For 18 years, UC Berkeley epidemiologists have worked with local residents to study the physical effects of chemicals used in Salinas Valley homes and in agriculture. "Agriculture is different everywhere in California, but a lot of the pesticides and the pesticide mixtures being used are similar," said Kim Harley, the study's lead scientist and an associate adjunct professor at UC Berkeley's School of Public Health. Harley said the study found higher pesticide levels in the study bracelets of girls who lived near agricultural fields, but also concluded that the simple acts of placing a doormat at the entrance to homes and cleaning homes more frequently resulted in lower pesticide levels. For more on this, see our press release at Berkeley News.