Four hundred and fifteen California residents responded to a ques tionnaire that examined their in-home uses of pesticides, sources of pesticide information, precautions taken, and knowledge of the factors influencing risky or safe use of pesticides. Most respondents reported using pesticides at home, and half said they had tried nonchemical alternatives. Nurseries and garden centers were the primary sources of information, followed by pesticide packages and labels. Minimum precautions (reading labels and not exceeding recommended dosages) were the chief means of self-protection for home users. Over 25% of respondents reported suffering illness from pesticide exposure. An association was found between how safe or dangerous home users believe pesticides are and the degree of their risk-taking behavior. Further analysis indicated, however, that there was considerable risk-taking even among those who perceive great risk. It is suggested that better pesticide labeling would increase cautionary behavior.
The issue of personal cleanliness for farm workers exposed to pesticides is a significant health problem. One area that requires more attention centers on the issues of handling and laundering of clothing suspected of being contaminated by pesticides. This exploratory research focused on the handling and laundering behaviors of California farm workers with pesticide contaminated clothing. Of particular interest was the phenomenon of “secondhand” exposure that may result from improper handling and unsafe laundering practices. Members of farm worker families (N=109) were interviewed at two California health clinics that serve a large portion of low income farm worker families. The sample was divided into three groups based on exposure to pesticides: direct exposure, indirect exposure, nonexposed. The findings revealed the least safe handling and laundering behaviors were reported by the group most at risk from first hand exposure (i.e., handlers, loaders, applicators). Also, secondhand exposure to pesticides appears to be related to storage and laundering practices reported by those who are directly or indirectly exposed to pesticides. The findings revealed the actual laundering practices of farm workers and their knowledge of what constitutes unsafe laundering behavior, including “secondhand” contamination. This information can help to identify realistic safe laundering practices for farm worker families who come in contact with pesticides in the field or at home.
DETERMINATION of acceptable levels of risk is rapidly gaining the widespread attention of scientists, elected officials, and bureaucrats. Public concern about the safety of drugs, pesticides, food additives, pollution, and nuclear energy has spawned the demand for more and better hazard management and risk assessment methods.This case study probes the public's assessment of risks related to the use of a chemical pesticide in the 1981-82 Mediterranean fruitfly eradication campaign in the San Francisco Bay Area. The Medfly infested portions of five densely populated counties in Northern California and was trapped as far south as Los Angeles. Public concern was expressed over the efficacy and safety of the manner of Abstract The Mediterranean Fruit Fly eradication program provided an opportunity to assess public attitudes toward technological risks. This is a case study of 126 residents from a metropolitan area who, during the 1981-82 Mediterranean Fruitfly Crisis, were undergoing exposure to aerial spraying with a pesticide. While only one-third of the subjects expressed fear of danger to their health and to the environment, 94 percent undertook one or more major behavioral precautions. Individual differences in risk perception were related to perceived benefits of the program, political ideology, faith in experts, and media exposure. Individual differences in risk acceptability varied primarily as a function of risk perception. Federal, state, and business agencies were perceived as influential in decision making, with individual citizens having little opportunity for input.
This study of a sample of home gardeners indicates that rules of thumb, or heuristics, are used to select between chemical pesticides and nonchemical alternatives. Such rules of thumb serve to simplify otherwise complicated choice decisions. Heuristics commonly used to choose pesticides include how safe, effective, efficacious, and economical they are, whereas for alternative products consumers more often take into account convenience, efficiency, competency, and handiness. Generally, in an overall ranking of 24 individual choice attributes, pesticies rank low on these attributes where alternatives rank high and vice versa. Gender, age, and years using pesticides are significantly correlated with pesticide selection.
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