Occupational Hazards in Texas Food Production

Details

• Personal Author:
  Shipp E
• Description:
  A substantial number of hired farmworkers help Americans to put food on their tables. This largely foreign-born (>75%) workforce makes a huge contribution to the agricultural economy, yet the average family income ranges from $15,000 to $17,499 and less than a quarter are covered by health insurance. The agricultural industry also is among the most hazardous in the United States in terms of fatal and nonfatal injury. Common occupational hazards include: prolonged time in awkward postures, sun and heat stress, sharp implements, motorized farm equipment, inadequate safety training and field sanitation, and pesticides. Pesticides are especially a concern for farmworkers given the potential for long-term consequences such as skin problems, neurologic and motor problems, birth defects, and cancer. There are an estimated 10,000-20,000 cases of physician diagnosed pesticide poisoning among agricultural workers each year in the U.S. Many more cases likely go undiagnosed because symptoms can be flu-like and non-specific or the farmworkers lack access to healthcare. Worker training can reduce this exposure, but employers often do not provide training even when required to do so by law. In a study of adolescent farmworkers from Texas, only 21% had ever received any training in pesticide safety. This is troubling because adolescents are still developing both physically and mentally and may be especially vulnerable to chemical exposures. A recent pilot study showed that adolescent farmworkers who reported 5+ symptoms of neurotoxicity were nearly nine times as likely to report an acute injury compared to those reporting a lower number of symptoms (Whitworth et al., 2010). This presentation provides an overview of the occupational health and safety issues impacting farmworkers with a focus on pesticides and a current research study designed to examine this issue further in adolescents. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Aging Emigration And Immigration Farmers Insecticides Nervous System Occupational Health Safety Staff Development
• Keywords:
  Age Groups Farm Workers Immigrant Workers Injury Prevention Migrant Workers Neurotoxicity Pesticides And Agricultural Chemicals Safety Practices Training
• ISSN:
  1096-6080
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 6 ; Texas
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  9
• Volume:
  132
• Issue:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20053169
• Citation:
  Toxicologist 2013 Mar; 132(1):9
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2013
• NORA Priority Area:
  Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing
• Performing Organization:
  University of Texas Health Center at Tyler
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20010930
• Source Full Name:
  The Toxicologist. Society of Toxicology 52nd Annual Meeting and ToxExpo, March 10-14, 2013, San Antonio, Texas
• End Date:
  20270929
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:fb410cf73bdfa47c6a2f9163bb15bad955d375d010e27511f3378a95677bd9c9eca6b0d5d1f1dc925b34a6aa660ada3d3bbf0262b91245e7c88891dd462af2e6
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/215981/cdc_215981_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 2.44 MB ]