Acute Pesticide Poisoning Among Agricultural Workers in the United States, 1998–2005

Details

• Personal Author:
  Barrett R ; Beckman J ; Calvert, Geoffrey M. ; Karnik J ; Lackovic M ; Mabee L ; Mehler L ; Mitchell Y ; Moraga-McHaley S ; Morrissey B ; Schwartz A ; Sievert J
• Description:
  Background: approximately 75% of pesticide usage in the United States occurs in agriculture. As such, agricultural workers are at greater risk of pesticide exposure than non-agricultural workers. However, the magnitude, characteristics and trend of acute pesticide poisoning among agricultural workers are unknown. Methods: we identified acute pesticide poisoning cases in agricultural workers between the ages of 15 and 64 years that occurred from 1998 to 2005. The California Department of Pesticide Regulation and the SENSOR-Pesticides program provided the cases. Acute occupational pesticide poisoning incidence rates (IR) for those employed in agriculture were calculated, as were incidence rate ratios (IRR) among agricultural workers relative to non-agricultural workers. Results: of the 3,271 cases included in the analysis, 2,334 (71%) were employed as farmworkers. The remaining cases were employed as processing/packing plant workers (12%), farmers (3%), and other miscellaneous agricultural workers (19%). The majority of cases had low severity illness (N = 2,848, 87%), while 402 (12%) were of medium severity and 20 (0.6%) were of high severity. One case was fatal. Rates of illness among various agricultural worker categories were highly variable but all, except farmers, showed risk for agricultural workers greater than risk for non-agricultural workers by an order of magnitude or more. Also, the rate among female agricultural workers was almost twofold higher compared to males. Conclusion: the findings from this study suggest that acute pesticide poisoning in the agricultural industry continues to be an important problem. These findings reinforce the need for heightened efforts to better protect farmworkers from pesticide exposure. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Agriculture Biochemistry Environmental Monitoring Farmers Fungi Fungicide, Industrial Hazardous Substances Hypersensitivity Insecticides Irritants Men Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Respiratory Hypersensitivity Respiratory System Respiratory Tract Diseases Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety Women

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• Keywords:
  Agricultural-chemicals Agricultural-industry Agricultural-processes Agricultural-workers Air-quality-measurement Biochemical-analysis Biohazards Biological-effects Biological-monitoring Chemical-hypersensitivity Fungicides Occupational-exposure Occupational-hazards Occupational-respiratory-disease Pesticides-and-agricultural-chemicals Pulmonary-system-disorders Respiratory-hypersensitivity Respiratory-irritants Respiratory-system-disorders Risk-factors Statistical-analysis Surveillance-programs Time-weighted-average-exposure

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• ISSN:
  0271-3586
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  California ; Florida ; Louisiana ; Michigan ; New Mexico ; New York ; Ohio ; Oregon ; OSHA Region 10 ; OSHA Region 2 ; OSHA Region 4 ; OSHA Region 5 ; OSHA Region 6 ; OSHA Region 9 ; Texas ; Washington
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DSHEFS - Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  51
• Issue:
  12
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20034759
• Citation:
  Am J Ind Med 2008 Jul; 51(12):883-898
• Contact Point Address:
  Geoffrey M. Calvert, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies, 4676 Columbia Parkway, R17, Cincinnati, OH 45226
• Email:
  jac6@cdc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2008
• NORA Priority Area:
  Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing ; Services ; Wholesale and Retail Trade
• Performing Organization:
  Michigan State University
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  American Journal of Industrial Medicine
• End Date:
  20260630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:9f1f840f1619ea983515d5b734244c9de72682983ff562d99c39be4874366a179b886e8497c7ff27bcd92bf4d5d8341e37c98a30148c52887c54a16f1dbb2185
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/186852/cdc_186852_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 189.47 KB ]