The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

Abstract #49275

John Beckman¹, Ximena Vergara¹, Rupali Das, MD, MPH¹, Patrice M Sutton, MPH², Miles Clark², and Robert Harrison, MD, MPH¹. (1) Occupational Health Branch, California Department of Health Services, 1515 Clay Street, Suite 1901, Oakland, CA 94612, (2) Public Health Institute, California Department of Health Services, Occupational Health Branch, 1515 Clay Street, Suite 1901, Oakland, CA 94612

Since October 1997 with the support of National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), the California Department of Health Services (CDHS) has maintained a multi-source statewide reporting and tracking system of occupational pesticide poisoning through its program on Sentinel Event Notification System for Occupational Risk (SENSOR). Pesticide illness tracking data from the SENSOR program were analyzed for the period of January 1998 – December 2000. Occupational pesticide poisoning cases were classified as definite, probable, possible, or suspicious according to NIOSH criteria. A descriptive analysis of these data will be presented including age, gender, occupation, industry, injury location and lost work time. A subset of cases involving exposure to a single pesticide (70% of total cases) will be presented, stratified by chemical class and analyzed for selected health effects, case classification, and lost work time. CDHS’ tracking system characterizes the illnesses of a portion of the population exposed to pesticides. Occupational pesticide poisoning cases serve as sentinel events for environmental exposures and can guide efforts at preventing pesticide exposures and illness in the general population.

Learning Objectives:

• • Define select adverse health effects caused by pesticide poisoning.
  • List chemical classes contributing to pesticide poisoning.
  • Understand that pesticide poisoning results in lost work time.

Keywords: Pesticide Exposure, Surveillance

Related Web page: www.dhs.ca.gov/ohb/

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.