Farmworkers at Risk

The document outlines the methodology and data used to analyze pesticide application rates and heat index exposure for farmworkers in the US. It details the use of USGS and NASS data to identify high-risk pesticides and calculate heat index days, providing specific state-level and county-level data for California, Florida, and Washington.

• The analysis identified the top 10 pesticides by weight for California, Florida, and Washington, focusing on labor-intensive crop categories such as "Vegetables and fruit" and "Orchards and grapes".
• Several high-use pesticides in the studied states are associated with acute toxicity and long-term health effects, including carcinogenic, reproductive, and developmental toxicants or endocrine disruptors.
• Specific pesticides used in the three target states carry severe EPA toxicity warnings; for example, Metam Potassium, Chloropicrin, Metam, Calcium Polysulfide, Chlorothalonil, Sulfuric Acid, and Allyl Isothiocyanate are all categorized with the signal word "DANGER".
• Heat index calculations based on 1971-2000 data show significant variation in the number of days above 80°F across states, with Florida (194 days) and Texas (165 days) among the highest, while Maine (21 days) and Vermont (28 days) are among the lowest.
• In California, the San Joaquin Valley counties of Merced (138 days), San Joaquin (133 days), and Stanislaus (131 days) exhibit high frequencies of days with a heat index above 80°F.
• The methodology for heat index calculations is noted as a conservative estimate of recent conditions because substantial warming has occurred since the 1971-2000 average period.

APA

Union of Concerned Scientists (2019). Farmworkers at Risk. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2020-01/ucs-farmworkers-at-risk-appendices.pdf

Chicago

Union of Concerned Scientists. Farmworkers at Risk. 2019. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2020-01/ucs-farmworkers-at-risk-appendices.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Union of Concerned Scientists |title=Farmworkers at Risk |date=December 2019 |url=https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2020-01/ucs-farmworkers-at-risk-appendices.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{unionofconcernedscientists2019farmworkers, author = {{Union of Concerned Scientists}}, title = {{Farmworkers at Risk}}, institution = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, year = {2019}, month = dec, url = {https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2020-01/ucs-farmworkers-at-risk-appendices.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }