For immediate release: July 2, 2004 (04-079)

Contacts:
Tim Church, Dept. of Health, Communications 360-236-4077
Michael Wood, Dept. of Labor and Industries 360-902-5496

OLYMPIA ¾ The state Department of Health is re-testing some blood samples from farmworkers for evidence of health problems due to pesticide exposure after discovering a small number of initial test results were inaccurate.

Since February, at the request of the state Department of Labor and Industries (L&I), the Department of Health’s Public Health Laboratories have been testing blood samples from farmworkers for an enzyme that helps regulate the nervous system, called cholinesterase. Overexposure to pesticides known as organophosphates and carbamates can cause a person’s cholinesterase level to drop, which can result in health problems like headaches, blurred vision and diarrhea. In severe cases low levels of the enzyme can cause breathing difficulties and death.

Since the testing began, 27 farmworkers have been found to have severely depressed cholinesterase levels. Department of Labor and Industries rules require employers to remove those workers from jobs that expose them to the pesticides of concern. After re-testing and analysis, four of those farmworkers are being allowed to return to work.

Although the L&I rules require employers to offer the medical monitoring, actual participation by farmworkers is voluntary. The Public Health Laboratories have tested samples from about 2,600 workers since the testing program began. Cholinesterase testing is relatively new and there is no national standard testing procedure. After some initial testing difficulties, state laboratory staff developed a more reliable testing method in early March. To assure quality results, the department is re-testing approximately 400 samples that were tested before the new procedures were implemented.

"We are repeating those initial tests to make sure we have the most accurate information possible. These results are being used to make important decisions about people’s health, and we want to err on the side of caution," said Jude Van Buren, Assistant Secretary for Epidemiology, Health Statistics, and the Public Health Laboratories.

The L&I rule was the result of the Supreme Court’s decision in Rios v. L&I, which required L&I to initiate a medical monitoring rule for pesticide handlers in agriculture. The rule took effect early this year and is being evaluated with the assistance of outside stakeholders and a scientific team.

Because the removal of the four workers was the result of laboratory error, L&I has announced that it will reimburse the two affected employers for any wages paid to the workers if they were not able to perform other duties.

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