Characteristics of acute occupational pesticide exposures reported to poison control centers in Texas, 2000–2015

ABSTRACT

In the United States, there is limited literature on occupational pesticide exposures despite being associated with adverse health outcomes, including in large states such as Texas. The purpose of this article is to characterize occupational pesticide poison center exposures in Texas. Descriptive statistics were used to describe exposures (eg, exposure routes, type of pesticide, medical outcome, clinical effects, and temporal/seasonal patterns). From 2000 to 2015, there were 2,303 occupational pesticide poison center exposures. Common types of reported pesticides were insecticides (67.3%), herbicides (17.7%), and repellents (5.8%). The highest proportion of exposures were among those aged 20 to 29 years (24.9%). The top clinical effect categories were gastrointestinal (25.8%), neurological (19.2%), and dermal (14.9%). Characterizing occupational pesticide poison center exposures can support improved surveillance systems and guide future research or interventions.

KEYWORDS:

• Occupational
• pesticides
• poison control center
• surveillance

Funding

This article was supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (CDC/NIOSH) under Cooperative Agreement No. U50 OH07541 to the Southwest Center for Agricultural Health, Injury Prevention, and Education at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of CDC/NIOSH or the National Institutes of Health.