Pesticide Education and Exposure

News from the Project

FLSNY’s Pesticide Program is currently in the process of developing a CD for its outreach.  The goal is to develop an audio resource in both Spanish and English that

conveys the same basic information as our written resources: how workers are exposed to pesticides, what the short- and long-term effects are, what the Worker Protection Standard is, and how workers can better protect themselves both at work and in their

News from our Special Projects

Samples from the

Bandana Project
Text Box: Pesticide Fast Facts EPA estimates 10,000 – 20,000 farm workers injured by exposure to pesticides on the job each year Workers are exposed to pesticides in both their work and home environments. When fields are sprayed, the chemicals may drift to nearby sites where workers are working (in the fields) or living (in their homes, which are often located near the fields). Workers often bring home residues on their clothes, skin, and shoes, exposing their families to these residues Exposure occurs through breathing, ingestion, contact with the eyes, and contact with the skin (contact with the skin is the most common route of exposure.) After sprayings, pesticides dry on crops as an invisible residue. These residues can remain on crops many days after spraying, and remain dangerous. Health effects from pesticides are numerous, both in the short term (acute effects) and the long term (chronic effects). Short term effects include (but are not limited to): skin, eye, nose, throat, lung irritation, nervous system, disruption, breathing problems, excessive sweating, headache, dizziness, drowsiness, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, nosebleeds, coughing, vision problems, fever, tremors, seizures, unconsciousness, death Many times, symptoms can appear very similar to a cold or flu. Long term effects include (but are not limited to): cancer, birth defects/stillbirths/miscarriages, paralysis, damage to nervous system, memory loss, respiratory illness Long term effects can occur years down the line. The impact on farm worker families is particularly problematic. Children of farm workers may be exposed to residues that the workers bring home on their skin, clothes, and shoes. Children are much more susceptible to pesticide poisoning.

homes.  This CD will serve as a low-literacy resource for those with a limited relationship to the written word. With this CD we hope to broaden the audience that is receiving vital information about their health and legal rights. 

 

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