User:Hooeychap/sandbox

Wiki page: Organophosphates Heading: Proposal Restrictions (link to California Department of Pesticide Regulation Wiki) In September 2010, Governor Schwarzenegger signed Assembly Bill 1963, the Farmworker Health Act, into California state law. This legislation mandates that all laboratories testing for acetylcholinesterase levels in farmworkers must share the test results with the Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR), which must also share the results with the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) and the State Department of Public Health on an ongoing basis. This monitoring program was enacted following reviews made by the DPR and OEHHA that deemed current cholinesterase medical monitoring programs inadequate in detecting organophosphate pesticide poisoning in the agricultural workforce. AB 1963 works to utilize the collected laboratory information in order to establish a more effective medical response program for farmworkers. In 2005, the Pesticide Exposure Drift Response Act (SB 391) was signed into law in the state of California in response to the perceived sickening of 478 people near agricultural areas. The law requires county and state agencies to include new drift response protocols to emergency response plans, and established a penalty process for medical expenses of persons affected by pesticide drift.

Heading: Health Effects Subheading: Low level exposure In the Yakima Valley of Washington State, a study examining take-home exposure pathways of organophosphate pesticides was conducted that utilized data from 218 farm worker households in agricultural communities. The study revealed with statistical significance that concentrations of azinphos methyl in house-dust were associated with dimethyl DAP concentrations in child urine of agricultural families, indicating that farmworkers were moving agricultural chemicals from the workplace to the home. Exposure pathways were determined primarily to be vehicles and clothing due to comparative dust sample analyses that showed a statistically significant association between azinphos methyl concentrations in house dust and vehicle dust. Other studies concur that soil and dust concentrations in the home for organophosphate pesticides were higher in homes of agricultural families (families with a member belonging to the agricultural profession) as compared to reference families (families with no member belonging to said profession). Organophosphate metabolites in children’s urine were also elevated for agricultural children as compared to non-agricultural/metropolitan children.

Wiki page: Organophosphate Poisoning Heading: Reproductive Effects 1.) “CHAMACOS” study, CA (link CHAMACOS study homepage) (link Community-based Participatory Research Wiki) The organization, “C.H.A.M.A.C.O.S.”—named as an acronym for Center for the Health Assessment of Mothers and Children of Salinas, as well as “little children” in Mexican Spanish—is a longitudinal birth cohort study that examines chemicals in the environment and their effects on children’s health using various periodic assessments. The study began with 601 pregnant women in Salinas Valley, an agricultural area of California, followed by their 536 children. All CHAMACOS children were born between 2000 and 2002; in 2010-11, another 300 9-year-old children were enrolled, increasing the total to about 600 young participants. The CHAMACOS participants (pregnant mothers) were primarily low-income, Spanish or English speaking, Mexican-born, and young women . 44% of the pregnant participants were farmworkers, and 84% lived with a farmworker. Research methods include taking blood and urine samples from pregnant women to determine what chemicals are gaining access to children in the womb, as well as dust samples in order to inspect pesticide presence in the home. The children are then tracked every few years through physical exams, neurobehavioral assessments, and blood, urine, saliva, baby teeth, and hair analyses. The study revealed that the children of mothers who had bioaccumulated the highest levels of organophosphates were at the greatest risk of neurodevelopmental problems such as poorer reflexes (at age 6), pervasive developmental disorder (at age 2), hyperactivity and attention deficit (at age 5), and lower IQ (at age 7) due to the passage of organophosphates through placenta to the baby’s bloodstream. The CHAMACOS study operates on community-based participatory research methods, which encourage and rely on local participation in order to collect relevant local data. This method also emphasizes community empowerment and identity as important factors in achieving change.

2.) “From Mother to Child Project”, TX—a CBPR approach to pesticide health study . The “From Mother to Child Project” is an ongoing molecular epidemiological study that utilizes a community-based participatory research approach and gene-environment interaction in order to examine the environmental injustices in migrant and seasonal farmworker mothers of Mexican origin. The study aims to address three hypotheses regarding occupational health for migrant and seasonal farmworker mothers: (1) Migrant and seasonal farmworker women and children occupationally exposed to pesticides are at higher risk for DNA damage than are non-exposed women and children. (2) The amount of pesticide exposure and type of polymorphisms in detoxification and repair genes contribute to the extent of DNA damage observed in participants. (3) Mutagenic potency of organic compounds from extracted urine and serum will correlate with the total concentrations of pesticides and with the observed DNA damage in study participants. Wiki Page: Pesticides Heading: Alternatives Subheading (new): Agroecology (link Agroecology homepage and Agroecology Wiki) Agroecology is a growing field of alternative agricultural practices that reduces pesticide usage by operating on the principles of sustainability and health, often reverting to traditional methods of farming in order to achieve these ends. Rather than relying on synthetic toxic chemicals, traditional agroecosystems emphasize nutrient recycling, use of locally available and renewable resources, adaptation to local conditions, utilization of microenvironments, reliance on and conservation of indigenous knowledge, and maximization of yield while maintaining productivity. Agroecology also emphasizes such principles as empowering people and local communities to contribute to development, and encouraging “multi-directional” facilitation of information rather than the conventional “top-down” method.

Wiki Page: Farmworkers Heading: Farmworker Issues and Abuses Subheading (new): Pesticide Poisoning (link to Organophosphate/Organophosphate Poisoning/Endocrine Disruptors Wikis) Research has shown with statistical significance that farmworkers and their families are more affected by pesticide chemicals than nonagricultural workers and their families. One study conducted in Nextipac, Jalisco, Mexico surveyed 25 male individuals occupationally exposed to pesticides and 21 male individuals that were not exposed. The surveyed farmworkers used mainly organophosphates, as well as suspected endocrine disruptors, atrazine and toxaphene, as pesticides. Results from the study showed that exposed populations experienced more fertility problems than unexposed participants, with miscarriage being most prominent (34% of study population). The study population also exhibited increased suffering from acute poisoning, including recorded symptoms such as muscular cramps, dizziness, abdominal pain, blurred vision, chest tightness, headaches, and nausea. In addition to acute effects, physical examinations revealed increased findings of conjunctivitis, rhinitis, otitis, pharyngitis, and dermatitis in exposed individuals. In addition to the various accounts of pesticide poisonings recorded for farmworkers, this group also represents one of the lowest resource workforces in terms of annual income and occupational benefits. With an average annual income of $11,000, farm work occupies the second lowest paid job in the country. Migrant and seasonal farmworkers are primarily Hispanic of Mexican origin and generally accept employment in remote rural regions, causing their access to health and social services—especially preventive health care—to be severely limited. Thus, in addition to living far below the national poverty line, farmworkers must also endure the combined effects of low income and low resource availability, which ultimately result in poor health. Wiki Page: Endocrine Disruptors Heading: Routes of Exposure Subheading (create new??): Farmworker Health (link to Environmental Justice Wiki) Ongoing research suggests that endocrine disrupting chemicals in the environment and perceived adverse reproductive effects may be associated, and that pesticides may be a major contributor to this observation. It is yet unclear the direct association between endocrine disrupting chemicals in pesticides and birth defect rate, an ambiguity that may be attributed to the potential for various chemicals to exhibit synergistic effects when present environmentally at low-levels. This observation, in combination with difficulties in performing scientific testing directly on humans, further complicates data collection for individual chemicals in pesticides as it pertains to human health13. Representing the frontlines of pesticide exposure is the agricultural workforce, which is primarily foreign born (72%) and Mexican (68%), with 26% of the occupation having resided in the US for less than four years, and 53% being undocumented in the US. One study in Red River Valley, MN, surveyed 695 families and 1,532 children in order to examine reproductive health outcomes in agricultural families that frequently engage in pesticide application. Results of the study showed that 3.8% of children from agricultural families using phosphine fumigants suffered from central nervous system or neurobehavioral sequelae, as compared to the 1.5% of those from families that did not use the fumigant. It is also noted in the study that conceptions coinciding with seasons of heavy agricultural activity—in which pesticides are regularly applied—resulted in a considerably heightened number of birth defects. The observed association between reproductive health defects and the extent of pesticide exposure in farmworkers represents an environmental justice concern because of the demographics of the workforce and the inaccessibility of healthcare for this group. Despite general knowledge of the dangers of farm work, most workers are unentitled to social services: less than one percent utilize general assistance welfare, two percent use social security, and less than one percent receive Medicaid9. Furthermore, according to a study conducted in New York’s Wayne County, more than 77% of recently immigrated farmworkers and 50% of long-term migrant farmworkers detailed economic cost as reasons to delay medical treatment.

Work Cited

1. Assembly Bill No. 1963, California Legislative Information website. 

2. Carol Colb, MPH, University of California, Berkeley; Carol Medlin, PhD, University of California, San Francisco, Institute for Global Health. "Pesticide Drift Exposure Response Act". Health Policy Monitor, October 2004. 

3. . Fenske, Richard A, et al. "Strategies For Assessing Children's Organophosphorus Pesticide Exposures In Agricultural Communities." Journal Of Exposure Analysis & Environmental Epidemiology 10.6 (2000): 662. Academic Search Complete. Web. 3 Mar. 2014.

4. Cynthia L. Curl, Richard A. Fenske, John C. Kissel, Jeffry H. Shirai, Thomas F. Moate, William Grifﬁth, Gloria Coronado, and Beti Thompson. Evaluations of Take-Home Organophosphorous Pesticide Exposure among Agricultural Workers and Their Children. Environmental Health Perspectives, Vol. 110, Dec. 2002, 

5. Fenske, Richard A, et al. "Strategies For Assessing Children's Organophosphorus Pesticide Exposures In Agricultural Communities." Journal Of Exposure Analysis & Environmental Epidemiology 10.6 (2000): 662. Academic Search Complete. Web. 3 Mar. 2014.

6. Fenske, Richard A, et al. "Strategies For Assessing Children's Organophosphorus Pesticide Exposures In Agricultural Communities." Journal Of Exposure Analysis & Environmental Epidemiology 10.6 (2000): 662. Academic Search Complete. Web. 3 Mar. 2014.

7. The CHAMACOS study, Center for Environmental Research and Children’s Health. http://cerch.org/research-programs/chamacos/

8. Health Outcomes Studies. Center for Environmental Research and Children’s Health. http://cerch.org/research-programs/chamacos/chamacos-cohort-study/

9. Frienkel, Susan. Warning Signs: How Pesticides Harm the Young Brain. The Nation 2014. http://www.thenation.com/article/178804/warning-signs

10. Hernandez-Valero M.A., Herrera A.P., Zahm S.H., Jones L.A. “Community-Based Participatory Research and Gene-Environment Interaction Methodologies Addressing Environmental Justice among Migrant and Seasonal Farmworker Woman and Children in Texas: “From Mother to Child Project”. Californian Journal of Health Promotion, Vol. 5, 2007. 

11. Principles of Agroecology and Sustainability. Agroecology. 

12. . Payan-Renteria R., Garibay-Chavez G., Rangel-Ascencio R., Preciado-Martinez V., Munox-Islas L., Beltran-Miranda C., Mena-Munguia S., Jave-Suarez L., Feria-Velasco A., De Celis R. “Effect of Chronic Pesticide Exposure in Farm Workers of a Mexico Community”. Archives of Environmental & Occupational Health, Vol. 67, 2012. 

13. The United States Farmworker Factsheet. Student Action with Farmworkers. < http://saf-unite.org/content/united-states-farmworker-factsheet>

14. Hernandez-Valero M.A., Herrera A.P., Zahm S.H., Jones L.A. “Community-Based Participatory Research and Gene-Environment Interaction Methodologies Addressing Environmental Justice among Migrant and Seasonal Farmworker Woman and Children in Texas: “From Mother to Child Project”. Californian Journal of Health Promotion, Vol. 5, 2007. 

15. Colborn T., vom Saal F.S., Soto A.M. “Developmental Effects of Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals in Wildlife and Humans”. Environmental Health Pesrpectives, Vol. 101, Oct. 1993. 

16. The United States Farmworker Factsheet. Student Action with Farmworkers. < http://saf-unite.org/content/united-states-farmworker-factsheet>

17. Garry V.F., Harkins M.E., Erickson L.L., Long-Simpson L.K., Holland S.E., Burroughs B.L. “Birth Defects, Season of Conception, and Sex of Children Born to Pesticide Applicators Living in the Red River Valley of Minnesota, USA”. Environmental Health Perspectives, Vol. 110, June 2002. 

18. . The United States Farmworker Factsheet. Student Action with Farmworkers. < http://saf-unite.org/content/united-states-farmworker-factsheet>

19. Chi P.S.K. Medical utilization patterns of migrant farm workers in Wayne County, New York. Public Health Reports. Vol. 100, No. 5. September-October 1985