User:KF21UW/Pesticide poisoning

Society and culture
Rachel Carson's 1962 environmental science book Silent Spring brought about the first major wave of public concern over the chronic effects of pesticides.

Those who reside close to agriculture land are negatively impacted by pesticide drifting. This occurs when the pesticide chemicals travel to near by areas leading to exposure to highly toxic airborne chemicals. Pesticide drift is not an isolated occurrence and it happens routinely to those working in the fields and farm-working neighborhoods that reside close to industrial farming, causing an unjust burden placed on communities.

Socioeconomics and Health Disparities in the United States

When examining the history of pesticide use in the United States, there are strong connections between socioeconomic status and health inequalities. The mid-1900s was the beginning of the mass acceptance of pesticides. During this period, the Bracero Program was established to supply low-paid labor from Mexican immigrants to fill agricultural positions that were left vacant through World War II (2). This program benefited mostly white landowners through the physically demanding labor done by people of color (3). Since the end of the Bracero Program in the 1960s, most labor and occupational safety laws have specifically excluded agricultural workers, and as a result, agricultural workers in the United States still have less protections than most other occupations (2). As of 2022, the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), and the Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA) exclude protections to the farmworker community (3).

The most common causes of pesticide poisoning are drifting pesticides and occupational exposures. Farmworkers and factory workers, along with their families, are more susceptible to the harmful effects of these chemicals, as these exposures are primarily directed towards them (6). In the United States, the agriculture sector accounts for approximately 90% of all pesticide usage (3). Meaning the individuals with the highest exposures occupationally are those producing, using, and spraying pesticides. The current federal labor regulations allow employers to hire children as young as 10 years of age for agricultural work in the US (1). Of farmworkers in the United States a third of their yearly earnings are below the poverty line (3). 83% of farmworkers identify as Hispanic or Latinx and earning an average of $20,000  (3). Despite most farm workers being people of color, 94% of farmland itself is owned or operated by white individuals (3). The lack of protection for workers’ safety and providing adequate pay was streamlined through the Bracero Program, and the effects are still seen today through the pay difference of people color working in agriculture.

Effects on Children

The National Library of Medicine did a study on the health status of migrant farm workers in Moultrie, Georgia, and found that Mexican American migrant children are 2 to 3 times more likely to have poor or fair health as opposed to nonimmigrant children (3). Of the variety of exposures found in these children, pesticides were the only chemical exposure. In addition to the study's findings, they explained how often families experience barriers to accessing health care (5). 53% of children in North Carolina migrant farm laborer households had unmet medical needs; this being 24 times higher than the percentage of children in the United States as a whole (7). The disproportionate effects of pesticides on low-income households and people of color are most prominently seen in children.

Children are proven to be more susceptible to developmental poisons from pesticides than adults. Additionally risking greater sensitivity to pesticides from compounding stressors or other environmental factors (3). Small pesticide exposures have been shown to have an impact on young children's neurological and behavioral development (4). Researchers have studied the effects of pesticides on children as opposed to adults, finding children’s immature organs and bodies are more susceptible to health effects (4). As a result, it is more difficult for children to break down and remove pesticide metabolites (4). Pesticide metabolites present in children can further negatively impact their health through their ability to hinder the bodies' ability to absorb vital nutrients from food (4).

1. Arcury, T. A., Chen, H., Arnold, T. J., Quandt, S. A., Anderson, K. A., Scott, R. P., Talton, J. W., & Daniel, S. S. (2021). Pesticide exposure among Latinx child farmworkers in North Carolina. American journal of industrial medicine, 64(7), 602–619.

https://doi.org/10.1002/ajim.23258

·       This is a research paper published by The National Library of Medicine, Pub Med. It discusses study of pesticide exposure on Latinx children.

2. Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia (2021, September 9). Bracero Program. Encyclopedia Britannica.

https://www.britannica.com/money/topic/Bracero-Program

·       This is an article published by Britannica, a general encyclopedia/electronic reference website. It covers the history and effects of the Bracero Program, also known as the Mexican Farm Labor Program.

3. Donley, N., Bullard, R. D., Economos, J., Figueroa, I., Lee, J., Liebman, A. K., Martinez, D. N., & Shafiei, F. (2022). Pesticides and environmental injustice in the USA: root causes, current regulatory reinforcement and a path forward. BMC public health, 22(1), 708. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-13057-4

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9017009/

·       This is a research paper published by The National Library of Medicine. It covers the relationship between pesticide usage, socioeconomics, and environmental health injustices.

4. Liu, J., & Schelar, E. (2012). Pesticide exposure and child neurodevelopment: summary and implications. Workplace health & safety, 60(5), 235–243.

https://doi.org/10.1177/216507991206000507

·       This is a research paper published by The National Library of Medicine, Pub Med. It discusses the effects of pesticide exposure on young children.

5. Nichols, M., Stein, A. D., & Wold, J. L. (2014). Health status of children of migrant farm workers: Farm Worker Family Health Program, Moultrie, Georgia. American journal of public health, 104(2), 365–370. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2013.301511

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3935716/

·       This is a research paper published by The National Library of Medicine It covers health status of migrant workers and their families in Georgia.

6. Quirós-Alcalá, L., Bradman, A., Nishioka, M. et al. Pesticides in house dust from urban and farmworker households in California: an observational measurement study. Environ Health 10, 19 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1186/1476-069X-10-19

https://ehjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1476-069X-10-19

·       This is a research paper published by BioMed Central, an open access publisher for scientific journals. It covers pesticides’ relationship with farmworkers and their families at home in California.

7. Weathers A, Minkovitz C, O'Campo P, Diener-West M. Access to care for children of migratory agricultural workers: factors associated with unmet need for medical care. Pediatrics. 2004 Apr;113(4):e276-82. doi: 10.1542/peds.113.4.e276. PMID: 15060253.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15060253/

·       This is a research paper published by The National Library of Medicine, Pub Med. It covers health disparities in access to medical care for migrant agricultural workers.