Study Measures Effects of N.C. Farm Work

Source from:  GREENVILLE, N.C. (AP) 08/11/2004

A four-year study of the effects of intense heat on farmworkers - sometimes including fatalities, brain damage and other serious injuries - is winding down and researchers expect it will result in tips to make hot days in the fields safer. The aim is narrowing down the hours that are the most dangerous to be in the heat, the early symptoms of heat stress, the best ways to stay hydrated and how culture or behavior affects workers' risk for illness. For example, working in cucumber fields is some of the hardest, hottest work on the farm, said Roberto Pascual, 28, a farm worker from Mexico. That's because cucumber pickers stoop low to the ground. Heat sensors placed throughout the farms studied have shown is nearly five degrees hotter than at a human's standing height, said Dr. Carol Maxwell, a research associate with the study run by the N.C. Agromedicine Institute. Many other factors affect temperature readings, from the type of crops and the type of soil in the field to whether the field has a tree line or pond near it, said John Sabella, interim director of the institute based in Greenville. The institute is a joint venture of North Carolina State University, North Carolina A&T State University and East Carolina University. "We know now through our experience that there is great variability in temperature in the field versus what the weather service may report that day at the airport," Sabella said. With nearly $250,000 from the U.S. Agriculture Department and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, the institute's researchers have spent long days watching and measuring workers on eight farms since 2000. At E.B. Lancaster Farms near Wilson, migrant workers sorted yellowing tobacco leaves, using rakes to heave the more desirable into a bailer, their shirts and hats wringing-wet with sweat. The air was heavy with the smell of freshly cured tobacco. Every few minutes, the workers paused to wipe their brows as heat sensors in the pole barn recorded temperatures of 105 degrees. In the corner, an audience of researchers waited around lounge chairs and scales with cool drinks as they waited for workers to break. Since researchers first ventured into the heat in 2000, they have tested the blood pressure, respiratory rates and temperatures of dozens of workers. They also checked pulse rates while the workers were lying and standing. Eating and sleeping patterns were surveyed, and cognitive tests were performed. Researchers spend long days recording the complications and other findings, beginning at 5 a.m. and typically finishing about 5 p.m. twice a week. Researchers start their day as ther workers wake and head to the fields. The assessments are repeated every two hours throughout the day. Because deterioration of cognitive skills is a symptom of heat stroke, Amanda Fields, a 23-year-old Spanish translator, tests workers' memories. She recites a series of numbers and asks field workers to repeat them both backward and forward. She said many pass in the early morning, but as the heat continues to rise, the test gets harder. Researchers have studied the impact of buildings near fields to the type of crops workers are harvesting. After analyzing the data, which they expect to finish collecting in September, the scientists and educators hope to release findings that will help farms improve the health, safety and productivity of the laborers who work their land. Enditem