Education

Handheld pesticide application takes place in farming and forestry work, and unintentional exposures can be common. Few evidence-based and practical solutions have been developed and shared across these industries.

Project Overview

PNASH works with farmers, educators, and researchers across the Northwest to test and develop solutions originally developed by growers and workers for themselves. We have expanded from our original airblast application systems, to now include handheld and greenhouse applications. Each solution is assessed for the goals:

Worker’s compensation claims data show dairy workers have a higher injury rate than workers in other industries. Industry specific risks include acute injuries from animal assaults, slips and falls on wet surfaces, and chronic injuries from repetitive stress. For many hired diary workers, Spanish is their primary language.

Project Overview

This project expanded the use of two recent PNASH-produced Spanish radio programs on ladder safety and heat-related illness prevention into a video tool for farmworker training.

The forest service workforce is a predominately Spanish-speaking and immigrant population that faces language barriers, isolated working environments, and dangerous working conditions. To address the occupational health and safety concerns of this population, this project explored the injuries and illnesses and related medical treatment. The data collected in this project was used to pilot a job health and safety promotora program for forest service workers.

This video project integrates current pesticide safety standards into the video, Fieldworker Orientation and Food Safety/Orientation/Orientation para el Trabajador Agricola y Seguridad Alimenticia. The video is bilingual and will be used by growers and workers in Washington and across the United States to ensure effective food safety practices.

This project worked toward minimizing agricultural worker and family pesticide exposure in the tree fruit industry by translating and disseminating research results and overcoming barriers to pesticide safety practices, particularly those that affect the large Hispanic workforce in the Pacific Northwest.

El Proyecto Bienestar (EPB) or, Well Being Project, is a long-standing community health intervention effort guided by a Yakima Valley community advisory board. The partnership is comprised of: The University of Washington; Northwest Communities Education Center/Radio KDNA; Heritage University; and Yakima Valley Farm Workers Clinic.

In the US, logging is among the top three most dangerous jobs, and when all factors are considered, logging is likely the most dangerous job and the most exertive work. Data in OR, WA, and ID show that 50% of loggers are at least 45 years old -  and that percentage is growing. This pilot project assessed the ergonomic and economic benefits of using synthetic rope to replace wire rope in standardized logging tasks for older workers (>age 40) compared to current practices and younger workers.