Work-related pesticide exposures, 2006-2011

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  Georgia. Department of Public Health
• Description:
  Pesticides are among the few chemicals produced that are specifically designed to kill and cause harm. They are used throughout the world to produce food, fiber, and forest products by controlling pests and diseases, and to regulate plant growth. In the U.S., approximately one billion pounds of pesticide active ingredients are used annually. Although pesticides are generally used for beneficial reasons, improper use can cause much unintentional harm to people, including injury, illness, and death. Exposure to pesticides can lead to both short- and long-term health effects. Chronic exposures can increase the risk of developing chronic diseases such as prostate cancer, asthma, and Parkinson's Disease. Workers who handle pesticides, such as farmworkers, fumigators, and pesticide applicators are at greatest risk for exposure. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that 20,000-40,000 work-related pesticide poisonings occur each year. Pesticide exposures are of major concern in Georgia, particularly with agriculture being the main driver of the state's economy, contributing over $65 billion annually to the state's $786.5 billion economy. In 2012, there were 42,257 farms in Georgia with an average size of 228 acres. The number of acute work-related pesticide-associated illnesses and injuries reported to poison control centers is one of the occupational health indicators for fundamental occupational health surveillance recommended by the National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety (NIOSH) and the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE). Data for work-related pesticide poisonings occurring in Georgia during 2006-2011 were obtained from the American Association of Poison Control Centers (AAPCC) and the Georgia Poison Center (GPC). Pesticides included disinfectants, fungicides, fumigants, herbicides, insecticides, repellents, and rodenticides. Cases of illness or injury were considered work-related if the exposure reason was listed as occupational or the exposure site was at the workplace. Persons less than 16 years of age were excluded as well as persons who were not Georgia residents or had no known effect from the exposure. Cases in which the exposure reason was intentional or malicious were also excluded. Poison control centers capture only a small proportion of occupational pesticide-related illness cases, an estimated 10%; therefore, data presented here are underestimates of the true number of exposures. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Agriculture Biomarkers Farmers Insecticides Neoplasms Occupational Health Public Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Agricultural-chemicals Agricultural-workers Cancer Chemical-exposures Pesticides Public-health Statistical-analysis Surveillance Surveillance-programs
• Publisher:
  Georgia Department of Public Health, Epidemiology Program
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Report
• Place as Subject:
  Georgia ; OSHA Region 4
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-6
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20047177
• Citation:
  Atlanta, GA: Georgia Department of Public Health, Epidemiology Program, 2015 Sep; :1-6
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2015
• Performing Organization:
  Georgia State Department of Public Health
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20100701
• Source Full Name:
  Work-related pesticide exposures, 2006-2011
• End Date:
  20150630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:f84fb93b60c168fdd7fec6371b329e41264d268f3c50c30eaf7174b7ee3ff9242359655ff2f3296a2f22cfc97116419d092029754e076cc3f67e253363220811
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/202341/cdc_202341_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 721.51 KB ]