PESTICIDES NEARBY...

BUT STAYING HEALTHYA GUIDE TO PREVENT PESTICIDE EXPOSURE

Illustrations, Designand Layout:Salvador SaenzStory: SalvadorSaenz with AmyLiebman andPatricia Juarez1-800-423-5437 1-512-327-2017

Our special thanks to promotores of the EjidoBenito Juarez in Chihuahua and PromotoraProject in Anthony, NM who tested thismaterial.

At the end of the day, the workersreturn home. Their children arehappy to see them.

What is the matter with the Gomez’s? It seems like they’renot happy to see their daughter. They don’t want to hug her.

No sweetie, Don’t come near us.We’ve been WORKING IN THEFIELDS and we can’t hug you.

Oh, Josefina. You’d thinkthey don’t even want tosee Lupita! They don’teven hug her!

Pesticides are chemicals used in agriculture and around the home to kill or control pests. Fungicides, herbicidesand insecticides are also pesticides. Some fertilizers have pesticides in them too.

They love her so much that they can’t hug her.They know that after being in the field, theirclothing, hands and shoes can be coveredwith pesticides that can get on their daughter.

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Of course we’re happy! ButEsther, you know that a fewdays ago a plane sprayedthe field?

And what does that have to do with not huggingyour little girl? Besides, they sprayed a fewdays ago. I bet you the pesticides aren’t eventhere now. It doesn’t smell anymore.

Well, even if it doesn’t smell, pesticides canstill be there. It can come home on ourclothes and shoes. If Tony hugs his littleboy, he can get pesticides on him too.

Oh, come on. They are making such a big deal out of nothing.Some pesticides aren’t bad! Maybe they don’t remember whenwe used to do the spraying ourselves in San Tito. Nothinghappened to us! Here, we hardly even touch the pesticides.Someone else does most of the mixing and spraying.

We really aren’t at risk. As kids,we had to help in the fields. Ourchildren don’t even get close tothe fields, much less to thepesticides. What’s the danger?

That’s exactly the point. Eventhough our kids don’t go intothe fields, there are lots ofways they can be exposed topesticides.

Kids don’t have to go to the fields.Parents can carry pesticides homeon their clothes, shoes and hands.

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Children are more at riskbecause pesticidesaffect them differently.

Well now that you’ve totallyconfused me, explain it to me. Let’s see.

Even if the children don’t go tothe fields, they’re more at riskthan adults.

When something happens tothem, the next day they’re justfine. If I get hit, it hurts for weeks,but those sneaky little kids…

As if we’re bringing home something bad!We spend the whole day in the field andnothing happens to us. Why shouldanything happen to our kids?

How could we bring homeenough that it would bedangerous for the kids? Kidsare tough and exposed to allkinds of things that don’t hurtthem.

If you think about it, we’re more at risk becausewe’re around pesticides a lot more. And kidsare a lot tougher than us.

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Children eat more,breathe more and drinkmore than adults.Also, they’re alwaysusing their hands andmouths. They put toysin their mouths andthings from the floor orground go right intotheir mouths.

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Unwashedfruits andvegetableswith pesticides.Children can beexposed whenthey eat them.

The sources of pesticideexposure to children are:

Drift from the fields that aresprayed, kids may breathe it in.

Playing on the ground and with dirt.Children can easily eat, breathe inor touch pesticide residue.

Contaminatedwater. Theycan drink it.

ANY OBJECT EXPOSED TOPESTICIDES MAY BE

DANGEROUS TO KIDS.

Exactly... Children aremore at riskthan adultsbecause theirlittle bodies arestill growing.

Contact withskin. Kids cantouchsomething thathas pesticideson it.

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Children may be exposed through their skin byhugging or touching their parents whose clothes,shoes and hands havebeen in contact withpesticides.

Absorbed through theskin?? As if they hadmouths all over theirbodies!

Yeah, but it’s almostlike we have littlemouths! Many thingsthat we touch can beabsorbedthrough ourskin.

BY ABSORTIONThrough the skin.

BY BREATHINGThrough the nose andthe mouth.

BY SWALLOWINGThrough the mouth,while eating ordrinking.

Kids are exposed topesticides 3 ways.

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Wow, we thought they didn’thug their children becausethey didn’t love them. Butreally, it’s the opposite!

Now, because of them, I take off my shoes beforecoming in the house. And I take a shower evenif it isn’t Saturday or if I’m still sweating… I knowit’s a safe thing to do.

Are you going to do allthat? I’m sure you willbecause I know you wantto protect your kids.

We want to doeverything we can to

protect our kids!What else can we do?

Of course you do. You should also keep your work clothes in a separate placeand wash them separately. We do. First we wash the family clothes. Then wewash our work clothes.

Wash your handsand our kids’ hands.

This is why we should protect our kids. We need to get rid of any pesticides that we could bring home from thefields. Here are some tips.

Wipe your shoes beforecoming in the house. Take a shower.

Leave the shoes in a specialspot near the door.

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Clothes on aclothesline can becontaminated by

pesticide drift. Becareful.

When spraying is going on near your home,children should not be allowed to go out.And their outside toys should be covered...

… And then washed to get rid of anypesticides that may be on them.

Water from the irrigation canals may be contaminated. Besure the kids drink only safe water or bottled water. Also,don’t allow kids to play near the canals.

Wash fruit andvegetables before

eating them.

Pesticides settle on everything that is onthe floor, outside or inside the house.

And, children spendmost of the time on thefloor, playing with dirt…

Ah! Now I understandwhy children are in

greater danger!

And, they put their hands andeverything else in their mouths! Itcan be so hard to wash their handsall the time!

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That is also why the house shouldbe kept very clean. If it’s possiblesweep the floor everyday.

It’s very important to tryto keep the dust anddrift from coming in thehouse: Shut doors andwindows when they’respraying. Keep a matat the doorway to wipeoff shoes.KEEP DIRT OUT!

The main thing everyone shouldlearn is to WASH THEIR HANDS

THOROUGHLY AND OFTEN.

Remember that babies and small children are at greater risk topesticide exposure. They also get sick more often. Hand washinghelps prevent pesticide exposure and lots of sickness too.

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Maybe, but maybe not! It is true that a little pesticidemay not kill…But the exposure can be LITTLE BYLITTLE. Small amounts of pesticide each season,each year.

Wow! So muchtime withpesticides allaround us andwe didn’t evenknow thedamage theycan cause. Iget the chillsjust thinking ofwhat we usedto do. We usedempty pesticidebags for ourroof! And theway we usedagriculturalpesticides allover house tokill the bugsinside.

No joke. Maybe that’s why so manyelderly people in San Tito havecancer, like my father -in-law.

Ya, my poor dad. Yearafter year in the fields,using all thosepesticides. Maybe that’swhy he got cancer?

Yeah, but my dad alsoworked his entire life inagriculture. He did all thespraying and nothing everhappened to him.

In case you didn’t know, those small amountof pesticides, besides causing some types ofcancer, can also cause brain, nerve,reproduction and fertility problems…

My cousin ispregnant. Is she at

risk? What about herbaby?

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You better stop it. I’m getting scared.And I’m not going to be scared—evenof what I don’t eat!

…they found that exposure to pesticides maycause some childhood cancers, such asleukemia, or cause learning problems.

Yes, just warn her notto be near pesticides.Her baby may be at riskfor birth defects.

Oh mygoodness! Now Ithink if mighthave beenpesticides thatcaused all ofthose problemsback home. Theheadaches,being dizzy,troublebreathing,stomach aches,diarrhea andnervousness.Do youremember that?

Yes. The doctor told Mrs. Martineznot to let her child come in contactwith pesticides because…

Poisoning can also beSUDDEN. Thishappened with theMartinez’s child. Hewas playing outsidewhen they werespraying. Even thoughhe was not close tothe field, thepesticides got to him.All of the sudden hehad a headache, wasdizzy, and he couldn’tbreathe. Everythingwas blurry. Hisparents took him tothe doctor right away.They told the doctorthat he might havebeen exposed topesticides.

Did he getbetter?

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We can help the doctor orhealth worker by telling themwhat we think made our childrensick. We can tell them even ifwe don’t knowa thing aboutmedicine…

Don’t be scared. Look at us, we’vealways worked in the fields and nothinghappened to us.

But why? Why haven’t we sufferedlike the people from San Tito?

The difference is that we foundout. Today we know thathygiene is one of the first stepsto keep pesticides away fromus and our children.

You should alsoknow that thereis a period oftime after theyspray the fieldswhen no onecan go in until itis safe. Thereare some signsto keep youout. Read themand follow theinstructions. Ifyou don’tunderstandthem, youshould askwhat theymean.

A couple days ago, Lolita, ourneighbor Cata’s daughter had diarrheaand was throwing up. The doctordidn’t know what she had…

After listening to you talk about theMartinez’s kid, I think it hadsomething to do with pesticides.

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Don’t keep toxic substances in drinkor food containers. It’s easy to getconfused.

Pesticide containers have residuesfor a long time. Even when washedthey are still dangerous. Pesticidecontainers should NEVER be usedfor anything else.

If you think your child is sick from pesticides,do something fast. Go directly to the hospitalemergency room. Tell the doctor or the healthworker that you work or live near the fields…

…and that you thinkthat your child wasexposed to pesticides.

…take along the label or writedown the name of the pesticide thatwas used.

Wait, you’re talking about thepesticides that are used in the field.But here at home we also usepesticides for bugs. Is that bad too?

Good thing you mention thisbecause pesticides at home can beeven more dangerous. Everyoneshould know how to use and storethem safely.

Pesticides, chemicals andcleaners for our homes must bekept out of reach of children.

And remember...Take yourchildren for regular check ups.

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Wait. Let’s go over what we’velearned today so we can see ifwe remember it all.

We won’t touch, hug or hold children before bathing orwashing, and changing clothes.

Did you hear that Tony? Thebucket that you use as a toolbox might give us problems.

You should NEVER useagricultural pesticides in andaround your home.

Don’t bring home anythingthat was used as apesticide container. It’s arisk for everybody.

Well, as soon as I leave, I’ll changemy tool box. I’ve already seenanother one, and this one didn’thave pesticides.

Make sure you put thatpail in a safe place. Well, it’s time for us to leave.

We have to get dinner ready.

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NOT FORHOMEUSE!

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Pesticides are near. But now that we know all of this information, we willbe careful when using pesticides. And if everybody gets used to washinghands and trying to keep the house clean, we’ll be protecting our families.

We’ll keep and wash ourwork clothesseparately.

When we come back from thefields we will shower or at leastwash our hands, arms and face.

We ’ll cover toys that are outsidewhen they’re spraying andwash them beforeusing.

We’ll wash fruitand vegetablesbefore eatingthem.

VERY GOOD!Now that you knowwhat to do, YOU JUSTHAVE TO DO IT!

We’ll take our shoes off beforecoming in the house, or at leastwipe our shoes on the welcomemat before we come in.

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7)6)5)

4)3) We’ll get used to washing ourhands and our kids’ hands alot.

Knowledge and good habits habitscan make big difference in our lives!

This material has been written under the support of:National Children’s Center for Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety funded by National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

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