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DOH Pesticide Illness Data
Data from
pesticide illness investigations
Data analysis
Limitations of Washington's
surveillance data
Cholinesterase monitoring in Washington
Articles
and reports with Washington data
Pesticide
illness monitoring in other states
Other pesticide-related health research in the
pacific northwest
DOH Data
from pesticide illness investigations
The Washington State Department of Health (DOH)
investigates reports of acute adverse health effects resulting from
exposure to pesticides.
Each year, 200-300 suspected pesticide poisonings are reported
to the DOH Pesticides Program under the
Notifiable
Conditions Law.
The DOH Pesticide Program uses information it collects during case
investigations to:
-
describe the nature and frequency of reported pesticide
illnesses
-
understand risk factors associated with reported pesticide illnesses, and
-
develop key prevention messages.
For more information about how DOH investigates and classifies cases,
see Pesticide Illness
Investigations.
Annual Data
DOH pesticide illness data is published
jointly with
pesticide incident data from WA Poison Center and the
State Departments of Agriculture, Labor and Industries, and Ecology in the
annual Pesticide Incident Reporting and Tracking
(PIRT) Panel
Report .
Monthly data
A monthly tally of DOH cases opened for
investigation is available in the bimonthly newsletter
EpiTrends. EpiTrends contains monthly surveillance data on reportable conditions
by county.
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Cholinesterase monitoring in Washington
The Washington Department of Labor and
Industries (L&I) adopted a regulation that requires agricultural
employers to provide blood testing for workers who handle certain types
of pesticides for 30 or more hours in any consecutive 30-day period. The
rule became effective Feb. 1, 2004.
Cholinesterase (acetyl cholinesterase) is
an enzyme that removes the chemical neurotransmitter acetylcholine from
the junctions between nerves cells. Cholinesterase serves as the nervous
system’s “off switch” and is essential to the normal function of the
nervous system.
Exposure to organophosphate or N-methyl-carbamate
pesticides may lower the level of available cholinesterase. Although
depressed (lower than normal) cholinesterase doesn’t mean that the
worker is sick, it is an important health indicator of over-exposure to
these types of pesticides.
The Washington program is unique
because it provides for centralized storage and analysis of all
monitoring results. The results are scanned for depressions by DOH and
significant depressions are forwarded to L&I for follow-up with
employers. When significant cholinesterase depression is identified,
employers are required to evaluate their pesticide worker protection
program and make corrections to prevent further over-exposure.
Results from the cholinesterase
monitoring of pesticide handlers program are available in the Scientific Committee (SAC)
Reports to the Department of Labor and Industries:
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Articles
and reports with Washington data
-
 Acute Pesticide-Related Illness Among Emergency Responders, 1993-2002.
Calvert GM, Barnett M, Mehler LN, Becker A, Das R, Beckman J, Male D,
Sievert J, Thomsen C, Morrissey B. Am J Ind Med 2006; 49:383-393.
-
An article in the
July 2005 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA)
highlights problems that children and school staff can experience when
pesticides are used at or near schools.
-
Learn from mishaps and protect your eyes. Morrissey, B. Pesticide
Notes (Washington State Department of Agriculture), 2004; 13 (1).
Full Text.
-
Improving Data Quality in Pesticide Illness Surveillance,
VanDerslice,
J. et. al. Washington State Department of Health, 2004; (large
PDF
file, 4 MB ).
-
Fumigant-related illnesses: Washington State's five-year experience.
Burgess JL, Morrissey B, Keifer MC, Robertson WO. J Toxicol Clin Toxicol.
2000; 38 (1): 7-14.
-
Washington's experience and recommendations re: Anticoagulant
rodenticides. Morrissey B, Burgess JL, Robertson WO. Vet Hum
Toxicol. 1995 Aug; 37(4): 362-3. No Abstract.
Abstract or Full Text.
-
Acute Organophosphate Poisonings in
Washington Apple Orchards (in PDF - 2 MB). Skeers VM, Morrissey B. J. Environ.
Health 1995; 58 (2): 18-23. Posted, with permission, from the Journal of Environmental
Health, a publication of the National Environmental Health
Association (www.neha.org).
Copyright 1995.
-
The Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) is a CDC weekly
scientific publication containing data and reports on specific
health and safety topics. The following MMWR pesticide-related articles
which contain Washington data are available.
o Unintentional
Topical Lindane Ingestions --- United States, 1998--2003
Published June 3, 2005.
o
Surveillance for Acute Insecticide-Related Illness Associated with
Mosquito-Control Efforts --- Nine States, 1999-2002. Published July
11, 2003
o Illnesses Associated With Use of Automatic Insecticide Dispenser Units
--- Selected States and United States, 1986-1999. Published June 9,
2000.
o Illnesses Associated with Occupational Use of Flea-Control Products ---
California, Texas, and Washington, 1989-1997. Published June 4,
1999.
o
Occupational Pesticide Poisoning in Apple Orchards,
Washington, 1993. Published January 7, 1994.
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Pesticide-related health research in the
Pacific Northwest
-
The Washington State University Food and
Environmental Quality Laboratory in Richland was established to provide
unbiased information and expert research on food safety, sustainable
agriculture, and environmental stewardship.
-
The Pacific Northwest Agricultural Safety
and Health Center (PNASH) at the University of Washington in Seattle
works with the farming, forestry, and fishing industries to improve
work-place health and safety in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Alaska. The
main focus is research and developing interventions to reduce injuries and
illnesses.
-
The
Center for Child Environmental Health Risks Research (CHC) at the
University of Washington in Seattle was formed to learn more about children's susceptibility to pesticides and the way pesticides affect
normal development and learning.
-
The Hutchinson Center/UW Toxicogenomics Consortium is a collaboration
between the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and the University of
Washington. The Seattle-based consortium researches how individual genetic
makeup affects one’s response to various environmental agents, including
pesticides.
-
The Department of Environmental and
Occupational Health Sciences in the School of Public Health,
University of Washington, partners with a number of institutes and centers that address
pesticide health effects.
-
Oregon Health and Science University is active in agricultural
occupational and environmental health research. Current research includes
measuring for impacts of pesticide exposure on migrant farmworkers and
their families.
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Pesticide illness monitoring in
other states
Washington participates in the Sentinel Event Notification System for
Occupational Risk (SENSOR). The
SENSOR-Pesticides Program is
coordinated by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health
(NIOSH). Washington provides pesticide illness data to SENSOR for
the development of a national aggregated database of occupational
pesticide-related illness and injury cases. Other states
participating in the SENSOR-Pesticides program include:
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For more information about the Pesticides Program, please contact
Cynthia López
or 360-236-3340.
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