In Brief
The North Carolina Division of Public
Health has released a much-anticipated report assessing
the connections between the severe birth defects in
three babies born to farmworkers and their pesticide
exposures while working for Ag-Mart in North Carolina.
The report, released by the NC Division of Public Health’s
Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology Branch
(OEEB), evaluated the likely pesticide exposures for
each of the three women and the duration and timing
of these exposures during the critical periods in their
pregnancies. The authors concluded that while there
is not enough evidence to definitively “prove”
whether pesticides caused the birth defects, there is
ample cause for suspicion.
It is important to note that in epidemiological
studies such as this one, it is virtually impossible
to definitively
“prove” causation. What the report does show
are unacceptable exposures to known toxicants, a plausible
cause (the exposures), and three tragic outcomes. The
evidence gathered for this report was compelling enough
to lead the NC Division of Public Health to make several
recommendations for state and federal agencies. The recommendations
included strengthening pesticide enforcement at the NC
Department of Agriculture, establishing a state pesticide
illness & injury surveillance program, improving
education of farmworkers and physicians, and strengthening
the federal Worker Protection Standard (WPS).
Recommendations
The state’s recommendations
focus primarily on practical steps for state agencies,
but unfortunately do not take into account some major
factors that may limit their effectiveness
– namely the practical realities affecting farmworkers.
Because of the very limited political power of farmworkers,
many of whom are undocumented migrants, farmworkers are
unlikely to be able to effect much change in working
conditions, no matter how much energy is invested in
education and outreach efforts. In response to this report
and ongoing dialogue among state agencies and farmworker
advocacy groups, Toxic Free NC
offers some additional recommendations
to improve the health and safety of farmworkers in North
Carolina’s fields.
1. Improve the NC Department of Agriculture’s
pesticide enforcement. More pesticide investigators
are needed, especially fluent Spanish speakers. Investigators
must protect the anonymity of workers who report pesticide
violations or participate in investigations.
2. The NC Department of Agriculture
and/or Department of Labor should require thorough
training and certification in Worker Protection Standards
for growers and crew leaders who employ farmworkers.
Most education efforts are directed at the workers
themselves, who are typically not able to change working
conditions no matter how well trained they may be.
3. Ag-Mart should be held accountable
for the hundreds of pesticide violations that may have
caused the tragic birth defects in all three families.
While the states can collect limited fines, they should
also require that the company cover the health care
costs for the affected children, whose care is likely
to be far beyond the reach of their families.
4. The use of teratogenic and mutagenic
pesticides should be immediately discontinued by US
EPA. If the EPA does not act quickly to protect children’s
health, then the states should step in.
5. The NC General Assembly should
act immediately to fully fund a pesticide illness and
injury surveillance system for the state. Without a
pesticide surveillance system, it is virtually impossible
to know whether the state’s regulations, enforcement,
outreach and intervention methods are actually successful
in preventing exposures.
6. The NC Department of Agriculture
should institute a pesticide use reporting requirement,
similar to the program used in California, so that
clear records of pesticide use are available to affected
parties. As it stands, there is no federal or NC requirement
that growers keep track of which pesticides they use,
where or when.
Media coverage of
the Ag-Mart case
Raleigh
News & Observer (NC)
Palm
Beach Post (FL)
