Review of Surveillance Research - Agriculture Forestry and Fishing Research at NIOSH - page 62

tially hazardous jobs, so it has been difficult to meet surveillance goals. Although
NIOSH was encouraged as early as 1992 to address bias in surveillance effort related
to Midwestern, Caucasian perspectives and values, the preponderance of the ef-
forts reviewed suggests that such perspectives persist in the agriculture sector (Lee
and Gunderson, 1992). The committee notes three exceptions. NIOSH has made
some effort to obtain information on the number of tractors in use in the United
States that lack ROPS. In the SENSOR-pesticides program, a surveillance system
has been established with well-developed case definitions, and materials have been
developed from which comparable data could be collected on pesticide poisoning
and illness cases. And the occupational fatal injury surveillance system in Alaska
appears to be well developed and comprehensive with regard to injuries and the
dissemination of summary information; it might be possible to expand to other
regions of the country.
Sentinel Event Notification System for Occupational Risks (SENSOR)-Pesticides
Database: There is a how-to guide for developing a state-based surveillance pro-
gram which includes a SENSOR case definition of acute pesticide-related illness
and injury, signs and symptoms associated with several pesticides, a severity index
for acute pesticide-related illness and injury, a flow diagram for assigning severity
to cases, tables of signs and symptoms by severity category, and software to assist
states in entering data (NIOSH, 2006a). A number of Morbidity and Mortality
Weekly Report (MMWR) articles have been published on pesticide illnesses and
injuries and are available on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Web
site ( http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr ). Peer-review articles are also available. Web sites for
state-based pesticide poisoning surveillance programs, general pesticide resources,
and other materials are also provided on the Web site.
Childhood Agricultural Injury Survey (CAIS): There were government reports
based on the CAIS for 1998, 2001, and 2004 (NIOSH, 2006a,b).
Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) program: From 1986 to
2003, there were 16 investigations conducted by NIOSH staff related to agricul-
ture and 360 state-based investigations (NIOSH, 2006a). From 1983 to 2004, there
were 28 logging-related deaths investigated by NIOSH staff and 67 state-based
investigations. From 1992 to 1999, there were two NIOSH staff and 11 state-based
investigations of fishing-related fatalities; only two of the state-based investigations
were conducted outside Alaska (both in Massachusetts) and both NIOSH staff
investigations were conducted in Alaska (NIOSH, 2006a).
Occupational Health and Safety Supplement to the National Agricultural Work-
ers Survey (NAWS): In 1999, an Occupational Health and Safety Supplement was
added to the NAWS (NIOSH, 2006a). Results have not yet been published, but a
final report was prepared and is undergoing internal review in NIOSH. Several
oral presentations of initial results were offered at various conferences on hired
farmworker health.