Work-related pesticide exposures, 2006-2011

The Georgia Department of Public Health
Work-related Pesticide Exposures, 2006-2011
Pesticides are among the few chemicals produced that are specifically designed to kill and cause harm. They are used throughout the world to produce food, fiber, and forest products by controlling pests and diseases, and to regulate plant growth. In the U.S., approximately one billion pounds of pesticide active ingredients are used annually. Although pesticides are generally used for beneficial reasons, improper use can cause much unintentional harm to people, including injury, illness, and death.1 Exposure to pesticides can lead to both short- and long-term health effects. Chronic exposures can increase the risk of developing chronic diseases such as prostate cancer, asthma, and Parkinson's Disease.2 Workers who handle pesticides, such as farmworkers, fumigators, and pesticide applicators are at greatest risk for exposure. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that 20,000-40,000 work-related pesticide poisonings occur each year.1 Pesticide exposures are of major concern in Georgia, particularly with agriculture being the main driver of the state's economy, contributing over $65 billion annually to the state's $786.5 billion economy.3 In 2012, there were 42,257 farms in Georgia with an average size of 228 acres.4
The number of acute work-related pesticide-associated illnesses and injuries reported to poison control centers is one of the occupational health indicators for fundamental occupational health surveillance recommended by the National Institutes for Occupational Health and Safety (NIOSH) and the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE). Data for work-related pesticide poisonings occurring in Georgia during 2006-2011 were obtained from the American Association of Poison Control Centers (AAPCC) and the Georgia Poison Center (GPC). Pesticides included disinfectants, fungicides, fumigants, herbicides, insecticides, repellents, and rodenticides. Cases of illness or injury were considered work-related if the exposure reason was listed as occupational or the exposure site was at the workplace. Persons less than 16 years of age were excluded as well as persons who were not Georgia residents or had no known effect from the exposure. Cases in which the exposure reason was intentional or malicious were also excluded. Poison control centers capture only a small proportion of occupational pesticide-related illness cases, an estimated 10%; therefore, data presented here are underestimates of the true number of exposures.
This data summary characterizes work-related pesticide-associated illnesses and injuries reported in Georgia during 2006-2011.
There were a total of 9,711 pesticide poisoning exposures (about 1,600 annually) among persons aged 16 years and older reported to the Georgia Poison Center (GPC) during 2006-2011
Half of work-related pesticide poisonings were among males ages 20-39 years (Figure 1)

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Sep 2015

Work-related Pesticide Exposures
About 783 work-related pesticide poisoning exposures were reported in Georgia during 2006-2011, an average of 130 pesticide poisonings per year
The majority (64%) of workrelated pesticide poisonings occurred among males
The most common routes of exposure for work-related pesticide poisoning were dermal (41%) and inhalation (34%) (Figure 2)
The most common exposure effect or symptom reported was eye irritation/pain (n = 99), followed by dermal irritation/pain (n = 78), and coughing/choking (n = 51) (Table 1)

Work-related Pesticide Exposures Work-related Pesticide Exposures
Disinfectant industrial cleaners, pyrethroids, and hypochlorite disinfectants were the three mostcommonly-reported pesticide substances in which ill workers were exposed (Table 2)
The number of pesticide poisoning exposures reported were highest in five Public Health Districts: 2-0 North, 3-1 Cobb-Douglas, 3-2 Fulton, 4-0 LaGrange, 8-1 South, and 8-2 Southwest (see Map)
Disinfectant industrial cleaners were the most common pesticide substances involved in work-related poisonings in north Georgia and metro Atlanta, while in south Georgia, the most common substances were pyrethroids

Work-related Pesticide Exposures
The annual incidence rate of work-related pesticide poisonings in Georgia declined from 3.2 per 100,000 employed persons in 2006 to 2.7 per 100,000 in 2011 (Figure 3)
Georgia's rate of reported work-related pesticide poisonings was slightly higher than the U.S. rate during 2006-2011
In 2010, Georgia had the 9th highest incidence rate of reported work-related pesticide poisonings in the nation
Georgia had the 18th highest incidence rate of reported work-related pesticide poisonings in the nation during 2011 (Table 3)

Work-related Pesticide Exposures

Table 3. Acute Work-Related Pesticide-Associated Illness and Injury Reported to Poison Control Centers, 2011

Rank
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

State
Wyoming New Mexico South Dakota North Dakota Iowa Oregon Utah Kentucky Idaho Nebraska Alaska Oklahoma Arkansas Montana Washington Maine Alabama Georgia North Carolina Hawaii West Virginia Missouri South Carolina Minnesota Louisiana

Employed Persons1
0.29 0.86 0.42 0.38 1.57 1.82 1.24 1.86 0.70 0.96 0.34 1.66 1.25 0.47 3.13 0.64 2.01 4.26 4.15 0.62 0.74 2.81 1.94 2.76 1.84

Cases2
16 45 18 16 66 73 46 67 25 34 12 56 40 14 91 18 55 116 112 16 19 71 49 68 45

Rates3
5.52 5.24 4.28 4.24 4.20 4.02 3.70 3.60 3.56 3.53 3.51 3.38 3.21 3.00 2.91 2.80 2.74 2.72 2.70 2.58 2.56 2.52 2.52 2.46 2.45

Source: American Association of Poison Control Centers 1Number of employed persons age 16 and older, in millions 2Annual number of incident cases 3Annual incidence rate per 100,000 employed persons age 16 years or older

Work-related Pesticide Exposures
For questions or concerns about pesticide poisonings or exposures contact the Georgia Poison Center at: http://www.georgiapoisoncenter.org/. More information about occupational pesticide injury and illness surveillance can be found at: http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/pesticides/. More information about Georgia Occupational Health Surveillance can be found at: http://dph.georgia.gov/georgia-occupational-health-and-safety-surveillance-program. References
1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (October 2005). Pesticide-Related Illness and Injury Surveillance: A How-to Guide for State-based Programs. Cincinnati: NIOSH, Publication Number: 2006102.
2. National Institute of Health (2014). Agricultural Health Study. Retrieved August 19, 2014 from http://aghealth.nih.gov/.
3. University of Georgia. UGA Extension: Agriculture. Retrieved August 19, 2014 from http://extension.uga.edu/agriculture/.
4. US Department of Agriculture (May 2, 2014). 2012 Census of Agriculture. Retrieved August 19, 2014 from http://www.agcensus.usda.gov/Publications/2012/.
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