Do farm workers and Christmas tree growers face health problems from pesticide use?
Although links between the use of pesticides and health problems are not clear, it should be everyone’s goal to reduce exposure to pesticides. The people with the greatest exposure to pesticides are those that apply it. Worker exposure is a function of the rate being applied, the number of days per year of application and the number of years that the same kind of work is done. The longer the duration and higher the rate, the greater the risk. Health effects of pesticides can range from acute poisonings to long-term effects from low levels of exposure. Current medical research suggests that while agricultural workers are generally healthier than the general US population, they may have higher rates of some cancers, including leukemia, myeloma, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and cancers of the lip, stomach, skin, brain, and prostate. Other conditions, like asthma, neurological disease, and adverse reproductive outcomes may also be related to agricultural exposures.
Although links between the use of pesticides and health problems are not clear, it should be everyone’s goal to reduce exposure to pesticides. The people with the greatest exposure to pesticides are those that apply it. Worker exposure is a function of the rate being applied, the number of days per year of application and the number of years that the same kind of work is done. The longer the duration and higher the rate, the greater the risk.
