CS-Lancntar Farming, Saturday, May 1,1993
Pesticide Safety Training Targets Hispanic
UNIVERSITY PARK (Centre
Co.) —Pennsylvania's mushroom
growers lead die nation in produc
tion, accounting for 47 percent of
the country’s agaricus or “white
button” mushrooms and capturing
37 percent of the nation’s fresh
Anderson Tractor
Opens Store
-( )
Inc. recently opened up a store here, featuring a variety of
equipment, including Belarus and Zetor tractors and Inger
soM lawn and garden tractors.
The new 3,000 square foot store is located at 5368 South
Main St., Shrewsbury, PA 17361, (717) 235-0213. Sales man
ager at the store is Albert Stong.
Pictured at the new location above, front, from left, are
Albert Stong, sales; “D.J.” Anderson, sales; and Mark Shel
don, sales and servicer In back is Doug Anderson, owner.
For more information, contact Doug Anderson, (410)
592-7422.
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eral previous failed attempts. We special
ize in outpatient hernia repairs, and most
patients are able to return to full work with
in several days.
PLEASE CALL COLLECT OR WRITE
FOR MORE INFORMATION
MID ATLANTIC SURGICAL
SERVICES
217 Harrisburg Ave., Suite 201
Lancaster, PA 17603
(717) 295-5454
MOST INSURANCE ACCEPTED
market sales and 69 percent of the
processing sales.
Many mushroom house work
ers are Hispanic, which can make
it difficult for employers to com
municate job-related safety infor
mation. But new educational tools
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developed by Penn State's Col
lege of Agricultural Sciences will
help the state’s mushroom grow
ers protect Hispanic employees
from pesticide exposure on the
job.
“HAZfacts; Pesticide Safety for
Mushroom Workers” provides
Spanish-speaking workers with
“right-to-know” information
about poison signs and symptoms,
personal protection equipment,
safety signs, emergency treatment
and personal hygiene. The pack
age includes a videotape in Span
ish with English subtitles and a
flip chart with both Spanish and
English text and clear
illustrations.
“HAZfacts supports the
mushroom industry’s efforts to
provide a safe workplace,” said
Dr. Ted Alter, regional director
for the southeast region of Penn
State Cooperative Extension.
“Growers will be required to train
workers starting a year from now,
but they have begun the process
well in advance, HAZfacts will
make the training more effective.”
Sam Steel, former project asso
ciate in agricultural and biological
engineering, developed the con
tent of the HAZfacts program
before taking a position with the
National Safety Council. He drew
on his experience as an extension
agent in Chester County, teaching
Hispanic workers about
pesticides.
“I wanted to help mushroom
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growers comply with the Environ
mental Protection Agency’s new
Worker Protection Standard,” he
said. “Starting in April 1994, it
requires mushroom workers to be
instructed within six days of being
hired about pesticide safety in a
language they understand. Over
1,500 mushroom workers in the
state are Hispanic, so language
differences can be an obstacle to
effective training. The workers
also have varying levels of litera
cy. which complicates teaching
them about pesticide safety.”
To overcome language and lit
eracy barriers, Steel and commu
nication specialists in the college
consulted closely with mushroom
workers to make sure the training
materials could reach all employ
ees. The actors in the video are
mushroom workers who were
taped at their workplace, and Steel
said their involvement makes the
package more realistic.
“If we were shooting a scene
and an actor didn’t understand
what we were trying to explain,
he’d tell us,” said Steel. “We
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Lancaster Farming Carries
DHIA Reports Cadi Menthl
Workers
would explain the idea to him, and
then he would help us put it in
words the workers would use.
This process tailored the HAZ
facts package to the needs of the
audience.”
The project was sponsored by
the Mushroom Ombudsman Prog
ram, a group of more than 20
mushroom growers in southeast
ern Pennsylvania. “HAZfacts
makes pesticide safety easily
understandable,” said James
Angelucci, the program’s chair
man. “It will help our employees
know how to minimize the risk of
pesticide exposure and what to do
in an emergency.” Rafael Ramos,
a consultant to producers and farm
workers for the program, trans
lated the video script and flip
chart text into Spanish.
For more information about
“HAZfacts: Pesticide Safety for
Mushroom Workers,” contact Ag
Information-Services, The Penn
sylvania State University. 119
Agricultural Administration
Building, University Park, PA
16802, (814) 865-6309.
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