Farm Workers Poisoned in Pesticide Drift Accident

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Twenty two farm workers including three pregnant women were rushed to hospitals last week after
being poisoned by a mixture of toxic pesticides while harvesting grapes near Bakersfield, California,
according to United Farm Workers (UFW). A crop dusting plane was applying pesticides to a nearby
cotton field when the accident occurred. It is estimated that as many as 225 additional farm workers
were also exposed to the chemicals, which drifted into the grape fields. Victims exhibited a range of
pesticide poisoning symptoms including vomiting and irritated eyes and noses.
According to county officials, the plane was spraying cotton for mites and aphids with a mixture of
Lorsban (chlorpyrifos), Danitol (fenpropathrin) and Curacron (profenofos). A slight breeze carried the
pesticides toward the grape field where the chemicals drizzled down on workers, many of whom tried
to escape by running away. Most of the affected workers were treated at local hospitals and released the
same day. One pregnant woman was held overnight for observation.
A county agricultural commissioner stated that the poisoning was "a somewhat unique occurrence," and
that "for a crop duster plane to affect a mass of people, that's not common at all." However, UFW
charged that pesticide drift is very common, and stated that "thousands of farm workers in vineyards
and fields are exposed to toxic poisons every day -- often without their knowledge."
The crop dusting company responsible for the accident maintains that the pilot was experienced and
followed regulated pesticide application methods when he sprayed the cotton field. According to the
county officials, the chemicals were registered for use on cotton and no prior notification of the
spraying was required.
Dr. Marion Moses of the California based Pesticide Education Center pointed out that even though crop
dusters may follow current laws there are still many dangers. "Pesticide molecules follow the law of
physics, not the rules of the state of California," she said. Several studies have indicated that 50 to 75%
of pesticides applied by aircraft miss their target, and some scientists believe that pesticides applied by
air drift at least five times further than they do in ground spraying. In 1994 there were 155 possible
cases of pesticide exposure from drift near farms, most from aerial spraying, according to the California
Department of Pesticide Regulations (DPR).
Danitol is classified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as a Category I acute toxin, the most
potent class of toxic chemicals. Lorsban and Curacron are both classified as Category II toxins.
Chlorpyrifos, the active ingredient in Lorsban, is one of the most widely used insecticides in the U.S.
and is also one of the leading causes of pesticide poisonings in the U.S., according to the Northwest
Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides (NCAP). Chlorpyrifos causes a range of neurological problems
and has been linked to human birth defects, fetal death in animals and damage to human and animal
reproductive systems. Of reported agricultural pesticide poisonings in California between 1984 and
1990, chlorpyrifos ranked fifth in systemic and respiratory illnesses and sixth in acute illnesses.
Approximately three million pounds were applied in California for agricultural purposes in 1994,
according to DPR.
Sources: Los Angeles Times, September 5 and September 7, 1996; "Preventing Pesticide-related Illness
in California Agriculture," Bill Pease et. al., 1993; "Environmental and Economic Costs of Pesticide
Use," David Pimentel et. al., 1992; Pesticide Use Report, Annual 1994, Indexed by Chemical, DPR,
1996; The Bakersfield Californian, September 5, 1996; "Statement from Arturo Rodriguez, President,

2. United Farm Workers, on Pesticide Poisoning of Grape Workers," UFW Press Release, September 4,
1996.
Pesticide Action Network North America
http://panna.org
National Farm Worker Ministry - Episcopal Farmworker Ministry
http://www.nfwm.org
Farm Workers Sacrifice their Health to Put Food on Our Tables
http://www.lawhelp.org/documents/44661Pesticide%20Report.pdf?stateabbrev=/CO/
Pest Management at the Crossroads
http://pmac.net
United Farm Workers,
519 Main Street,
Watsonville, CA 95076
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