A24-L«ncaster Farming, Saturday, May 6,1989 Pesticide Use Can Be Hazardous To Your Health '(Continued from Page A 1) Most physicians don’t really have a good handle on low exposure pesticide poisoning, according to Hock. In fact, unless the farmer were to mention that he’d been working with pesticides, the doctor would probably mis diagnose it. This makes it impor tant for the farmer to recognize the symptoms and watch for them while using pesticides. How poisoning occurs Poisoning varies in intensity ranging from reddened skin to death. There are four ways in which pesticides enter the body; through the skin, the mouth, the lungs, or the eyes. ‘Tor most exposure situations, the skin is the most important entry route of pesticides into the body,” explained Hock. “About 97 per cent of all body exposure to pesti cides during a spraying operation is by skin contact.” Dermal exposure can occur dur ing any stage of pesticide use including mixing, applicating, and cleaning. Protective clothing should be worn during all stages, and farmers should take care not to touch any pesticide equipment with bare hands before it has been cleaned thoroughly. Many times exposure results from cleaning equipment with bare hands, wear ing liquid-absorbant clothing, removing gloves before they’re washed, or spraying when wind is present. The most serious poisonings come from exposure to organo phosphate and carbamate insecti cides, according to Hock. Organo phosphate insecticides include methyl and ethyl parathion, Cygon, Diazinon, Di-Syston, Guthion, malathion, Metasystox- R, Phosdrin, and Thimet; carba mate insecticides include Sevin, Furadan, Lannate, and Temik. The early signs of internal poi soning from one of these com pounds include fatigue, headache, giddiness, sweating, dizziness or blurred vision, cramps, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. During the next stage of poisoning, symptoms that may develop are numbness, changes in heart rate, general muscle weakness, difficulty to breathing and walking, pinpoint pupils, excessive salivation, and an increase in severity of the earlier symptoms. Finally, convulsions and comas can occur that result ultimately in death If any of these symptoms should occur while working with pesti cides, the farmer should stop what he’s doing and administer first aid. The first aid could be as simple as taking a break away from the chemicals and donning additional protective gear. Or it could be a phone call to a poison control center. Hock recommends that farmers watch for early signs and symp toms of pesticide poisoning. “These often occur immediately after exposure, but may be delayed for up to 24 hours,” he added. If a farmer suspects that he or a family member has been poisoned, he should seek medical attention immediately, taking care to bring the pesticide label to the doctor so that he knows how to care for his patient. In extreme emergencies, contact a nearby poison control center or the National Pesticide Telecom munications Network at 800/858-7378 where a person is standing by 24 hours a day, every day of the year. Protective gear When handling pesticides, the farmer should at least wear a long sleeved shirt and pants of a tightly woven or waterproof material, unlined waterproof gloves without a fabric wrist band, waterproof boots, and a goggles, according to Hock. Check the pesticide label to know what other precautions may be necessary. Just wearing the above articles doesn’t necessarily mean protec tion will be absolute, however, unless they are worn to prevent spills from rolling down arms or legs to exposed skin. For example, shirt sleeves should be worn over gloves unless the farmer will be working with his hands and arms overhead, in which case the gloves would be worn outside the sleeve with the glove cuffs turned up to catch pesticide that may run down the arm. Trouser legs should be worn outside the boots. All protective clothing should be washed after use, and in hot water at full water level separately from the family laundry. The washing machine should be rinsed with “an empty load” using hot water and a heavy-duty detergent afterwards. Bleach or ammonia may help remove some pesticides, but don’t use the two in combina tion as they form chlorine gas, which can be fatal. Proper mixing Farmers should use com monsense when mixing pesticides and cleaning up afterwards, according to Hock. “The pesticide mixing and loading area should be outside away from other people, livestock, and pets,” he stressed. “Pesticides should not be mixed in areas where a spill or overflow could get into a water supply.” , When pouring from a container, the farmer should keep his face far from the container so as to avoid getting splashed in the face. Mea suring utensils should be handy and used only with pesticides. Make sure they’re labeled so no one else could use them for another purpose. When adding water, the hose should never make contact with the pesticide. This will pre vent pesticides from getting into the water supply or on unprotected hands later on. Avoid contact when applying Farmers should bring fresh water, soap, and paper towels in a container jvhen they apply pesti cides so that they can quickly wash off any drift or splashes. Hock also warns farmers not to eat, drink, or smoke when applying pesticides. Before applying pesticides, far mers should check the equipment carefully, looking for leaking hoses and connections and plugged or worn nozzles. If equip ment needs to be fixed in the field, try to minimize exposure to the chemicals. “If a nozzle becomes clogged while spraying, stop spraying, and move to an untreated area to correct the problem,” advised Hock. “Use an old tooth brush or other brush to clean plugged nozzles; avoid wire or metal, which can damage nozzles.” Often it is windy when farmers need to spray. If this is the case, there are some actions that will reduce drift: •Select the correct nozzle type and use a spray pressure low enough to produce the largest sized droplet that will provide sufficient penetration and coverage of the intended target. •Nozzles should be checked for wear, which can affect sprayer calibration and droplet size. •Select nonvolatile or low vola tile formulations. •Include a drift control agent in the spray mix. •Spray during the early morning or early evening when wind speeds are lower. Farmers who live near residen tial areas have another set of con cerns when applying pesticides. For instance, if the wind is strong enough, pesticides may drift into the residential area or children may play in the field after it is sprayed. “It is a big concern,” stated Hock. “It’s a case where good neighborly relations will solve some of the problems. The farmer will have to work it out with the residents.” Center Town Allanuwn Lwhtflh Valley Poison Center Allontown HoapHal-Lehigh Valloy Hospital Contor 17th* Chow Sts., 18102 Keystone Region Poison Center Mercy Hospital 2500 7th Avenue, 18803 Altoona Sacred Heart Medical Center 9th A Wilson Sts., 19013 Chastor Susquehanna Poison Canter Geislngar Medical Canter Box 273 A, 17281 Danville Easton Hospital 21st& Lehigh Sts., 18042 Easton Pocono Hotpltal Stroudfburg 206 E. Brown St, 18301 Eau MiHcreaK Community Hospital 5515 Peach St., 18509 Erl* Hamot Medical Center 201 State St., 16550 Northwest Poison Center Saint Vincent Health Center 232 W. 25 St.. 16544 Gettysburg Hospital 147 Qettys St.. 17325 Gettysburg Hanover General Hospital 300 Highland Ave., 17331 The Milton S. Harshey Medical Canter Hanover Harrisburg The Milton S. Hershey Medical Center 500 University Drive, 17033 Hershey Keystone Region Poison Center Mercy Hospital, Altoona Johnstown St. Joseph's Hospital 250 Collage Ave., 17604 Lancaster Latroba Area Hospital Assn. West 2nd Ave., 15650 Latrobc Lewistown Hospital Highland Ave., 17044 Lewistown Philadelphia Delaware Valley Regional (Bucks, Chaster Poison Control Center Delaware, 1 Children's Canter, 18104 Montgomery, and Phila. Counties)) Pittsburgh Pittsburgh Poison Center Children's Hospital 1 Children’s Place 3706 sth Ave. at Desoto St., 15213 Community Medical Center 1822 Mulberry St., 18510 Scranton Sharon General Hospital 740 E. State St., 16146 Sharon Wilkes-Barre Wilkes-Barre Gen. Hospital N. River 8 Auburn Sts., 18764 The Milton S. Hershey Medical Canter York Pennsylvania Mile Health Offices (Harrlaburgl J. B. Ogun Div. of Drugs, Devices, and Cosmetics 930 Health and Wallers Bldg, P.0.80x 90 State Oapt. of Health, 17100 Harrisburg Bobby R. Jones, 0.V.M., MPH Acting Director Division of Aid, P.O. Box 90 Pa. Dept, ol Health, 17100 215,433-2311 814,948-3711 OR 949-4197 215,494-4400 717,275-6116 215,250-4000 717,421-4000 Ext. 4666 814,864-4031 Ext. 427 814,870-6111 814,452-3232 OR 452-5350 717,334-9155 717,637-4074 717,531-6111 717,531-6111 814,946-3711 OR 949-4197 717-299-4546 412,537-1000 Ext. 1187 717,248-5411 215,386-2066 OR 386-2100 (Emergency line) 412,681-6669 717,343-5566 412,983-3911 Ext. 3870 717,829-2200 OR 829-8111 Ext. 2916 717,531-6111 717.707-Z307 Watts. 447-2307 717,707-3350 Watts, 447-3350
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