the participants reach a public green space on foot within five and 72.8% within ten minutes from home. The lower the participant’s SEP, the longer the walking time. Logistic regression models controlling for age group, sex, migration background, and region of residence show that participants with a low SEP have a significantly higher risk (odds ratio = 1.98; 95% confidence interval: 1.31–2.99) of needing more than ten minutes to walk from home to a public green space than participants with a high SEP. GerES V data indicate that young people living in urban areas in Germany do not equally benefit from the health-promoting potential of green spaces, which is an important aspect of environmental health inequalities.

The mental health (MH) of especially children and adolescents with low socioeconomic status (SES) benefits from access to greenspaces. This study aimed at investigating social inequalities in the association between several types of social infrastructure (SI) and MH in children and adolescents. The sample comprised 12,624 children and adolescents of the KiGGS Wave 2 study (2014–2017). KiGGS provided information on SI (access to playgrounds, sports fields, swimming pools, parks) for all children and the environmental module (GerES V) within KiGGS on the walking time to SI for a subsample. Social inequality was measured by parental SES and the German Index of Socioeconomic deprivation and MH by the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Ordinal logistic regression analyses showed that access to fewer SI places was associated with higher odds of MH problems. Children and adolescents experiencing high (but not medium or low) socioeconomic deprivation at the municipal level were more likely to have MH problems when having less access to SI places. At the individual level, MH problems in high- and low-SES, but not medium-SES children and adolescents were associated with no access to SI places. Children and adolescents from high socioeconomically deprived areas and with low and high SES might benefit from high-availability SI.