Agriculture, occupational risks

Engel LS, O Meara ES, Schwartz SM. Maternal occupation in agriculture and risk of limb defects in Washington state, 1980-1993. Scand J Environ Health 2000 26(3) 193-8. 

The paternal occupational risk factors leading to Ixain tumors in their children which were identified in the case control studies included occupations classified as hydrocarbon related, occupations linked with aromatic amino and nitro compounds (exposure in the postnatal periods), paternal employment in agriculture, construction, metal industry, food and tobacco industries, electrical assembling, and installation and repair work in the machinery industry [4,10]. 

Schenker, M., Ferguso, T, and Gatresky, T. (1991). Respiratory risks associated with agriculture. Occup. Med. 6,415-428. 

Working in agriculture, forestry or fishing for a year Driving 20 miles (round trip) to work for a year Working in a wholesale or retail trade for a year Annual non-occupational risk of fire Anniial risk of floods, storms and lightning... 

The organism can be found in soil and water, thought to be the primary route of exposure for humans. As with glanders, horses are a major natural reservoir for the disease. It may also be found in goats, monkeys and rodents. Occupational risk exists for rice farmers, agricultural workers and laboratory staff. 

These chemicals can be subject to much more testing under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) if they are known to be present in the workplace and a risk has been identified. In Europe, new chemicals are subject to more testing but still far less than that required for new drug or agricultural applications (National Research Council, 1996). 

The AHS, a collaborative research effort between the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health and EPA, is a prospective occupational study of 89,658 pesticide appliers and their spouses in Iowa and North Carolina assembled between 1993 and 1997 to evaluate risk factors for disease in rural farm populations (Blair et al. 2005). It is being conducted in three phases—phase I (1993-1997), phase II (1999-2003), and phase III (2005)—and includes only limited biomonitoring. Data are gathered with questionnaires to determine pesticide use and exposures, work practices, and other relevant exposures from buccal cell collection with dietary surveys and with interviews to determine updated pesticide exposures (Agricultural Health Study 2005). 

The application of pesticides is widespread in agriculture and elsewhere, and the concomitant risks depend on their toxicity, and duration and frequency, as well as the level of exposure (Henderson et al., 1993 Krieger and Ross, 1993). Exposure may be incidental or almost continuous. This is true not only for workers (occupational exposure), but also for the general public and people who may be considered as bystanders, who are not involved in the actual occupational activities with pesticides, but are close enough to get exposed. In this present chapter, only operator exposure will be discussed because agricultural re-entry modelling is discussed in Chapter 2 and residential post-application exposure modelling in Chapter 6 of this book. 

Otto DA, Soliman S, Svendsgaard D, et al Neurobehavioral assessment of workers exposed to organophosphorus pesticides, in Advances in Neurobehavioral Toxicol-ogy Applications in Environmental and Occupational Health. Edited by Johnson BL. Chelsea, MI, Lewis Publishers, 1990, pp 305-322 Parron T, Hernandez AF, Pla A, et al Clinical and biochemical changes in greenhouse sprayers chronically exposed to pesticides. Hum Exp Toxicol 15 957-963,1996a Parron T, Hernandez AF, Villanueva E Increased risk of suicide with exposure to pesticides in an intensive agricultural area a 12-year retrospective study. Forensic Sci Int 79 53-63,1996b... 

Compiled by the Kemikalieinspektionen Library, Sweden. Includes criteria documents, reports, risk assessment reports in toxicology published by such agencies as the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, US Environmental Protection Agency, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and International Agency for Cancer Research. Publications 1972 to date. 

A recent study by the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health found that woman agricultural workers exposed to certain pesticides during the first three months of pregnancy had double the risk of giving birth to deformed children. Some of the chemicals used in the study—dichlorvos, aldicarb, mancozeb, captan and naled— are used in the flower industry and other agricultural activities in Columbia. More than 60% of flower workers in Colombia are women. 

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