Authors
Bryden-P; McKnight-R; Pollack-S
Source
APHA 135th Annual Meeting and Exposition, Washington, DC, November 3-7, 2007. Washington, DC: American Public Health Association, 2007 Nov; :158604
Abstract
Numerous studies have targeted adolescents as a special population at risk for traumatic injury and infectious diseases, etc. Less attention has been paid to adolescents as subjects vulnerable to toxic chemical exposures this despite the fact that more than 1.5 million U.S. youth live and/or work on farms. This population-based retrospective study highlights the extent to which adolescents in the lower Mississippi River Delta are exposed to pesticides and suggests targeted prevention strategies. Reports received from 1/1/2001 to 12/31/2002 by 9 poison centers serving 240 counties (8 states) were queried for cases implicating pesticides: 4,435 were abstracted (ages 4 months 95 years). Reports involving adolescents ages 10-19 were selected for study inclusion (n=159, 60% male). Exposure routes included ingestion (46.5%), inhalation (31.4%), dermal (22.6%), and ocular (8.2%). Exposure substances were 71% insecticides; 31.9% pyrethins/pyrethroids; 17% organophosphates. The majority required no healthcare facility involvement (64.8%). Of 49 cases utilizing healthcare facilities, 13.8% were treated/released and 4.4% required non-critical care unit admissions. There was 1 critical-care unit admission. Medical outcome effects were: 21.4% no effect; 31.4% minor; 7.5% moderate. One case had major medical effects. The most severe medical outcomes resulted from organophosphates. Exposure circumstances included pesticide-contaminated food ingestion; pet product contact; malfunctioning equipment; non-standard or look-alike containers; and re-entry, confined space, or drift factors. Using the Haddon matrix, this study illuminates exposure-incident variables and identifies those educational/behavioral interventions, policies, and engineering controls that are most likely to be effective in decreasing the number and severity of adolescent pesticide exposures.
Keywords
Health-hazards; Health-protection; Health-standards; Children; Safety-education; Safety-equipment; Safety-measures; Safety-practices; Traumatic-injuries; Injuries; Toxic-effects; Toxic-gases; Toxic-materials; Toxic-vapors; Pesticides; Pesticides-and-agricultural-chemicals; Exposure-levels; Exposure-limits; Chemical-hypersensitivity; Chemical-properties; Organo-phosphorus-compounds; Organo-phosphorus-pesticides; Contaminated-food; Education
Contact
P. A. Bryden, Health Promotion & Administration, Eastern Kentucky University, 420 Begley Building, 521 Lancaster Avenue, Richmond, KY 40475-3102
Document Type
Abstract; Conference/Symposia Proceedings
Email Address
Phyllis.Bryden@eku.edu
Funding Type
Agriculture; Cooperative Agreement
Identifying No.
Cooperative-Agreement-Number-U50-OH-007547
Source Name
APHA 135th Annual Meeting and Exposition, Washington, DC, November 3-7, 2007
Performing Organization
University of Kentucky