Recent Findings and Impacts from the Sensor-Pesticides Program

BACKGROUND:  Since 1987, acute occupational pesticide-related illness and injury has been one of the conditions under surveillance by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).  NIOSH supports these surveillance activities by providing cooperative agreement funding and technical support to state health departments.  The program conducting these activities is the Sentinel Event Notification System for Occupational Risks (SENSOR)-Pesticides Program.  SENSOR-Pesticides is also partially funded by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). 

METHODS:  Cases of acute pesticide-related illness and injury are identified and investigated by agencies in 11 states that participate in the SENSOR-Pesticides program. Data are submitted annually by each state agency to NIOSH, and NIOSH aggregates the data to produce a national database.   The SENSOR-Pesticides program also provides timely identification of emerging pesticide problems. 

RESULTS:  An update on recent findings and impacts from the SENSOR-Pesticides program will be provided.  Among other things, the program highlights the risks faced by agricultural workers. Agricultural workers have a 10-fold higher risk of acute pesticide poisoning compared to workers in other industries.  EPA is currently working on regulations to enhance farmworker protections, and these activities are, in part, being guided by SENSOR-Pesticides findings and recommendations.  For example, in 2012, the program published findings in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine (AJIM) on gender differences in acute pesticide-related illnesses and injuries among farmworkers in the United States.  In 2012, findings from the SENSOR-Pesticides program were also published in an MMWR article that described phosphine gas poisoning among veterinary hospital workers who were exposed from dogs that ingested zinc phosphide. Finally, in 2012, another article was submitted for publication to a peer-reviewed journal.  The article describes the characteristics and magnitude of acute pesticide-related illnesses associated with pyrethrins and pyrethroids.

CONCLUSIONS:  The SENSOR-Pesticides program is considered the principal source of pesticide-related surveillance data in the US, and perhaps the world.  It is a vital source of data for EPA to use when assessing whether pesticides are producing any unreasonable harm to human health.