Keokuk County Iowa Rural Health Study: Self-reported Use of Pesticides and Protective Equipment

Abstract

The Keokuk County Rural Health Study is a unique, population-based, prospectivestudy of an agricultural community in Iowa. The research includes in-depth evaluationsof respiratory disease, injury, and other health outcomes in relation to environmentaland occupational exposures. This article reports descriptive findings on pesticide usefrom among the first 653 participants completing occupational surveys. Thirty-onepercent of respondents (farmers and non-farmers) had applied insecticides, and lawnand garden chemicals at home during the past year. Forty-one percent of respondentshad personally mixed or applied farm chemicals during their life. Eleven percent had acurrent pesticide applicators license, but only 1% worked as a custom pesticideapplicator. Information on the specific types of pesticides and protective measures usedwere obtained for the 95 individuals who had mixed or applied pesticides on farmswithin the previous year. Of these individuals, 69% worked with fertilizers, 52% withherbicides, 48% with crop insecticides, 44% with crop storage insecticides, 26% withlivestock insecticides, and 11% with fungicides. The use of personal protectiveequipment such as gloves, aprons, and respirators varied depending on the chemical. Asignificant proportion did not use gloves even for mixing. Thirty-four percent reportedat least one symptom after working with pesticides during the previous year. Inaddition to providing a detailed description of pesticide use by farmers in thismidwestern population, these data will be used to evaluate exposure-responserelationships in conjunction with health outcome data from the Keokuk County RuralHealth Study.