Pesticide Illness and Injury Surveillance in Michigan 2012

Details

• Personal Author:
  Rosenman, Kenneth D. ; Schwartz A ; Stanbury, Martha
• Description:
  The Michigan Department of Community Health (MDCH) has been conducting surveillance for acute work-related pesticide illnesses and injuries since 2001. MDCH began collecting data on non-occupational cases in 2006. The Public Health Code grants Michigan the authority to do public health surveillance for work-related conditions (PA 368 of 1978, Part 56, as amended) and chemical poisoning (R325.71-R325.75). This is the tenth annual report on pesticide-related illnesses and injuries in Michigan (MDCH, 2001-3, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011). From 2001 through 2012, 1,335 reports of occupational exposures and pesticide illness or injury were received and 926 (69.4%) were confirmed as cases according to the surveillance case definition. Eighty-four of those confirmed cases were reported in 2012. Michigan's Poison Control Center (PCC) remained the main data source, contributing 79.8% of confirmed occupational cases in 2012. Disinfectants continued to be the cause for over half of the confirmed occupational cases. A number of these cases would not have occurred if disinfectants were only used in situations where their use was necessary. Where activity of the exposed person was known, 23.8% of confirmed occupational cases were exposed to pesticides inadvertently while doing their regular work that did not involve applying pesticides. The most common contributing factor for confirmed occupational cases was a spill or splash. The most common occupation was Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance, comprising 28.6% of the confirmed cases in 2012. Of those, two-thirds were cleaners, housekeepers or maintenance workers and one-third were pest control operators. From 2006 through 2012, 5,481 reports of non-occupational exposures and pesticide illness or injury were received and 1,481 (27.0%) were confirmed as cases according to the surveillance case definition. Four hundred forty of those confirmed cases were reported in 2012. Michigan's PCC is also the main data source for non-occupational exposures, reporting 82.7% of the confirmed non-occupational cases in 2012. There was about a four-fold increase in the number of reported non-occupational pesticide exposures because several new categories of non-occupational exposures were added to the poison control reporting algorithm. This resulted in an almost two-fold increase in confirmed cases. This represents a change in reporting, not necessarily an increase in exposures. In 2012, disinfectants accounted for 54.0% and insecticides for 23.8% of confirmed non-occupational cases. Again many of these cases would not have occurred if disinfectants were only used in situations where their use was necessary. Where activity of the exposed person was known, 51.1% of confirmed non-occupational cases were applying the pesticide themselves. 'Bystander' exposure was also important, with 27.7% exposed inadvertently while doing normal activities, not involved in the application of pesticides. Three cases in 2012 were investigated by the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) for possible pesticide use violations, one occupational and two non-occupational. Fifteen events met the criteria for priority reporting to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), seven occupational and eight non-occupational. These events are described on pages 28-31. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Disinfectants Hazardous Substances Insecticides Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Chemical Hazards Cleaning Compounds Occupational Health Programs Pesticides And Agricultural Chemicals Surveillance
• Publisher:
  Michigan Department of Community Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Report
• Place as Subject:
  Michigan ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-46
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20054321
• Citation:
  Lansing, MI: Michigan Department of Community Health, 2014 Apr; :1-46
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2014
• Performing Organization:
  Michigan State University
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Pesticide illness and injury surveillance in Michigan 2012
• End Date:
  20260630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:f05863e166021875ac41a2a2d1b538abd99720935d735fc32bf0ecc3c893d51c6995901652d4ce0462f2bd55bad981c74d2910af76edc666cef985d2f7e183a2
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/216910/cdc_216910_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1012.78 KB ]