UC Agricultural Health & Safety Center at Davis
On-Line News
Issue Number 1997-02
Spring 1997
Published by the UC Agricultural Health & Safety Center at
Davis, University of California, Davis, Marc Schenker, M.D., M.P.H.,
Director, Jeff March, Editor
1997-02-01 TABLE OF CONTENTS
- 1997-02-01 Table of Contents
- 1997-02-02 Welcome and Introduction
- 1997-02-03 Crop Protection Industry Supports
Ag Health & Safety
- 1997-02-04 Center Launches New Kid Safety
Program
- 1997-02-05 ¡Maneje Seguro! Team Receives
National Award
- 1997-02-06 Marcia Woodby's Work to Prevent
OP Exposure in Migrant Kidsr
- 1997-02-07 Dermatitis Study: A Finnish Farming
Comparison
- 1997-02-08 Cost Effectiveness of Intervention
Programs
1996-02-02 WELCOME AND INTRODUCTION
Welcome to the UC Agricultural Health & Safety Center at Davis
On-Line News.
On-Line News is a synopsis of news items covered by the Center's
quarterly newsletter. The Center has two electronic list servers
that allow automatic forwarding of e-mail to a list of subscribers.
One server is a forum for announcements and discussion of agricultural
health and safety issues and the other is a vehicle for the automatic
distribution of the Center's quarterly newsletter.
The e-mail addresses for the forum is: aghealth@epm.ucdavis.edu
(message forwarding address) and aghealth-request@epm.ucdavis.edu
(subscriber request address). The addresses for the newsletter are:
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(subscriber request address).
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By return e-mail you will receive confirmation of your request
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1997-02-03 CROP PROTECTION INDUSTRY SUPPORTS AG
HEALTH & SAFETY
by Henry G. Buckwalter
A program developed by Uniroyal Chemical Company, Inc., one of the
nation's preeminent agricultural chemical companies, has helped to
reduce the number of Propargite-related illnesses across the country.
The traditional labels on chemical products indicating "Danger," "Warning"
and "Caution" do not provide adequate information to many agricultural
workers. As a result, California Department of Pesticide Regulation's
(DPR) Worker Health and Safety Branch created a new warning category
termed "minimal expo-sure pesticides." This category is intended to
distinguish a particular group of pesticides. Initially, four chem-istries
were placed in this group, including bromoxynil, folpet, oxydemeton-methyl
and propargite, and more are expected.
It was at this juncture that Uniroyal created its Work Safe! program
in 1989 to educate field-workers, mixers, loaders and applicators
on the safe use of its propargite products-Omite-30W, Omite-CR,
and Comite-and to provide guidelines for safe use of these products.
The specific components of the Work Safe! program include:
To date, more than 3,000 Work Safe! reference books and videotapes
have been distributed to growers across the country. Based on preliminary
data collected from the field since 1989, a 90 percent reduction
in the number of propargite-related illnesses has been reported.
The benefits of worker-safety programs sponsored by the agricultural
crop protection industry are two-fold: the industry can help improve
the health and welfare of people who use crop protection chemicals,
while diminishing misconceptions about the safety and utility of
such chemicals. Pesticide illnesses improperly diagnosed and/or
reported have and will continue to result in increased pesticide
regulation and reduced product availability.
Given the high level of controversy associated with the use of
crop protection chemicals, I believe it is in the best interest
of the industry to keep growers informed and provide them with the
necessary tools to properly train their employees. To that end,
I recommend that:
Uniroyal's commitment to worker health and safety continues through
sponsorship of a study with Dr. Robert Krieger of UC Riverside.
This study evaluates the utility of a "coverall" garment for personal
protection equipment (PPE) for agricultural workers. The breathable
material, made by Kimberly-Clark, is called Kleenguard Extra Protection™.
Preliminary results are encouraging, affording the agricultural
worker 95 percent or better protection against chemical residues
in the field. The garments will be relatively inexpensive and disposable.
In cooperation with DPR, Uniroyal is working on a pilot program
using the Kimberly-Clark PPE.
Uniroyal Chemical's Work Safe! program has demonstrated that education
and training generates positive results for worker safety protection.
But much more must be done to assure that our country's farmworkers
get the information they need to protect their health. Prevention
is the best medicine.
Henry G. Buckwalter is a registration specialist-Western U.S.-for
Uniroyal Chemical Co., has worked in research and development in
the crop protection industry for more than 22 years, and is chair
of the Internal Advisory Panel for the UC Agricultural Health &
Safety Center at Davis.
1997-02-04 CENTER LAUNCHES NEW KID SAFETY PROGRAM
by Jennifer Weber and Kathy Garvey
An estimated 300 deaths and 23,500 injuries occur among youth under
age 20 on U.S. farms and ranches every year. To help reduce those
staggering numbers the Center and Farm Safety 4 Just Kids are launching
an educational program aimed at preventing injuries, fatalities and
health risks to California farm children. Center investigators recently
hosted a two-day Northern California agricultural tour for Shari Burgess,
director of program services for Farm Safety 4 Just Kids, a non-profit
organization based in Earlham, Iowa. Her visit included tours of the
Oakland Farmers' Market, a 2,000-acre row crop farm in Esparto and
a migrant housing project in Madison.
Center investigators also arranged a meeting with Winters High
School migrant education staff, and a radio interview with Robert
Singleton, DANR broadcast information representative. Burgess then
met with Center Director Marc Schenker to discuss the Center's role
in establishing and coordinating a Northern California Farm Safety
4 Just Kids program.
The tour was coordinated by Patrick O'Connor-Marer, director of
the Integrated Pest Management Project's Pesticide Education Program
(PEP); Jennifer Weber, PEP program representative; Martha Stiles,
staff research associate in the Department of Human and Community
Development; with assistance from Dona Mast, past president of the
Yolo County Farm Bureau.
Farm Safety 4 Just Kids, founded in 1987 by Iowan Marilyn Adams
after her 11-year-old son, Keith, suffocated in a gravity flow wagon,
now has more than 2,000 members in 44 chapters throughout the United
States and Canada. Seeking to prevent farm-related childhood injuries,
health risks and fatalities, the organization conducts educational
programs annually and charters and develops chapters.
"After visiting the Oakland Farmers' Market, I realized the vast
size and diversity of California's agricultural population," Burgess
said. "The Peruvian potato, the blood orange and herb grass at the
market showcased the diversity of agricultural products grown here."
Dona Mast showed Burgess her family farm and discussed safety issues.
"Irrigation ditches on row crop farms can be especially dangerous
for children," explained Mast. Burgess, along with O'Connor-Marer,
Weber and Kathy Garvey, PEP writer, met with Yolo County migrant
education staff members Suny DeLeon and Lupe Ortiz at Winters High
School to discuss child farm safety. Ortiz explained that children
who live on ranches or farms where their parents work are most likely
to participate in the labor, consider the ranch or farm as their
playground, and use the irrigation canals as their swimming pools.
DeLeon emphasized that all resource materials that are produced
must be culturally competent and appropriate to meet the needs of
California's farmworking community.
On the last day of her visit, Burgess discussed child safety with
community leaders at the Yolo County Farm Bureau office in Woodland.
She explained how to start a local chapter of Farm Safety 4 Just
Kids, and listed resources available for farm families, as well
as funding possibilities to support a statewide child safety program.
1997-02-05 ¡MANEJE SEGURO! TEAM RECEIVES
NATIONAL AWARD
The ¡Maneje Seguro! driver safety program developed by Center
investigators was selected from among hundreds of nominees across
the country to receive the Nationwide Insurance On Your Side Highway
Safety Award.
The ¡Maneje Seguro! team was recognized in a special ceremony
for its "exemplary and innovative efforts" in bilingual driver safety
for Latino farmworkers. A plaque and a small stipend were awarded
in January by Nationwide Insurance representatives. The award was
established in 1994 to recognize creative approaches to saving lives
and reducing injuries on our nation's roads.
"This is the only bilingual project ever to receive this national
award," said Martha Stiles, Center investigator and staff research
associate in the UC Davis Department of Human and Community Development.
"Our objective was to design effective ways to reach this population
and to bridge gaps created by language and culture. We are extremely
proud to be honored for our work."
1997-02-06 MARCIA WOODBY'S WORK TO PREVENT OP
EXPOSURE IN MIGRANT KIDS
Marcia Woodby wasn't certain about her life goals until she spent
three months as a health educator in Nicaragua in 1990. After observing
conditions there she decided that she wanted to make a contribution
in public health epidemiology. Currently a graduate student at UC
Davis, Marcia is pursuing her Ph.D. in epidemiology.
After growing up in St. Paul, Minn., Marcia attended the University
of Colorado for two years, then completed a bachelor's degree in
psychology at the University of Minnesota. While working on her
graduate degree in psychology, Marcia became increasingly aware
of social problems for which the field of psychology had no solutions.
She decided to put her graduate studies on hold and traveled around
the world working as a photographer and an English teacher.
Marcia's work with the Center began during the summer of 1996 in
Yolo and surrounding counties, where she began studying the neurotoxic
effects of organophosphate pesticide (OP) exposure on 3- to 5-year-old
children of migrant farmworkers. Using a cross-sectional design
to assess the prevalence of childhood exposure to OPs and neurophysical
and neuropsychological abnorm-alities, her study enrolled 219 farmworker
and non-farmworker families. Marcia and co-investigators Ellen Gold,
Alan Buckpitt, Sid Gospe and Dan Mungas collected urine samples,
conducted neurological exams and gave the children a battery of
neuropsychological tests. Marcia interviewed parents of the children
using a questionnaire specifically designed to assess factors such
as family lifestyle, education, work history and health status.
Marcia and investigators speculate that children whose mothers
are engaged in agricultural fieldwork are at highest risk of OP
exposure and associated health problems since mothers have the most
physical contact with young children. Marcia plans to interview
more families this summer.
"To me this study is important because little is known about the
health of the children of farmworkers," said Marcia. "Like adults,
children face exposure to OPs because they live close to the agricultural
fields and have contact with field residues brought home on parents'
clothing."
Marcia explains that one of the negative effects of OP exposure
can be neurotoxicity, which has been documented in adult farmworkers.
No such studies have been conducted involving children, who may
be more vulnerable than adults to the adverse effects of OP exposure
due to the immaturity of their developing nervous systems.
"Current policy regulates pesticide exposure only in adults, so
more information about OP exposure and its effects is required to
address children's needs," she said. Marcia's goal is to complete
her Ph.D. and work in a setting that allows her to focus on the
health of underserved populations. Her daughter, Ana, has followed
a similar path in helping society. She is currently a senior in
college and works in San Francisco with young girls who are at risk
of developing a variety of social problems.
1997-02-07 DERMATITIS STUDY: A FINNISH FARMING
COMPARISON
by Päivikki Susitaival, M.D., Ph.D.
Statistics and studies have suggested that occupational skin diseases
and allergies are more prevalent among dairy farmers in Finland than
in California. While the differences may be influenced by occupational
patterns or climate, comparisons are inconclusive because of inadequacy
and differences in data. Farming in Finland is very different from
California farming, in commodities, size of farms and climate. Most
farms in Finland are small, family-owned dairies or row crop farms.
The women traditionally take care of the cattle and milking, while
the men work in the fields and forestry. By law, Finnish farmers are
provided not only occupational health services but also municipal
farmworker help when on sick leave or vacations. All farmers have
been insured by Farmers' Social Insurance and compensated for occupational
illnesses and injuries since 1982.
In Finland 1,200-1,300 work-related injuries and diseases in about
100,000 active farmers are reported annually-the most common related
to respiratory allergies (40 percent), musculoskeletal con-ditions
(30 percent), and skin diseases (20 percent). Nearly one-third of
reported occupational diseases have been associated with allergies
to cow dander (annually about 100 cases of occupational asthma,
120 cases of occupational rhinitis and 80 cases of occupational
dermatitis). Most of thefarmers with occupational allergies continue
working with personal protective devices such as powered respirators
and protective gloves, compensated by Farmers' Social Insurance.
Studies of occupational health and hazards of farming in Finland
during the past 18 years indicate that women in dairy farming are
twice as likely as men to have hand dermatitis, respiratory diseases
and joint problems. About 20 percent of these women tend to have
hand dermatitis yearly, and about one-third of the cases are associated
with allergy to cow dander. Other common causes include the use
of disinfectants and detergents, wet and dirty work and allergy
to rubber and to fodder flours. A statewide survey of the health
of California farm operators conducted by UC Davis investigators
in 1993 included the following questions on skin diseases:
1) Have you experienced "any dermatitis, eczema or any other red,
inflamed skin rash" during the past 12 months?
2) Was a health care provider consulted?
A total of 15 percent of women and 8.9 percent men reported having
a rash corresponding to the trend in hand dermatitis rates in
Finnish farming. Because of the small number of women (10 percent),
the associations between reporting dermatitis and occupational
factors could not be characterized separately for women. In men
the rate increased with age but in women an opposite trend emerged.
This latter result parallels with many studies finding hand dermatitis
more common in younger versus older women. The proportion of those
who had consulted a health care provider (75 percent) corresponds
to the numbers of those consulting a doctor in the Finnish farmer
studies.
In the California farm operator survey, farmers were asked to
report any diagnosis of cancer and specify the cancer type. Five
percent of both women and men (97 out of 1,947) reported some
type of skin cancer, of which four were melanomas. About 40 percent
of those reporting skin cancer reported using sunscreens more
than half of the time, but one-fourth of those with skin cancer
never used sunscreens. Reporting of skin cancer was highly correlated
with age, ranging from 1 percent in those under 40 years of age
to 8 percent in those over 60. When analysis was adjusted by age
and correlated by farm type, crop farming exhibited the lowest
rate. That may be explained in part by the tendency of field crop
farmers to use tractors with cabins, thereby lessening their exposure
to the sun.
There seems to be fewer allergy problems in California dairy
farming compared to Finland. The reasons for that could be that
1) California farmworkers often don't make a lifelong career of
dairy farming as do Finnish dairy farmers. 2) The animals are
outside, and the work is done outside or in open barns, diminishing
the amount of allergen exposures. 3) The workers are often dark-skinned
and have a lot of exposure to sun, which diminishes skin allergies.
I would like to see more emphasis placed on population-based
epidemiological studies of occu-pational skin diseases. I would
also welcome any information on farm-related skin problems in
other areas of the United States.
Päivikki Susitaival, M.D., Ph.D., of Kuopio, Finland,
is a visiting professor at the Center specializing in epidemiology
of occupational skin diseases. Her e-mail address is psus@elrond.ucdavis.edu
1997-02-08 COST EFFECTIVENESS OF INTERVENTION
PROGRAMS
These days the public is focusing a critical eye on government spending
and allocations of money for various types of research. As a result,
the Clinton Administration passed a bill called the Government Performance
and Results Act of 1993, which demands justification and cost-effectiveness
of programs prior to federal funding.
Patrick O'Connor-Marer, Ph.D., pesticide training coordinator
for IPM Education and Publications, and outreach coordinator for
the Center, is involved with two programs chosen for evaluation
by the federal government-the USDA Pesticide Applicator Training
Program and the IPM Initiative. In his talk "Evaluating the Cost-Effectiveness
of Intervention Programs" during the Center's noon seminar in
February, O'Connor-Marer described the procedures prospective
grantees will face as a result of the bill, which will be fully
implemented in the year 2000.
The Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 states the
following:
1) "Congress finds that waste and inefficiency in federal programs
undermines the confidence of the American people in the government
and reduces the federal government's ability to address adequately
vital public needs."
2) "Federal managers are seriously disadvantaged in their efforts
to improve program efficiency and effectiveness because of insufficient
articulation of program goals and adequate information on program
performance."
3) "Congressional policymaking, spending decisions and program
oversight is seriously handicapped by insufficient attention to
program performance and results."
"Under the new bill, researchers who can demonstrate that their
programs result in the most lives saved or improved health outcome
per dollar will most likely have a competitive edge when competing
for funds," said O'Connor-Marer.
At the request of NIOSH, O'Connor-Marer and other regional ag
center representatives attended a "Measuring Cost Effectiveness"
training program conducted by the Centers for Disease control
in Atlanta. O'Connor-Marer's group participated in several exercises,
including an evaluation of a three-day farm safety camp for 50
children of Georgia farmers. The program is underwritten yearly
by the state of Georgia through its health department.
The group was assigned the task of determining the true cost
of putting on such an event without donations and considering
participants' travel time and loss in productivity of their family
farms. After detailed analyses, the group estimated the total
cost of the camp to be $52,000, which equates to $1,042 per child
plus the costs incurred by the kids, estimated at about $400 each.
The state of Georgia pays about 40 percent of the cost of the
farm safety camp, 33 percent is donated and participants cover
27 percent.
Following last year's camp, one of kids convinced his father
to wear a seat belt on the family's tractor. Later that year his
father flipped the tractor and the seat belt saved his life.
"That one incident justified the existence of the farm safety
camp," said O'Connor-Marer. "The state of Georgia put a value
of $500,000 in loss of productivity and taxes on loss of one life,
and program advocates were able to convince the state Legislature
to continue funding the program." However, it's difficult to determine
whether the program would have been funded had the incident involving
the participant's father not been disclosed. The government will
be looking for quantifiable evidence that programs are worth funding.
"Receiving money from the federal government requires a lot more
work on the part of investigators to justify what they are doing,
said O'Connor-Marer. "From a taxpayer point of view, that cost-benefit
ratio should be of interest to all of us."
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