[AODA members] [hen-l] Farming dangers - dust

[Stacia Nordin, RD]

A delayed input on this, but dust and smoke in the air is a such a huge 
part of my life in Malawi that I can help but have a word or two.  The 
whole sky is full of particles at this time of year.

We mulch our whole entire land with green manures and dry matter, we put 
in lots of live fences (mixed hedge rows, often edible) and have a 
no-till, no dust raising policy.

Unfortunately if is slow to spread to the neighbors and bare dirt is 
seen as clean.  Long story, so I'll save it for another day.

Fortunately, times are changing!  The schools we are working with, along 
with their parents, teachers and even district offices are getting the 
hang of covering all bare dirt.  Check out the attached pdf pictures to 
give you an idea of the changes.

It sure would be wonderful for HEN and AODA to have a lot more linkages 
- the work of HEN is needed very, very badly all around the world!

Stacia Nordin, RD
Malawi

Allan Balliett wrote:
>> Farm workers seem to have an elevated risk of developing a serious 
>> lung condition more typically seen in smokers, a study has shown.
>
> As a long time full time farmer, I think it is important to consider 
> the affect continuing world-wide droughts are having in the amount of 
> "dust" most any farming activity creates. Even on an organic farm like 
> ours, we are seeing dust problems creating eye irritations (and I 
> assume lung irritations as my major complaint this season has been 'I 
> can't get a decent breath') that we never experienced until a couple 
> of years ago.
>
> I guess it's time to start wearing bandanas over our faces as we work. 
> (Am I kidding??)
>
> -Allan Balliett
> HEN Friend
> Eastern Panhandle, WV


-------- Original Message --------
Subject: 	[hen-l] Farming dangers
Date: 	Sat, 23 Jun 2007 21:07:24 -0400
From: 	Nancy Ortiz, R.D. <nrord at adelphia.net>
Reply-To: 	ADA Dietetic Practice Group <hen-l at list.cornell.edu>



Farm workers seem to have an elevated risk of developing a serious lung 
condition more typically seen in smokers, a study has shown.

Austrian researchers found that among more than 1000 adults who 
underwent tests of lung function, farmers were more likely than those 
with other occupations to show signs of chronic obstructive pulmonary 
disease (COPD).

COPD is the collective term for emphysema and chronic bronchitis, 
progressive diseases of the airways most commonly associated with 
smoking. While smoking is the major risk factor for COPD, non-smokers 
can also develop it.

The new findings suggest that farming "should be considered a risk 
factor" for COPD, the study authors report in the American Journal of 
Industrial Medicine.

It's not clear what particular aspects of farming might raise the risk 
of COPD, according to the researchers, led by Dr. Bernd Lamprecht of 
Paracelsus Medical University in Salzburg.

However, farming has been linked to other health consequences, including 
higher risks of asthma and lung cancer, possibly due to pesticides or 
other chemicals.

In addition, Lamprecht's team writes, farmers consistently inhale 
"agricultural dusts," which consist of organic materials from animal and 
plant sources as well as inorganic materials in soil that can cause 
inflammation in the airways.

The study included 1258 men and women who underwent spirometry to test 
their lung function. Twenty-three percent reported ever working on a 
farm for three months or longer.

The lung function tests found that 30 percent of those farm workers had 
at least mild COPD, versus 22 percent of non-farmers. Among study 
participants who'd never smoked, one-quarter of farmers had COPD, 
compared with 16 percent of those in other occupations.

The study did not, however, look at the types of potentially hazardous 
on-the-job exposures that participants had. "Therefore," Lamprecht and 
his colleagues write, "we cannot even speculate on the causative 
inhalable agents in agriculture."

Nonetheless, they add, "our data confirm the urgent need for further 
investigation."

SOURCE: American Journal of Industrial Medicine, June 2007.


Reuters Health http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_51180.html

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