Occupational Safety and Health

According to U.S. Department of Agriculture's own data, agriculture is one of the most accident-prone industries in the United States. Although the occupational fatality rate for all private sector industries is 4.3 per 100,000 full-time employees, the rate for the broad category of agriculture, forestry, and fishing was 23.9. Other data sources indicate even higher accident and fatality rates in agriculture.

Farm labor is seasonal and intensive. Planting, thinning, and harvesting are not year-round activities. However, they are crucial to crop production, and the timeframe in which they must occur is determined by the seasons and the weather. Failure to perform any of these activities at the appropriate time can result in a lost crop. The urgency to accomplish tasks according to nature's timetable compels farmworkers to work in the fields in all seasons and in all weather conditions, including extreme heat, cold, rain, bright sun, and damp.

Farmworkers' work hours accommodate the crops, not vice versa. Their work often requires stoop labor, working with the soil, climbing, carrying heavy loads, and direct contact with plants. The plants and the soil are frequently treated with pesticides and chemical fertilizers. Some plants, such as tobacco and strawberries, exude chemicals that are toxic to humans or that can cause severe allergic reactions such as contact dermatitis.

There are anecdotal reports of farmworkers resorting to irrigation ditches and runoff ponds when safe water is not available for drinking and washing. Such water is contaminated by pesticides, chemical fertilizers, and organic wastes. Drinking and bathing in such water exposes farmworkers to potentially harmful chemicals, and also to water borne parasites.

OSHA regulations require that agricultural employers of eleven or more workers provide drinking water, hand washing facilities, and toilets for their employees. Farms with ten or fewer employees are exempt from these requirements. The intention of this exemption was to avoid placing an undue financial burden on small farms. However, as a result, these very basic amenities are not required by law for many farmworkers, regardless of the conditions or hours required of them by their work in the fields.

Compliance with the regulations that are in effect is poor. In 1990 OSHA found field sanitation violations in 69 percent of its field inspections. The fact that OSHA can afford to inspect only a small portion of the establishments that are subject to the law raises questions as to the actual magnitude of non-compliance with the regulations. A recent North Carolina survey found that only 4 percent of farmworkers surveyed had access to drinking water, hand washing facilities, and toilets.

The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that 300,000 farmworkers suffer acute pesticide poisoning each year. Anecdotal reports from clinicians indicate that many cases of pesticide poisoning are unreported because patients do not seek treatment, or are mis-diagnosed because the symptoms of pesticide poisoning can resemble those of viral infection.

A 1988 study of 460 hired farmworkers in Washington state found that 89 percent did not know the name of a single pesticide to which they had been exposed, and 76 percent had never received any information on appropriate protection measures.

In regard to pesticides, both OSHA and the EPA have laws on the books which apply to migrant and seasonal farmworkers. Because of possible jurisdictional difficulties, and because of the overlap in the regulations, OSHA deferred its standard to the EPA Worker Protection Standard. Although in 1983 the EPA determined that the Worker Protection Standard provided insufficient protection to farmworkers and needed revision, the revised standard scheduled to go into effect in 1994 was deferred until 1995.

Pesticides must be registered for specific uses by the EPA. The agency considers the economic, social, and environmental risks and benefits of the pesticide before issuing the registration. Unfortunately, the vast majority of the data the EPA uses to make its determinations is provided by the pesticide manufacturers themselves. Data on older pesticides is considered incomplete by modern scientific standards, and the health effects of these substances are not fully understood.

 Farmworker Health

Although many of the health problems found in the general population, particularly among minorities and the poor, also affect migrant farmworkers, the hardships of life as a farmworker result in unique challenges to the health of these workers and their families. In many cases the frequency or intensity of a health problem is greater within the migrant population than in the population at large.

Some health concerns are clearly attributable to the occupational hazards of farm work. Dermatitis and respiratory problems caused by natural fungi, dusts, and pesticides are common. Lack of safe drinking water contributes to dehydration and heat stroke. The absence of toilet facilities leads to urinary retention, which is in turn linked to urinary tract infection. Farmworkers suffer such infections more often than the general population.

Conditions such as tuberculosis, diabetes, cancer, and HIV, which require careful monitoring and frequent treatment, pose a special problem for farmworkers who must move frequently. As a predominantly Hispanic population, farmworkers are particularly vulnerable to diabetes.

The incidence of hypertension is significantly associated with occupational class and transition. Epidemiological studies support the view that psychosocial stress contributes to differences in blood pressure. Employment security and other work conditions play a pivotal role. The absence of decision-making latitude on the job, as experienced by farmworkers, has been shown to be directly associated with the risk of cardiovascular disease and elevated blood pressure.

Depression is common among farmworker adults, where it is often related to isolation, economic hardship, and weather conditions. In addition, poverty, stress, mobility, and lack of recreational opportunities make farmworkers especially vulnerable to substance abuse.

Migrant workers don't generally earn enough to pay for health care, and they almost never have health insurance. They may also lack transportation to the clinic or, since they don't receive sick leave, be afraid of losing wages or even losing their jobs if they take time off to seek health care. The U.S. Public Health Service funds some migrant health centers to help provide care to farmworkers, but not nearly enough to meet the need.

Follow-up care and continuity of care for chronic conditions are serious problems. Mobile units are an effective means of reaching isolated clients, but too few health centers have the resources to establish mobile programs. Health care planners and providers, as well as migrant farmworkers themselves, have to be very creative to ensure good health options.

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