Farm Workers Sacrifice their Health to Put Food on Our Tables

[Guest guest]

Hello list ,

I'm sending a press release in case you would like a little more information about the findings contained in our report.

Kimi

Pesticides Poison Colorado Farm Workers

GREELEY, CO – August 20, 2002 -- As we enjoy the bounty of harvest season, the farm workers who pick our crops would like us to be aware of the dangers workers face year after year. These dangers are illustrated in a report released by Colorado Legal Services, Migrant Farm Worker Division.

The report shows that Colorado farm workers frequently experience pesticide poisoning, and that many employers illegally place their workers’ health and lives in danger. For example, fifty-nine percent of the surveyed farm workers reported that they had never received training in pesticide safety, which is required under United States laws. After working in the fields, forty-nine percent of the farm workers reported experiencing skin irritation, headaches, or inflamed eyes.

“The workers are treated as disposable,” said Equal Justice Works Fellow Kimi , director of Colorado Legal Services’ Casillas Pesticide Action Project. “If they get injured or sick, employers think they can just get more. But the workers are human beings with families to feed.”

The report, “Hidden Costs: Farm Workers Sacrifice their Health to Put Food on Our Tables,” examines Colorado Legal Services’ Casillas Pesticide Action Project’s survey of migrant farm workers conducted in Colorado during the 2001 growing season. The detailed survey asked for information about the farm workers’ experience with pesticides, training and medical conditions.

Forty-seven percent of the surveyed farm workers reported irritation of the nose or throat after working. Twenty-six percent stated that they had experienced dizziness or weakness. Twenty-two percent reported difficulty breathing. Forty-eight percent of the farm workers reported that they had been sent to work in a treated field before it was safe to enter.

The surveyed workers stated that they took safety precautions when facilities were available. When hand-washing water was available, ninety-six percent of the surveyed workers said they used it. But forty-one percent reported that they did not have access to hand washing water while they were working and were unable to wash pesticide residue from their skin.

These figures would improve if employers complied with federal laws designed to protect farm workers from toxic pesticide exposure. Current compliance levels appear to be very low. In 2001, United States Environmental Protection Agency inspectors found that ninety-one percent of inspected Colorado growers were in violation of pesticide safety laws. Increased compliance would lead to fewer pesticide exposures and fewer poisonings of farm workers.

“Medical staff and Legal Services attorneys should work together to decrease farm workers’ exposure to toxic pesticides,” said.

Forty to fifty thousand farm workers labor in Colorado each year. Ninety-seven percent are Hispanic. They work in one of the most hazardous occupations in the United States and suffer from high rates of occupational injuries. The average farm worker earns between $5,000 and $7,500 per year.

Colorado Legal Services is a non-profit organization working to provide civil legal services to low-income people. The Casillas Pesticide Action Project (CPAP) is a project of Colorado Legal Services, Migrant Farm Worker Division. CPAP was founded in September 2000, funded by a fellowship from Equal Justice Works. CPAP’s name honors the memory of José Casillas, a seventeen-year-old farm worker who died after being sprayed with pesticides twice during a seven-day period. Lacking pesticide training, he thought he had been sprayed with water and he continued wearing his contaminated clothing and even slept in it.

Equal Justice Works, formerly the National Association for Public Interest Law (NAPIL), leads the country in creating summer and postgraduate public interest jobs. Through more than eight million dollars in annual donations, Equal Justice Works funds lawyers in programs that bring justice to millions of low-income persons and families.

Editor's note:

Permission is granted to reproduce portions of the report, provided that the title, author and Colorado Legal Services are acknowledged. The report may not be reproduced for profit. For a copy of the report, contact Kimi .

Contact: Kimi , Project Director

Casillas Pesticide Action Project

Colorado Legal Services, Migrant Farm Worker Division

800 8th Avenue, Suite 202

Greeley, CO 80631

Tele: (970) 353-7554

Fax: (970) 353-7557

kjackson@...

Please contact Kimi if you would like a copy of the report.

Monday's Denver Post (8/19) had a front page story about the report, as well as interviews with and photos of farm workers who were recently exposed to pesticide drift in western Colorado. You can read the story online at

http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36%257E53%257E805278%257E,00.html

Kimi Casillas Pesticide Action ProjectColorado Legal Services, Migrant Farm Worker Division800 8th Ave., Suite 202Greeley, CO 80631(970) 353-7554fax (970) 353-7557kjackson@...