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MCN's Pesticide Clinical Guidelines and Pesticide Exposure Assessment Form assist in the recognition and management of acute pesticide exposures in primary care settings.

The pesticide guidelines were adapted from guidelines developed by Dr. Dennis H. Penzell, a former medical director of a Community and Migrant Health Center with experience in large-scale pesticide exposure incidents.

The Acute Pesticide Exposure Form was adapted from the data collection on an acute pesticide exposed patient tool developed by Matthew C. Keifer, MD, MPH, Director of the National Farm Medicine Center, appearing in the EPA's Recognition and Management of Pesticide Exposures, 6th Edition, EPA 2013.

These resources were developed with guidance from MCN's Environmental and Occupational Health Advisory Committee - a panel of healthcare professionals and researchers with expertise in pesticides and migrant health.

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The following documents are a collection of the best resources available for taking a good occupational health history.

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Bilingual form to screen pregnant women for lead exposure.  Developed by MCN.

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Clinicial guidelines dealing with children and lead exposure.  Special emphasis on working with migrant children. 

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Use the link below to access MCN's Rapid Assessment Tool to help adolescent farmworkers identify agricultural tasks they perform in agriculture and facilitate clinician understanding about the health risks associated with it.  Youth worker images are adapted and reproduced with permission from the National Children Center for Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety. Images copyrighted through Marshfield Clinic, Marshfield, Wisconsin.

If computers and internet access are unavailable where patient care is provided, the worker assessment sheet and clinician information grid are available in PDF.

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The importance of clinical diagnostic tools and biomonitoring of exposures to pesticides as well the role of clinicians in pesticide reporting and the challenges clinicians face in accurately diagnosing patients exposed to pesticides are described in a presentation by Matthew Keifer, MD, MPH and Amy K. Liebman, MPA. Click on the link for an APHA policy resolution underscoring the need for clinical diagnostic tools and biomomitoring of exposures to pesticides. This policy supports the information outlined by in the presentation.

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HEAT ILLNESS CAN BE DEADLY. Every year, thousands of workers become sick from exposure to heat, and some even die. These illnesses and deaths are preventable.

OSHA has now posted a new Heat Illness Web Page that includes educational materials in English and Spanish, including low-literacy fact sheets for workers, worksite and community posters, and a public service announcement from Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis.  The Web page also includes a video from Assistant Secretary Dr. David Michaels (in English with a Spanish transcript).  OSHA will be posting additional materials on the Heat Illness Web page, including a lesson plan that employers can use to train their workers to stay safe in the heat and a heat index Smartphone app. 

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https://www3.marshfieldclinic.org/nccrahs/default.aspx?page=nfmc_nccrahs_saghaf 

Seven guidelines in English and Spanish. Colorful, illustrated poster address supervisor responsibilities for ensuring work conditions are appropriate and adequate . Training and supervision tips, specific to teens and to each job, are provided. Developed by National Children’s Center for Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety.

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http://www.nagcat.org/nagcat/default.aspx?page=nagcat_guidelines_posters

Guidelines for parents to match child's growth and development with the requirements of different farm chores in order to lessen the risk of farm related disease or injury in children and teenagers. North American Guidelines for Children's Agricultural Tasks was developed by the National Children's Center for Rural Agricultural Health and Safety.

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http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/title~db=all~content=g924790533

The Journal of Agromedicine published this FREE special issue (Volume 15, Issue 3) that presents papers based upon the research and safety strategies presented at the "Be Safe, Be Profitable: Protecting Workers in Agriculture" conference held in January 2010 in Dallas, Texas. The conference was a joint meeting of the Agricultural Safety and Health Council of America (ASCHA) and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). "It is our hope that this collection of editorials, panel presentations, plenary talks, and poster abstracts stimulates a new order of translational research, leading to effective research partnerships and improved health and safety outcomes," states Editor-in-Chief Steven Kirkhorn.

Do not miss the opportunity to read the results from this groundbreaking agricultural safety and health conference!

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OSHA facts sheet and guidance for commercial swine farmers and pork producers.  Bilingual "quick card" to assist with worker protection. 

 

 

 

 

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California Department of Public Health, Division of Environmental and Occupational Disease Control has identified several cases of mercury toxicity linked to the use of adulterated, unlabelled face creams in the Latino community.  

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A bilingual training kit for community health workers to educate families about in home pesticide safety.  Includes a step-by-step facilitator guide with handouts and a power point slide slow.  Developed by the Center for Environmental Resource Management at UTEP for US-Mexico border residents.

 

Un paquete bilingue para ayudar a trabajadores comunitarios de la salud a educar familias sobre la forma segura de usar pesticidas en el hogar.  Hay instrucciones paso a paso, los materiales para distribuir y la presentación para mostrarse estan disponibles en Español. Estas pláticas se enfocan a los residentes de la frontera EU-México y fue realizado por el Centro para la Administración de Recursos Ambientales de la Universidad de Texas en El Paso.

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http://www.neefusa.org/health/asthma/asthmaguidelines.htm

These guidelines are aimed at integrating environmental management of asthma into pediatric health care. Offers clinical competencies in environmental health relevant to pediatric asthma and outlines the environmental interventions to communicate to patients.

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Continuing education course developed by the Occupational Lead Poisoning Prevention Program, California Department of Public Health.  Can view it for information or can register for credits.

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Photonovelas in English and Spanish. Produced by the North Carolina Farmworker Project.

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EPA has revoked regulations that permitted small residues of the pesticide carbofuran in food.

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The Toolkit is a combination of easy-to-use reference guides for health providers and user friendly health education materials on preventing exposures to toxic chemicals and other substances that affect infant and child health.

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The CA Department of Pesticide Regulation provides videos in Mixteco about pesticide safety. Contact Charlene Martens to get copies or more information: (916) 445-4261 cmartens@cdpr.ca.gov

Describes the adverse health effects of lead in workers with blood-lead levels of 5-10 ug/dL and recommend changing OSHA’s medical removal trigger of 60 ug/dL. 

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A useful resource for health professionals interested in the health effects of exposure to specific chemicals and hazardous substances.

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Educational comic book about the sources of indoor pollution and ways to minimize exposure. Offers safe alternatives to clean homes. English and Spanish.

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The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing changes to the Worker Protection Standard (WPS), the agricultural worker regulation intended to provide basic workplace protection for millions of farmworkers.

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FJF/MCN comments to the US Environmental Protection Agency against using human subjects to test pesticides.

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Objective, science-based information about pesticides - written for the non-expert.

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Maria Fernandez, 42, of Cancun, Mexico, sits outside a shoddy trailer she shares with other workers. "Everybody around here always has headaches, coughs, running noses," she said. "It has to do with that dust on the plants from the chemicals. You are always breathing it in."

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Since many exposures come during those field applications, the risks - to farmworkers and to nearby residents who can be affected if the chemicals drift - can occur much more frequently. "You are working in one field, and the tractor passes in the next field spraying," says Epifanio, 58, a veteran Mexican farmworker who asked that his full name not be used, out of fear for his job. "The wind brings it to you. It happens to somebody around here every single day."

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Probe of ill workers cited to expose flaws, Farmworker advocates say the state mishandled a case in which 20 migrants were sickened.

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Pesticides Nearby.. but staying healthy comic


This pesticide comic book targets migrant and seasonal farmworker families to educate parents about children's risks to pesticide exposure and ways to minimize these risks. The latest edition is currently only available Spanish though we are working on releasing an updated version of the comic in English.

We are currently "sold out" of our printed pesticide comic book. We are looking for additional funding. In the meantime, please download an e-copy.

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