Pesticide use and safety training in Mexico: The experience of farmworkers employed in North Carolina

Migrant and seasonal farmworkers in the United States are now overwhelmingly immigrants from Mexico. pesticide exposure among these farmworkers is a major occupational health concern; however, little research has considered the agricultural pesticide use and safety experiences of these workers in their communities of origin. This analysis uses survey data collected by the PACE project to delineate the farming and pesticide use experiences of Mexican-born farmworkers in North Carolina. Over 80 percent of the 277 Mexican-born farmworkers had done agricultural work in Mexico, including work on their own farms (93%) and as hired farm labor (35%). Almost two-thirds of those farmworkers with farming experience had used pesticides, but only about one-third of those who used pesticides had received pesticide safety training or information. Most of those who used pesticides had used some form of safety equipment. Those who had worked as hired farm labor in Mexico were more likely to have used pesticides and safety equipment, and to have received safety training and information. Those who spoke an indigenous language at home rather than Spanish were less likely to have used pesticides and to have received safety training and information. These results demonstrate that farmworkers coming to the U.S. from Mexico arrive with a variety of experiences with pesticide usage and pesticide safety training. Such experiences form the framework within which farmworkers understand the relationship of pesticide usage to human health. It is important for occupational health and safety programs directed to farmworkers in the U.S. to consider the experiences these workers bring from their communities of origin.