The more than 50 projects undertaken by the PNASH Center span a variety of subjects and research disciplines. As a NIOSH Agricultural Center, the majority of our projects focus on farming, but in recognition of the importance of the fishing and forestry industries to the Northwest, we have some projects addressing their needs.
In the development of projects, we select topics that
- Address hazards that are the most serious, impact the greatest number of workers, and where that research will make a difference.
- Meet the needs of Northwest employers, workers, and service providers.
We have established a process that engages various constituencies familiar with agricultural health and safety throughout our region to help us establish PNASH Research Priorities.
Key: 
active projects 
forestry
projects 
fishing projects
Chemical Exposure
Risk Factors for Cholinesterase Depression Among Pesticide Handlers
This project seeks to identify the key risk factors responsible for ChE depressions, including individual genetic susceptibility. Worker exposure information is collected at health clinic visits and compared to their ChE results.
Interventions to Minimize Worker and Family Pesticide Exposures
This field-based study tests and disseminates best workplace practices brainstormed by a team of industry experts that includes managers, workers, and pesticide safety educators.
Enhancements to Cholinesterase Monitoring: Oxime Reactivation and OP-ChE Adducts
Scientists at PNASH and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) are working to improve the current ChE laboratory test – increasing accuracy to ensure a ChE depression is due to pesticide exposure and identify the specific pesticide involved.
| Introducing a Cholinesterase Test Kit into Clinical Practice We have shown the Test-mate™ kit to be an effective, cost-efficient test that can provide rapid results for workers - important if they are shown to have a ChE depression. Now, we are bringing this technology to clinical providers, allowing them to conduct ‘on-the-spot’ evaluations of workers. |
 |
Pesticide Exposure Pathways in Agricultural Communities
Children of agricultural producers and workers can be exposed to pesticides and
other agricultural chemicals if workplace chemicals are inadvertently brought
into their homes. The purpose of this research is to prevent or reduce take
home pesticide exposure among agricultural workers and their families in Northwest
farming communities. This project will result in new methods for the characterization
of the take home exposure pathway, and for interventions to reduce children’s
exposures to pesticides.
Interventions will be tailored to the work site and target limitations in the
prevention of take home exposure as identified in the study. The specific aims
of this project are to:
•
Determine the extent to which the take home exposure pathway contributes to residential pesticide residue levels using environmental monitoring of dust in the homes
and vehicles of orchard workers and a reference group.
•
Identify the primary workplace determinants of the take home exposure pathway
based on worksite evaluations and worker and manager questionnaires.
•
Conduct an intervention at worksites where take home exposure is a significant
contributor to residential residues.
•
Evaluate the intervention by repeating environmental monitoring and reviewing
worksite facilities and procedures.
Salivary Biomonitoring for Organophosphorus Pesticide Exposure in Children
This project was designed to investigate the feasibility of measuring pesticide exposure using saliva in children. Conventional biomonitoring methods, such as blood and urine collections, have several, inherent practical limitations, which prohibit its application to large-scale studies or to studies involving sub-populations, such as children. Saliva biomonitoring could provide a useful tool for researchers in determining not only the exposure to certain chemicals, such as pesticides, but the absorbed dose as well. A cohort of children who live in an agricultural community has been identified and recruited for this feasibility study. Saliva samples have been collected before and after the application of pesticides to fields close to their homes, and will be analyzed for pesticide residues.
Children's Exposure to Lead and Arsenic
in Orchard Soils
Lead arsenate was used in large quantities in orchards in Washington State for about four decades. Although lead arsenate is no longer used in the fruit industry, residual contamination is evident in orchard soils. Several potential routes of exposure to children exist. Adult workers in the orchards may inadvertently transport soil and dust to their homes or children residing in close proximity may play in the orchards. Orchard land may also be subdivided and converted to residential property. This project measured lead and arsenic levels in orchard and residential soil, house dust, and urinary biological specimens in children of farm workers employed in orchards formerly treated with lead arsenate.
Children's Pesticide Exposure
This investigation focused on the measurement of pesticide exposures in children of agricultural producers and farm workers and an analysis of risks associated with such exposures. It also explored new exposure assessment methods for evaluating exposure and risk in these populations. The project demonstrated that soil and house dust concentrations in and around the homes of agricultural families are significantly higher than those found for reference families in the same community, and that such patterns continue over several years. It has also been demonstrated that children of pesticide applicators had four times higher organophosphorus pesticide metabolite levels in urine as did reference children during the spraying season.
Pilot: Farm Exposures to Deposited Arsenic and Lead on Vashon Island
Vashon Island, Washington, is situated north of the former ASARCO smelter in
Ruston/Tacoma. Prevailing winds carried arsenic and lead from the smelter to
the Island. Surface soils are contaminated at levels well above background
for both elements. Persons living on the island are subject to potentially
elevated exposures to arsenic and lead. Persons at highest risk of exposure
are likely to be those who have relatively intimate contact with soil. Those
who eat locally grown crops are also at risk. Island farmers and their children
are obvious targets for exposure assessment. A stakeholder group, the Vashon
Island Growers’ Association, requested testing of farms and farmers for
evidence of smelter residue contamination. This project represented an effort
to collaborate with the community to investigate an at risk population and
to answer some of their questions.
Pilot: Human Exposure to OP Pesticides: The Role of Oxidative Stress
Compelling evidence from whole-animal and tissue culture studies indicate that
pesticides, especially organophosphate pesticides (OP), induce oxidative stress.
While the cholinergic properties of OPs are well-established, our understanding
of their oxidative stress properties (especially on humans) is limited. Given
the importance of oxidative stress in disease and the widespread use of pesticides,
this project studied the relationship between OP pesticides and stress in humans
by analyzing oxidative stress biomarkers in urine and lymphocytes of pesticide
mixer/applicators. Work histories and information on current work practices
was obtained. Dialkylphosphate metabolites, and work histories were used to
estimate the internal dose and the levels of exposure. The project focused
on the problem of chemical exposure in the agricultural work environment and
how biomarkers can be used to assess the possible health hazards associated
with chronic exposure to agrochemicals.
Hearing and Noise Exposure
Hearing Conservation in Agricultural Industries
This project evaluated noise exposures and hearing conservation practices in
selected agricultural industries identified as having high numbers and/or
incidence rates of workers' compensation claims for hearing loss. The proposed
project augmented an ongoing, NIOSH-funded study (Daniell, PI; 1-R01-OH03894-01; "Epidemic
occupational hearing loss in Washington State"). The PNASH support expanded
the study to include agricultural industries with worksites beyond the planned
study area. Project aims included determining if there is substantial work-related
risk of hearing loss among workers in industries with a high number and rates
of claims for occupational hearing loss and assessing relative effectiveness
of approaches using claims data to "target" industries with remediable
risk factors for hearing loss. Investigators selected target industries to
represent a wide range of above average "prevention index" values
(including fruit and vegetable processing sites); conducted worksite evaluations,
personal noise dosimetry measures and questionnaires; and assessed worksite
compliance with applicable regulations and effectiveness of the hearing conservation
program.
Publication(s): Downloadable and printed booklet on fruit and vegetable processors
for hearing program coordinators and supervisors available Fall 2004.
Vibration and Noise Exposure in Forestry Workers
Workers in the forest industry are exposed to a number of sources of hand-arm and whole-body vibration, including a variety of hand tools and heavy equipment. Vibration exposure in forestry workers has been associated with negative health effects such as hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVS) in several countries. The development of HAVS, or any of the ailments it encompasses can force workers out of their employment by preventing them from performing their normal job tasks. This study collected task-based vibration measurements on forestry workers using a variety of vibration-producing equipment. The vibration assessments performed include hand-arm (segmental) vibration and whole-body vibration. Noise exposures measurements were taken simultaneously in order to estimate the degree to which vibration exposure levels may be predicted by noise exposure levels. This study generated data which will also provide a basis for possible exposure control methodologies.
Publication(s): Yost M, Neitzel R. Task-Based Assessment of Occupational Vibration
and Noise Exposures in Forestry Workers. Am J Hyg Assoc (Sept/Oct 2002).
http://staff.washington.edu/rneitzel/forestry.htm
Musculoskeletal and Traumatic Injury
Identification and Prevention of Injuries in Northwest Orchards
In attempting to reduce occupational injuries among tree fruit industry workers, PNASH began by identifying the most common injuries and their causes in Washington state through review of Washington State Labor and Industries’ data and key informant interviews. Orchard ladders emerged as a leading hazard and became the focus of the project’s engineering intervention: a new ladder with built in sensors that can both warn workers and monitor the risk conditions. Investigators will evaluate the effectiveness and economic feasibility of this new “smart” ladder.
Feasibility: Wildland Firefighter Injuries in Idaho and Montana
In an effort to reduce wildland firefighter injury and illness, PNASH is working with the USDA Forest Service and Blackbull Wildfire Services to characterize injuries to wildland firefighters. The study has collected injury data from major Northwestern fires in the 2000 season and is currently analyzing the association between the type, severity and rate of injuries, the class of firefighter involved, and the time spent fighting the fire.
Identification of Injury Problem Areas
The specific aims of this project were to estimate the one-year, cumulative incidence of work-related injury, and determine the type of medical treatment sought for agricultural-related injuries and the reporting of work-related injuries to the Washington state workers’ compensation system by Hispanic agricultural workers 18 years and older. A random digit dial survey was conducted of 1600 households in Sunnyside, Washington. More in-depth interviews were conducted with participants who experienced an injury and consented to be contacted further regarding details of the incident. The results helped to shape later Center projects targeting the prevention and intervention of agricultural injuries in the region.
Neurological Effects
Neurobehavioral Assessment of Pesticide Exposure in Children
Oregon Health and Sciences University will lead a project examining the potential impacts of low-level pesticide exposure on children’s neurological development.
Mortality Patterns among a Cohort of Washington State Orchardists and Neurobehavioral Performance among a Sample of Surviving Members
Neurological Effects of Organophosphorus Insecticides in Farmworkers
The overall goal of this study was to determine whether farm workers who thin fruit trees exhibit neurological changes following one season of exposure to low levels of organophosphorus insecticides compared to workers who were not exposed. Data were collected on 137 exposed and non-exposed farm workers in the first round of testing and 97 in follow-up testing. A wide ranging number of tests, including peripheral and central nervous system function, were applied to both groups. Cholinesterase was measured both after the exposure season and after the period of non-exposure. Cross-sectional analysis of peripheral neurological outcomes after exposure revealed that there were no significant differences between exposed and non-exposed farm workers.
Respiratory
Pilot: Characterization of Bioaerosols in Washington Dairy Barn
Dairy workers in concentrated animal feeding operations may be a risk for respiratory illness from bioaerosols. This exploratory project in partnership with Washington State University will quantify both organism and endotoxin levels and correlate them with environmental factors.
Feasibility: Assessment of Farmers’ Exposure to Smoke from Agricultural Burning
The aim of this project is to investigate farm workers’ exposure to agricultural burning smoke and the resulting airborne pollutants and to assess the potential health hazards. A prolonged burning ban delayed this project but has recently been lifted. Washington State University is our principal partner on the project.
Respiratory Health in the Seafood Processing Industry
Aerosolized crab antigens are suspected etiologic agents for asthma among crab processing workers. The goal of this study was to characterize crab antigen levels in processing facilities in relative to the prevalence of respiratory symptoms. Industry and labor representatives in the Northwest have identified respiratory illness, specifically asthma, among those who process crab. In addition, industry representatives have noted difficulty in determining which processing areas may be associated with the greatest risk. UniSea, a Dutch Harbor, Alaska crab processing company, was identified as a research study site to assess the respiratory health of crab processing workers. Specifically, the project goals were to characterize the cross-seasonal changes in respiratory function, as well as determine the incidence of respiratory symptoms, particularly those meeting a rigorous case definition of asthma. The study included pre- and post-season questionnaire administration, pulmonary function testing including methacholine challenge, blood collection to assess immune system responsiveness to crab proteins, and crab antigen exposure assessment.
Hazard Evaluations
Assessment of Job-related Exposures for Diarrheal Illness in Farmworker Families
This two-year exploratory project investigates a probable cause of Yakima County’s high rates of diarrheal illness – bacterial pathogens from livestock, taken home or in well water.
Pilot: Agricultural Work and Injuries in Teenagers
Direct assessment of the proportion of teenagers working in agriculture and the percent injured, is sparsely reported in the literature and has not been performed in the Northwest United States. This project estimated the proportion of teenage children who work for pay in agriculturally related jobs in a rural town in Washington's Yakima Valley. Secondary goals were to estimate the injury rate among the teenage workers in the sample, to identify the patterns of work in relationship to school, and to characterize the treatment and outcome of these work related injuries. A random digit dialing survey targeted to a rural town composed of non-migratory agriculture workers of Mexican descent was employed to obtain these estimates.
A Hazard Evaluation in the Apple Warehouse Industry
During the past decade, the apple warehouse industry in Washington state has grown considerably, both in production and technology. Upto 15,000 employees work in warehouses with a large percentage of women. Approximately two-thirds of these workers are of Mexican descent. Both management and labor have identified health and safety concerns in the industry, such as musculoskeletal diseases, carbon monoxide poisoning, and slips and falls. Reported occupational health and safety research and evaluations have, for the most part, taken place in the more traditional and hazardous food processing plants, such as meat packing facilities and canneries. No studies evaluating the hazards associated with manually packing fresh fruit for market and cold room storage have been identified. Our project was designed to characterize and better understand the health, ergonomic, and safety hazards in the Washington apple warehouse industry, and to identify any controls currently in use that are designed to reduce worker injury and illness.
Hazard Priority Ranking in Farming, Fishing, and Forestry
The extent and severity of agricultural health and safety hazards are largely unknown in the Pacific Northwest region. This project was designed to engage various constituencies familiar with agricultural health and safety throughout Region X. This process aimed to look broadly and long-term at the issues of farming, fishing, and forestry occupational safety and health in our regions, including technical, social, and economic dimensions involve a diverse group of stakeholders in identifying issues that can be addressed by occupational safety and health research; establish a priority list, or agenda, of occupational safety and health research topics relevant to Northwest farming, fishing, and forestry; and provide a continuing forum for discussion of key health and safety issues for the region.
Publications: Occupational
Research Agenda for Northwest Forestlands, Occupational Research Agenda for Northwest Farming
Occupational Skin Disorders in Region X Farming, Fishing, and Forestry
The objectives of this project were to:
- quantify the impact of dermatitis on the farming and forestry work force;
- characterize the most important causes; and
- develop interventions to control the major causes of farming and forestry workplace dermatitis in Region X.
This project also explored pre-collected data systems for use in characterizing dermatitis in commercial fishing.
Vegetation was the leading cause of agricultural dermatitis but "unknown" was the second leading cause followed by "unspecified chemicals," "insecticides," and "soaps and detergents." Farm workers were the category of workers who were represented most frequently among agricultural dermatitis claims, representing 58.7% of all agricultural dermatoses claims. The majority of funds supporting this project derived from the Washington Medical Aid and Accident Fund through the Center.
Prevention of Agricultural Injuries Resulting from Ladder Falls
Researchers evaluated a Washington State Department of Labor and Industries’ accident prevention program implemented by their Yakima regional office in Kittitas, Grant, and Adams counties. The three-year injury prevention program aimed to reduce the frequency and cost of claims that are related to falls from ladders in the orchard and to eye injuries. Researchers conducted semi-structured interviews with farm workers who were injured on the job following a fall from a ladder and who filed a claim prior to the L&I implementation of the prevention program. Information was collected on the circumstances of the injury, prior training, knowledge of and barriers to the use of preventive practices, and the injured worker’s perception of what could have been done to prevent the accident and related injury. Investigators then conducted field assessments of the level of program implementation and analyzed pre- and post-program claims data among intervention and non-intervention growers to determine the degree of program effectiveness.
Purse Seiner Survey
The objectives of this cross-sectional questionnaire study were to:
- estimate the frequency of injuries among Washington state purse seiners
- identify major injury patterns among seiners
- characterize the most hazardous tasks and potential methods for intervention among the purse seiner fleet
Self-reporting and self-mailing questionnaires were distributed to the purse seiner fleet during the fishing season in southeast Alaska. The vast majority of these boats are owned and operated by Washington state residents.
Social and Economic Foundations
Agricultural Safety and Health Decision-Making in Farming Families
This project explored the way specific demographics, context, process, and outcome factors influence farm health and safety decisions made by women who are farmers, farm wives, or partners. The intervention program designed for women and their farm partners was based on the results of this project’s initial research. It included safety farm assessment training for farm women and an evaluation component to measure the impact of the training and its effectiveness.
Pilot: Farm Families and the Employment, Training, and Supervision of Children
This project furthered agricultural health and safety research on children by looking at parents’ attitudes towards farm safety and children’s labor. It considered how these attitudes and characteristics of farm operation affect the use of children’s labor as well as the quality of safety-related training and supervision received by children. Data were collected through interviews with twenty-five farm families in two counties in eastern Washington. Open-ended questions were used to assess the types of farm work done by children, the conditions under which children perform various tasks, and the extent and nature of parental training and supervision of children.
The Implications of the Jones Act on Health and Safety in the Commercial Fishing Industry
The Jones Act, enacted by Congress in 1920, gives seamen who become injured or sick while employed on the vessel, the right to sue their employer for negligence. Our Fishing Technical Advisory Committee emphasized that the Act creates a highly litigious context where vessel owners, fishing corporations, and captains are often unfairly subjected to lawsuits. Because research results could be subpoenaed, there is a high degree of reluctance to allow access to data and participate in studies. Center investigators collaborated with the Policy Analysis and Program Evaluation Initiative team to summarize the history of the Jones Act and how it influences workplace health and safety in the commercial fishing industry.
Publications: Gaspich T. An Introduction to Injury Compensation Systems in the Commercial Fishing Industry (June 1999)
Pilot:Older Farmers: Factors Influencing Their Retirement Decisions Agriculture has been recognized as one of the most hazardous occupations in the United States. In an industry where a quarter of all farm operators are 65 years of age or older, age becomes a serious factor when considering potential risk for injuries. This project explored reasons influencing the retirement decisions of farmers within five counties in Eastern Washington. The research project investigated reasons why leaving farm, not participating in farm work, and transitioning farm ownership to others is so difficult for elder farmers. Areas of inquiry included economic circumstances, issues related to loss of power in transferring the farm, and the loss of place identity. Additionally, potential risk factors which contribute to increased injuries among this population (i.e. self-reported health status and prevalence of health conditions and current use of prescription medications) were explored.
Pilot: Perception of Risk among Female Workers in the Fruit Packing Industry: A Biocultural Approach
Occupational health provides an exciting context in which to examine biocultural
interactions in modern society. The objective of this research project was
to investigate workers’ perceptions of health and safety hazards, as
well as socioeconomic and demographic constraints in work opportunities.
Qualitative and quantitative research methods were used to understand the
costs, constraints, and benefits of fruit packing work for Hispanic women
and their families living in eastern Washington. Data collection consisted
of key informant interviews with community leaders and detailed interviews
with women currently working in the apple packing warehouses. Information
from the interviews was used to test whether reproductive status, household
resources, personal and general working conditions, and socioeconomic and
cultural context predict differences in perceptions of health and safety
risks and greater tolerance for workplace hazards.
Publication(s):
Snyder K. Risk Perception and Resource
Security for Female Agricultural Workers.
Socioeconomic Aspects of Human Behavioral Ecology Research in Economic Anthropology,
2004; (23) 271-292.
Research and Health Care Tools
Pilot: Finding Common Ground: Developing, Testing, and Evaluating a Narrative Based Model for Presenting Safety Information in Two Socially Diverse Farm Communities
This project is conducted through the EWU Center for Farm Safety and Health, which has compared formal and informal (through story telling) communication models used to promote safety. The two models have been tested with intergenerational family farmers and non-intergenerational farmers. The project will identify the variables and allow us to test, in a subsequent study, the efficacy of incorporating informal discourse into formalized, farm safety intervention strategies.
Optical Assessment of Dermal Exposure and Absorption
Pilot: Developing, Testing an Objective Tool for Measuring Postural and Vibrational Exposures During Forestry and Agricultural Work
In response to the recommendations of the Kennedy Report, NIOSH and
the Centers began to work together to develop an evaluation scheme for the various
programs and projects within each Center, as well as for evaluating the Centers
overall. The evaluation plans for the Center was consistent with the scheme
developed by the other NIOSH-funded centers under the leadership of the High
Plains Intermountain Center. Several Center projects had formal evaluation components
included in the design. An expert in program evaluation, Barbara Brooner, assisted
the Center in incorporating evaluation components into research and outreach
projects.
Development of a PNASH Evaluation Component in Conjunction with NIOSH Ag Centers
The evaluation plans for the Pacific Northwest Center are consistent with the evaluation scheme developed by the other NIOSH-funded centers under the leadership of the High Plains Intermountain Center. An expert in program evaluation, Barbara Brooner, who was hired by the UW Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences as part of a new Policy Analysis and Program Evaluation Initiative, assisted the Center in incorporating evaluation components into research and outreach projects.
Feasibility: Diagnosis of Mental Illness among Farm Workers with a Range of Literacy
With this project, PNASH developed an audiotape survey to assist in the diagnoses of farm worker patients with depression or other mental illnesses. This tool was developed for farm workers who speak Spanish and have limited literacy skills. Our study found that the self-administered, tape recorded survey was reliable for diagnosis of mental illness. These audiotapes are available for use by health care providers.
Fluorescent Tracer Evaluation to Reduce Applicator Exposure
This project built on previous work with the fluorescent tracer technique and the video imaging technique for assessing exposure (VITAE) system. It was designed to develop worker training materials for reducing skin exposure to pesticides among agricultural workers. The first phase produced a trainer’s manual on the qualitative use of the fluorescent tracer technique in assessing pesticide applicators’ skin exposures. The second phase evaluated fluorescent tracer technique as an educational tool, assessing the technique’s effectiveness in changing attitudes, beliefs and behaviors among pesticide applicators, with particular emphasis on skin exposure and its prevention.
Icon Based Occupational History
This project sought to expand and validate an icon based occupational history
questionnaire for use with Hispanic migrant and seasonal farm workers. The
questionnaire was specially designed to obtain lifetime work histories from
illiterate or semiliterate subjects for use in long-term exposure studies and
has been well-received by both interviewers and subjects. It was adapted for
use in leukemia/brain cancer studies in Costa Rica and is available for use
to other researchers.
Publication(s):
Engel L, Keifer M, Thompson M, Zahm S. Test-retest reliability of an icon/calendar-based
questionnaire used to assess occupational history Am J Ind Med 2001 Nov; 40(5):
512-22.
Engel L, Keifer M, Zahm S. Comparison of a traditional questionnaire with an
icon/calendar-based questionnaire to assess occupational history Am J Ind Med
2001 Nov; 40(5): 502-11.
Colt J, Engel L, Keifer M, Thompson L, Zahm S. Comparability of data obtained
from Migrant Farmworkers and their spouses on occupational history Am J Ind Med
2001 Nov; 40(5): 523-530.
Zahm SH, Colt JS, Engel LS, Keifer M, Alvarado AJ, Butterfield P, Caldera S,
Cooper SP, Garcia D, Hendrikson E, Heyer N, Hunt LM, Krauska M, MacNaughton N,
McDonnell CJ, Mills PK, Mull LD, Nordstrom DL, Outterson B, Slesinger DP, Stallones
L, Stephens C, Sweeney A, Sweitzer K, Vernon SW, Blair A. Development of a life
events/icon calendar questionnaire to ascertain occupational histories and other
characteristics of migrant farmworkers (Am J Ind Med 2001 Nov; 40(5): 490-501.
Pilot: Methods for Accessing Pesticide/Nitrate Environmental Exposure Databases
Agricultural use of pesticides and fertilizers has grown dramatically in the last several years. Contamination of the hydrologic system by these chemicals is an increasing concern and much effort has been made to build databases containing measurements of these chemicals in drinking water sources. These geographically-referenced data (accessible by latitude/longitude coordinates of the target residence or facility) have yet to be used in epidemiologic studies of health outcomes. This project investigated the use of Global Positioning System (GPS)-obtained coordinates for linkage of environmental exposure data (pesticide/nitrate levels in drinking water).
A Pilot Application of Cholinesterase Monitoring of Pesticide Applicators in Washington State
This study evaluated the accuracy of cholinesterase determinations performed on the EQM Testmate Kit™ in field conditions as compared to those conducted in a laboratory. It also examined whether a field-based kit provides advantages in promptness of worker removal. Seventy-five orchard workers with regular exposure to Guthion, Diazinon, and several other organophosphate and N-methyl carbamate pesticides had samples of their blood and urine taken during the growing season. Samples were also obtained from five unexposed workers. Both the Testmate Kit and conventional venous laboratory testing for plasma and erythrocyte cholinesterase measurements were performed on the samples. Urinary metabolites confirmed that exposure was occurring in the exposed group but no significant mean cholinesterase changes were noted with either laboratory or field based methods. Preliminary findings indicated relatively good performance of the Testmate Kit under field conditions as compared to the laboratory.
Pilot: Validation of Sampling and Analytic Techniques for Fungi and Bacteria in Agricultural Organic Dust Exposure
Researchers characterized the relationships between various bioaerosol-related assays during composting operations using agricultural wastes. The assays included were standard microbiological assays (high and low temperature incubation for fungi and bacteria) on samples taken on filter cassettes, 1-3 b d glucan, possibly 1-6 b d glucan, and an extracellular polysacharride (EPS) specifically associated with aspergillus and penicillium species. Sampling was conducted during both winter and spring/summer conditions at a variety of operations composting yard waste, biosolids, agricultural waste (including fruit pulp and mint sludge), and dairy manure.
Pilot: Validation of an Asthma Questionnaire in Spanish
The main goal was to develop a validated questionnaire for the detection of asthma in community-based studies of Spanish-speaking Mexican populations in Washington State. A secondary goal was to collect pilot prevalence data on asthma in the Yakima Valley Hispanic population. Asthma, now recognized as one of the most common occupational lung diseases, is associated with many differing agricultural exposures. The Spanish-speaking migrant and seasonal farm worker population represents a large percentage of Region X and the U.S. agricultural workforce, but relatively little is known about asthma in this population. One major reason is the absence of a sensitive and specific asthma questionnaire. This project assembled a single translated respiratory symptom questionnaire from previously applied respiratory symptom surveys, translated and back translated and applied by an interviewer to 50 asthmatics and 50 non-asthmatics recruited from the Toppenish Farm Worker Clinic. Then, 10 teams of graduate students applied the questionnaire among more than 100 middle Yakima Valley residents in a pilot survey to obtain a crude prevalence estimate of asthma to be used as preliminary data for a future larger application.
Community Partnership Research/Interventions
Idaho Partnership for Hispanic Health
This partnership with the Idaho Mountain States Group is addressing health disparities among Idaho Hispanics. We are advising on community-based participatory research methodologies and will provide research and health care expertise to help communities address safety and health interests.
Community Health Intervention with Yakima Agricultural Workers
PNASH is working with a rich mix of community groups to develop strategies
enabling Hispanic farm workers in Washington's Yakima Valley to respond
to the many occupational and environmental risks they face. The Northwest Communities
Education Center/Radio KDNA, a community-based nonprofit organization and Spanish
language public radio station, will lead outreach. Heritage College will be the
training site and field research home. The Yakima Valley Farm Workers Clinic
will produce clinical protocols and guidelines on occupational and environmental
health concerns. One anticipated, lasting benefit of this project will be sustainable
partnerships between community organizations, the Yakima Valley Hispanic community,
and University of Washington scientists.
Publication: University of Washington Press Release
4/2004, ENGLISH or SPANISH
Idaho Partnership for Hispanic Health
This partnership with the Idaho Mountain States Group is addressing health disparities among Idaho Hispanics. We are advising on community-based participatory research methodologies and will provide research and health care expertise to help communities address safety and health interests.
Educational Interventions
Reality Tales: Storytelling to Translate Agricultural Health and Safety Research
‘Reality tales,’ uses Northwest workers’ heat illness and ladder injury experiences to teach critical prevention strategies.
Pilot: Skills Retention in Commercial Fishing Safety Training
Conducted by the Alaska Marine Safety Education Association, this project will inform federal policy on how often refresher training is need for survival equipment and emergency drill conductors.
Animal Handling and Safety: Developing a Marker for Program Evaluation
The Magic Valley SAFE KIDS Coalition, based in Twin Falls, Idaho, collaborated with Center investigators to evaluate the effectiveness of the animal handling component of their Farm Safety Day Camps. The project identified observable and measurable safe animal handling behavior, tested the pilot evaluation tool for reliability, and refined the tool.
Pilot: Evaluation of the WPS Train-the-Trainer Pilot
PNASH was invited by the EPA and the Council of Agricultural Science and Technology (CAST) to evaluate a Worker Protection Standard train-the-trainer model curriculum; to determine its feasibility for use throughout the country; to ensure that master trainers obtain the necessary skills, tools, and knowledge to train others; and to impart knowledge to trainers. PNASH developed the instruments used to evaluate the trainers, including those with low literacy.
Farm Safety for Teens
The Skagit County Cooperative Extension office and their community sponsors have developed an annual Safety Workshop to train young workers on tractor and farm machine safety. They invited PNASH to evaluate its effectiveness. We developed a child-relevant safe behavior self-assessment tool; composed additional farm safety and environmental health curriculum to complement the Safety Workshop; assessed parental attitudes about farm health and safety; and evaluated the needs of underserved Hispanic youth in Skagit County.
Use of Theater to Introduce Health and Safety Information in Hispanic Communities
The EWU Center for Farm Health and Safety developed an intervention project to provide health education and farm safety training for Hispanic agricultural workers in the Columbia Basin. Based on data gathered from health and safety literature, key informant interviews, and a farm worker focus group, it was apparent that health and safety education must be sensitive to the literacy and language constraints of this worker population. Theater was selected as a method of providing farm health and safety education because it does not require a high level of literacy. The most urgent health and safety needs of Hispanic farm workers and their families were identified through a series of focus groups. The information gathered in the needs assessment was used to develop four one-act plays written and presented in Spanish.
Outreach and Professional Education
Pesticide Effects: Integration into Health Care Provider Curricula
This project’s goal is to integrate the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of pesticide poisonings into medical provider training. We are developing models of pesticide related content for insertion into pre-med, nursing, mid-level practitioner (PA and NP) and physician training through the collaborative efforts of faculty from Heritage College, Seattle Pacific University, MEDEX Northwest, and the UW schools of Nursing and Medicine. The pesticide content in courses will be tested, the curriculum integration process qualitatively characterized, and the results disseminated to educational institutions around the nation.
Agricultural Health and Safety Communication and Education Project
The goal of this project is to provide an essential link between the research activities of the Center, agricultural workers and their families, and the safety and medical care professionals who interact with and care for them. Through this project, PNASH has developed, distributed, and evaluated educational programs and information. The major activities are the annual Western regional conference in partnership with UC Davis, continuing education courses in collaboration with partners such as Washington State University Cooperative Extension, research priority workshops, and dissemination of research findings and educational materials through traditional and new media.
Development of a Community Theater Troupe: Health and Farm Safety Training for Hispanic Agricultural Workers
This project is conducted through the EWU Center for Farm Safety and Health, the developers of a successful program that uses Spanish-language theater to provide farm workers with information on health hazards and prevention strategies. This PNASH project aims to establish an ongoing theater troupe and training organization that will sustain the program and ensure the delivery of these four one-act plays to farm workers in the state of Washington. In addition, a video has been produced on the play about pesticide safety, which will be edited to include EPA pesticide guidelines and English subtitles. Investigators are now identifying and working with community organizations, individuals, and the public school system to provide the continuing support and direction for this prevention program.
Document Development for Prevention of Tractor-Related Injuries and Fatalities
PNASH is the designated NIOSH Agricultural Center for developing a document that will be the foundation of a national initiative to reduce tractor-related fatalities and injuries. For the first time, all nine NIOSH centers (and the National Children's Center for Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety) will collaborate on developing a national injury prevention program. Tractors remain the leading cause of deaths and serious injuries in agriculture. The document, the National Agricultural Tractor Safety Initiative,
will be used to seek additional support and partners, to help set the research
agenda for this issue, and to demonstrate leadership in addressing a longstanding
problem.
Publication(s): National Agricultural Tractor Safety Initiative
Washington State Cholinesterase Monitoring Rule Evaluation:Medical Monitoring Education, Informed Consent for Handlers
In 2004, the state of Washington began requiring the medical monitoring of farm workers who work frequently with high toxicity pesticides. Washington follows only California in adopting this type of policy, presenting the opportunity for creating a model program. PNASH will help the state build the program by ensuring that there are well-developed and evaluated:
- training programs for the medical providers who will work with employees and employers.
- informed consent procedures for participating workers, many with low literacy.
These efforts will build upon interagency partnerships, informational interviews, and focus groups; draw on the experience of California’s monitoring program; and adapt their materials for use in Washington.
2004 Western Agriculture Health & Safety Conference: Cultivating a Sustainable Agricultural Workplace
This year’s annual regional conference, co-sponsored by PNASH and the Western Center for Agricultural Health and Safety at the University of California, Davis, will focus on “Cultivating a Sustainable Agriculture Workplace.” The event will allow investigators and others to gather and consider how occupational health and safety can be integrated into sustainable agriculture production and how research can contribute to that effort. The conference will be held in Portland, Oregon, September 12-14, 2004.
Development of Agricultural Health and Safety Fact Sheet Publications
PNASH, working with the University of Idaho Departments of Agriculture Communications and Biological and Agricultural Engineering, Oregon State University, and Washington State University, developed a series of Agricultural Safety and Health fact sheet publications that were made available within the Pacific Northwest Region. These publications are available to potential users by CD-ROM, print copy masters, and online.