Migrant Farmworkers’ Exposure to Pesticides in Sonora, Mexico

Abstract

Expanding agribusiness in Sonora, a state in Northern Mexico, has increased the demand for temporary migrant agricultural workers. Sonora is one of the top states in Mexico for pesticide utilization. We conducted an exploratory study to evaluate exposure to organophosphate (OP) and pyrethroid pesticides among migrant farmworkers. A sample of 20 migrant farmworkers was recruited from a large commercial grape farm during the harvest season. We administered a questionnaire on work activities, exposure characteristics, and socio-demographics. We collected urine samples to quantify pesticide metabolite concentrations. Most participants were originally from the state of Chiapas, Mexico, none had completed high school, and about half spoke an indigenous language as well as Spanish. The majority of participants had detectable concentrations of pyrethroid and organophosphate biomarkers. Geometric mean creatinine-adjusted concentrations for 3-phenoxybenzoic acid (1.83 µg/g), trans-3-(2,2-dichlorovinyl)-2,2-dimethylcyclopropane carboxylic acid (0.88 µg/g), 4-fluoro-3-phenoxybenzoic acid (0.94 µg/g), 3,5,6-trichloro-2-pyridinol (3.56 µg/g), and para-nitrophenol (0.63 µg/g) were significantly higher than in the general United States’ population and Mexican Americans. Our results also suggest that migrant farmworkers in this region are exposed to pesticides at higher levels than other farmworkers’ studies. Farmworkers’ age, language, training on personal protective equipment, time at the farm, and season, were significant exposure determinants.

Understanding Challenges to Well-Being among Latina FarmWorkers in Rural Idaho Using in an Interdisciplinary, Mixed-Methods Approach

“…While the sample size for the biological monitoring component of this study was relatively small, we did measure the highest exposures in samples collected during the agricultural spray season from women who reported mixing and applying pesticides. These outlying measurements were more than an order of magnitude higher than the 95th percentile of exposures measured in women and Mexican-Americans in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey [ 45 , 46 , 47 ], and notably higher for 3-PBA and trans -DCCA compared to the highest levels measured among migrant male farmworkers in Sonora, Mexico [ 48 ] (see Table 3 ). Further, the single highest exposure was measured in one such woman who reported that she never received any pesticide safety training.…”

Glyphosate ban in Mexico: potential impacts on agriculture and weed management

“…Studies documenting the impacts or alterations in wildlife, persistence in the environment, or human health caused by glyphosate are abundant worldwide 20,21,66,67 . However, these side effects are not unique to glyphosate 68–71 . In addition, most studies were conducted using only the active ingredient, but not commercial formulations.…”

“…Inadequate pesticide storage is common among Mexican farmers and, most pesticide users do not have sufficient training to handle and dispose empty containers 25 . In hot climates like Mexico many users do not use personal protective equipment due to discomfort 70 . In addition, most pesticide users are unaware of the legislation regarding the use of pesticides because they do not receive visits from officials of the regulatory agencies, 24 such as COFEPRIS, the CESAVEs (Comités Estatales de Sanidad Vegetal) or SENASICA.…”

“…In addition, most pesticide users are unaware of the legislation regarding the use of pesticides because they do not receive visits from officials of the regulatory agencies, 24 such as COFEPRIS, the CESAVEs (Comités Estatales de Sanidad Vegetal) or SENASICA. More than 93% of agricultural workers have used some type of pesticide, on their own or third‐party crops; however, only a third (30–35%) of them have received training regarding safe pesticide use, a situation that has not changed in the last 20 years 24,70,93 …”

Longitudinal assessment of kidney function in migrant farm workers

“…We found that nearly all MSFWs reported working in extreme heat, most had core body temperatures reaching and exceeding 38 °C at some point during the workday, and all workers were dehydrated to some degree ( Wagoner et al, 2020 ). Also, many had high levels of organophosphate (OPs), pyrethroids (PYRs), and imidacloprid biomarkers in their urine; the highest pesticide levels were found during the summer, late in the harvest season ( Lopez-Galvez et al, 2018 ; López-Gálvez et al, 2020 ). Although the MSFWs are exposed to occupational risk factors such as heat and pesticides, to our knowledge, no studies have comprehensively examined, longitudinally, the potential effect of these combined occupational factors on kidney function in MSFWs.…”