Worker reentry safety. VI. Occupational health aspects of exposure to pesticide residues

Abstract

The strategy of an agricultural worker pesticide reentry interval was one developed to meet a specific set of problems in agricultural field-worker protection. The set of problems included a highly-mobile labor force made up of workers who are frequently poorly educated and frequently non-English speaking. The employee-employer relationship is frequently hard to define, and consequently the responsibility for worker protection is frequently hard to assign. Work is performed usually by small groups in locations spread throughout agricultural areas. These are characteristics which make it extremely difficult to provide occupational health services and medical supervision in the classical pattern familiar to large industry, especially to the large chemical industry. Such services require very close supervision and observation and control of the worker.