Study on California pesticide trainings

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thought this would be of interest. Further information can be obtained from Sarrouf at ECOSLO in San Obispo, California: sandra@....

Copies of the report are not yet available.

Diringer, JD, MPH Diringer and Associates 2475 Ave., Ste. B San Obispo, CA 93401 805-546-0950 fax: 805-546-0966 joel@...

www.diringerassociates.com

Posted on Tue, Nov. 19, 2002

Pesticide training confuses farmworkersMany laborers in SLO County do not understand or remember what they are told, study finds SneedThe Tribune

ARROYO GRANDE - Most farmworkers in San Obispo County receive training in pesticide safety, but many don't understand it.

That's the finding of a study released Monday. Four years in the making, the report included interviews with 138 county farmworkers.

Eighty percent of those farmworkers had received safety training, but many of the laborers did not comprehend the training or had forgotten it, the study found. Growers are required by law to train all workers about pesticides every five years and annually train those who handle pesticides.

"There's a high level of compliance, but unfortunately the farmworkers' understanding is incomplete," said Ouwerkerk, who heads the county's pesticide enforcement department.

For example, the workers were asked if they had ever experienced symptoms commonly associated with pesticide exposure. Sixty percent of those who reported symptoms failed to notify their supervisor or seek medical attention after the exposure occurred.

The study is the first phase of a cooperative effort between farmers, regulators and environmentalists to reduce farmworker illness from exposure to pesticides. The effort is called the San Obispo County Farm Safety Initiative.

A summary of the study was presented to the county Health Commission on Monday. Now that the initial study is complete, focus groups will formed to find ways to improve the training.

"We're going to look into this deeper to get to the root of the problem and come up with ways to improve the situation," said Tom Ikeda, an Arroyo Grande grower who is vice president of the county Farm Bureau.

"There may be some bad apples out there who are not doing a good job of training, or it may be a case where more frequent training is needed."

Most farmworkers are Latino. Cultural and language barriers also exist.

The study showed the importance of farmworker supervisors being well trained in pesticide safety. Seventy percent of the workers said they rely on their supervisor for safety information.

Sarrouf, a pesticide activist with the Environmental Center of San Obispo, said the study showed that many workers do not understand the importance of pesticide training or the reasons behind the safety precautions they are told to take.

"That leaves gaps in implementation," she said.

The workers reported that their top occupational health concerns are muscle sprains and strains, accidents in the field and exposure to chemicals including pesticides.

The Farmworker Safety Initiative was started in 1998 when separate surveys of farmworker training done by ECOSLO and the state Department of Pesticide Regulation came up with conflicting results. The state study found that grower compliance of training regulations was good, while the ECOSLO study found the opposite.

This most recent study was funded by grants from the county, the federal Environmental Protection Agency, state DPR and the California Endowment.

Sneed covers environmental issues for The Tribune. E-mail comments and story ideas to him at dsneed@....

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