County Can Reduce Pesticide Health Risks

by Geof Land

What do parents of school kids, farmworkers, and residents living next to agricultural fields all have in common? They are united by shared concerns about the health risks of pesticides being used in San Luis Obispo County. And they are joined by a growing number of county citizens who are beginning to wonder if this county is doing enough to protect public health from pesticide exposure incidents.

Every year nearly 2 million pounds of pesticides are applied county-wide on crops, school fields, and buildings. What kinds of exposure risks do county residents face? The Environmental Center of San Luis Obispo County is trying to answer just that question, while identifying ways to prevent pesticide exposure from happening at all.

ECOSLO is mid-way through a one year Environmental Health Initiative to strengthen community awareness about environmental health risks county-wide. We have conducted a survey, gathered data, convened several public meetings, and we plan to publish a final report and action agenda in June. We are currently putting the finishing touches on an Environmental Health Resources Guide, which is due out soon (English version, with Spanish version coming soon after). Of particular interest are ways to reduce health risks posed by pesticide use in agricultural fields (worker exposure and drift), in schools, and in the home.

Farmworkers and Environmental Equity Pesticide safety is perhaps the county's top environmental equity issue. The county's farmworkers who handle pesticides and work in the county's fields are the most vulnerable to exposure risks. Few farmworker support services exist in the county, and farmworkers are often reluctant to report exposure cases for fear of retaliation or job loss. ECOSLO is working with California Rural Legal Assistance, EOC's Promotoras Comunitarias program, and non-profit Fuerza to reduce exposure risks for the 10,000+ county farmworkers. It's a daunting job, but tremendously important, and we are looking for interns/volunteers who speak Spanish to help document exposure cases and identify key areas of concern. Drift Happens. Many county residents living adjacent to agricultural fields have experienced pesticide drift. Many of these residents, not realizing the health risks and county-wide nature of the problem, fail to report the drift incidents. Others have tried unsuccessfully to get relief from county authorities. They're not imagining things; drift is real. Last fall, air monitoring by the Environmental Working Group revealed that methyl bromide-an extremely toxic chemical slated for phase out nationally-had drifted from a strawberry field and across Arroyo Grande Creek to a mobile home park more than 300 feet away. As a result of that finding, ECOSLO is advocating a county-wide monitoring program to determine the extent to which methyl bromide is drifting from fumigated fields and threatening public health.

Health Commission Investigates Pesticide Safety

Recently, in response to growing area concerns about the health risks posed by pesticide use, SLO County's Health Commission held a special meeting to consider the potential health risks of pesticide use. After brief presentations by a panel of experts, commissioners heard testimony from the standing room only crowd attending the meeting. Farmworker Victor Hurtado told of his brushes with death and unrelenting illnesses after years of work with pesticides in the county's wine grape fields. Halcyon resident Karl Kempton (see his poem in this issue) said he believes drifting methyl bromide from a neighboring strawberry field is responsible for a rash of illnesses and health problems in his community, and expressed his frustration after years of dealing with unresponsive county authorities. San Luis Obispo resident Linda McElver told of her disabling experience with chemical sensitivity brought on by pesticide exposure, and of her frustration that county schools continue to use toxic pesticides around children. (McElver is working to compile a list of county residents with chemical sensitivity problems, and can be reached at 547-1568.) Clearly, this is an issue the county can't afford to ignore, and the time has come for citizens to stand up and advocate broad-based education, as well as practical, on-the-ground risk prevention programs.

We also know that county physicians and health care workers are untrained in the diagnosis and treatment of pesticide poisoning cases, and that under-reporting is rampant. We know that pesticides drift. We know that toxic chemicals are applied at county schools while school is in session. We know that farmworkers are at risk. And we know that practical, cost effective solutions and alternatives exist. ECOSLO is advocating the formation of a county task force comprising farm-workers, health professionals, environmentalists and affected communities to begin looking at ways to reduce the health risks posed by pesticides.

We need citizen support for these efforts to promote a more safe and sane environment in SLO County. Please get involved. Call Geof Land or Amy Shore @ 544-1777 (e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ) or write letters to the County Supervisors (County Gov. Center, SLO 93408) and Dr. Susan Zepeda, SLO County Health Department (Box 1489, SLO 93406) urging them to promote pesticide use reduction, drift monitoring, farmworker protection programs and pesticide-free schools. m