Migrant and seasonal agricultural workers experience significant exposure to air pollution that increases their risk of adverse health outcomes including respiratory illnesses. A review of epidemiology research articles between 2000 and 2020 found a “consistent pattern of increased respiratory illness in relation to agricultural dust exposure.”1 Exposure to air pollution increases agricultural workers’ risk of severe respiratory disease; for example, since the start of the pandemic, numerous studies have found a connection between exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and increased risk of SARS-CoV-2.2
Additionally, as the climate crisis progresses, agricultural workers are experiencing more air pollution exposures, including increased ground-level ozone on hotter days, increased dust and pollen, and more frequent exposures to wildfire smoke. Hotter, more humid conditions further strain the respiratory system. As exposures increase, however, most workplaces have not increased their efforts to provide training or protective equipment and regulations to protect workers continue to lag. During one smoke event in Washington State, for example, 72% of agricultural workers reported being exposed to an unhealthy amount of air pollution, 72% reported no changes were made to their work activities to reduce exposure, and 100% reported little to no information was provided on how they could protect themselves from smoke.3
In response to these significant risks colliding with few workplace protections, Migrant Clinicians Network created a new comic book to assist clinical teams in providing basic education on respiratory health risks and protection for numerous work settings like in agriculture, construction, demolition, and more. Available in Spanish as “Nadie sabe que respira…¡Hasta que le falta el aire!” and in English as “Clear the Air! Protect Your Health from Bad Air,” the full-color comic book provides image-based learning on the respiratory system, particulate matter, the Air Quality Index, and the use of personal protective equipment in an accessible manner that takes into account literacy and cultural context, so that workers can protect themselves. The comic reviews the many sources of air pollution, from farm equipment, to industrial manufacturing, to wildfire smoke, to post-disaster respiratory hazards like mold and contaminated indoor air.
“Comics have proven to be an effective educational tool for health providers in the task of sharing and communicating complicated concepts in simple and easy terms and circumstances that are related to the experiences of those who read them,” explained Alma Galván, MHC, Director of Community Engagement and Worker Training, who spearheaded the comic along with Myrellis Muñiz-Márquez, MPH, Program Manager, who coordinated the project; Amy Liebman, MPA, Chief Program Officer of Workers, Environment, and Health; illustrator Salvador Sáenz; and a team of MCN writers and editors, with funding from the Thoracic Foundation. The MCN team worked closely with Gerardo Reyes Chavez, of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers and a Florida farmworker, to create a narrative that corresponded to the realities of agricultural workers across the US. He also hosted three radio shows to speak to workers about respiratory health. Reyes and MCN worked together to organize a consultive group last year with a group of agricultural workers to review the resource so it could be tailored to their experiences.
The comic book, which complements MCN’s numerous pesticide comic books, is available in a form that users can download and print to distribute in their own communities.
Download the new comic book:
In Spanish: Nadie sabe que respira… ¡Hasta que le falta el aire!: https://www.migrantclinician.org/es/resource/nadie-sabe-que-respira-hasta-que-le-falta-el-aire.html
In English: Clear the Air! Protect Your Health from Bad Air: https://www.migrantclinician.org/resource/clear-air-protect-your-health-bad-air.html
Access the pesticide-related comic books:
https://www.migrantclinician.org/pesticide-comic-books.html
Access all of MCN’s comic books:
https://www.migrantclinician.org/resources/717/comic-book/index.html
References
1 Clarke K, Manrique A, Sabo-Attwood T, Coker ES. A Narrative Review of Occupational Air Pollution and Respiratory Health in Farmworkers. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021;18(8):4097. Published 2021 Apr 13. doi:10.3390/ijerph18084097
2 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/ pii/S2666765722001053
3 Mattawa Farmworkers’ Under the Smoke. University of Washington. 2018. Accessed 4 June 2024. https://deohs.washington.edu/ pnash/sites/deohs.washington.edu.pnash/files/ WildfireSmoke-2018-sf.pdf
