North Carolina growers' and extension agents' perceptions of Latino farmworker pesticide exposure

Pesticide exposure poses a significant health hazard to everyone who works in agriculture. Growers have more control over their own exposure risk than do the farmworkers they employ. While growers are responsible for providing a safe work environment, their perceptions of the health risk of pesticides influence the amount and quality of safety training and protection they offer to workers. This paper analyzes growers' and cooperative extension agents' perceptions of farmworker pesticide exposure. Data are from in-depth interviews conducted with growers and extension agents who work in western North Carolina. Both groups indicated that the danger of pesticide exposure is exaggerated by the media and the public. They feel that workers are at little risk of exposure because they have received training and protective equipment as required by law and because they are not in direct contact with chemicals. Their perceptions are at odds with results of other research indicating many farmworkers have not received the required training and do not always utilize protective gear. Linguistic and cultural barriers contribute to this discrepancy in perceptions and must be addressed if measures to reduce farmworker pesticide exposure are to be effective.