Agricultural Task and Exposure to Organophosphate Pesticides Among Farmworkers
Environmental Health Perspectives (2004) 112:142-147
Gloria D. Coronado, Beti Thompson, Larkin Strong, William C. Griffith, and Ilda Islas
- Using a random sample of 213 farmworkers in 24 communities and labor camps in eastern Washington State, we examined the association between occupational task and organophosphate (OP) pesticide residues in dust and OP metabolite concentrations in urine samples of adult farmworkers and their children.
- Commonly reported farm tasks were harvesting or picking (79.2%), thinning (64.2%), loading plants or produce (42.2%), planting or transplanting (37.6%), and pruning (37.2%).
- Contrary to expectation, workers who reported mixing, loading, or applying pesticide formulations had lower detectable levels of pesticide residues in their house or vehicle dust, compared with those who did not perform these job tasks, though the differences were not significant.
- Future research should evaluate workplace protective practices of fieldworkers and the adequacy of reentry intervals for pesticides used during thinning.
Summary and comments from Farmworker Pesticide Project
Farmworker Pesticide Project, February 6, 2004
“This study is yet another wake-up call for state and federal agencies responsible for protecting farm workers and their children,” said Carol Dansereau, Director of the Farm Worker Pesticide Project, an advocacy organization addressing farm worker pesticide issues under the direction of a Board composed of farm workers and their allies. “How much longer will the health of farm workers and their children be sacrificed despite safe alternatives that can prevent exposures?”
Environmental Exposure Assessment of Pesticides in Farmworker Homes
Environmental Health Perspectives (2006) 114:929-935
Jane A. Hoppin, John L. Adgate, Monty Eberhart, Marcia Nishioka, and P. Barry Ryan
- Farmworkers and their families are exposed to pesticides both at work and in their homes. Environmental exposure assessment provides a means to evaluate pesticides in the environment and human contact with these chemicals through identification of sources and routes of exposure.
- To date, a variety of methods have been used to assess pesticide exposure among farmworker families, mostly focusing on dust and handwipe samples.
- This mini-monograph discusses the strategies used to assess pesticide exposures, presents limitations in the available data for farmworkers, and suggests research needs for future studies of pesticide exposure among farmworker families.
Studying Health Outcomes in Farmworker Populations Exposed to Pesticides
Environmental Health Perspectives (2006) 114:953-960
Linda A. McCauley, W. Kent Anger, Matthew Keifer, Rick Langley, Mark G. Robson, and Diane Rohlman
- Reviews the most common health end points that have been studied and describe the epidemiologic challenges encountered in studying these health effects of pesticides among farmworkers, including the difficulties in accessing the population and challenges associated with obtaining health end point data.
- The assessment of neurobehavioral health effects serves as one of the most common and best examples of an approach used to study health outcomes in farmworkers and other populations exposed to pesticides.
- Emerging techniques to improve our assessment of health effects associated with pesticide exposure are reviewed. These techniques, which in most cases have not been applied to farmworker populations, hold promise in our ability to study and understand the relationship between pesticide exposure and a variety of health effects in this population.
Workplace, Household, and Personal Predictors of Pesticide Exposure for Farmworkers
Environmental Health Perspectives (2006) 114:943-952
Sara A. Quandt, María A. Hernández-Valero, JosephG. Grzywacz, Joseph D. Hovey, Melissa Gonzales, and Thomas A. Arcury
- In this article we identify factors potentially associated with pesticide exposure among farmworkers, grade the evidence in the peer-reviewed literature for such associations, and propose a minimum set of measures necessary to understand farmworker risk for pesticide exposure.
- Despite ongoing concern about pesticide exposure of farmworkers and their families, relatively few studies have tried to test directly the association of behavioral and environmental factors with pesticide exposure in this population.
- Future studies should attempt to use similar behavioral, environmental, and psychosocial measures to build bodies of evidence with which to better understand the risk factors for pesticide exposure among farmworkers.
