New and Emerging Research in Agricultural, Forestry, and Fishing Safety and Health - Agriculture Forestry and Fishing Research at NIOSH - page 177

tion injuries, the impact of global warming on growing and harvesting practices
and worker conditions, and the use of labor-management committees.
Nutrient Enrichment of Food and Genetically Modified Organisms
Micronutrient enhancement to reduce nutritional deficiencies in human popu-
lations globally is under study (Schreiner, 2005; Welch and Graham, 2005). These
activities and the increasing use of GMOs to produce genetically modified crops
may have an impact on aspects of agricultural safety and the health of workers
involved in the production of these crops. From 1996 to 2005, the total surface
area of land cultivated with GMOs increased from 4.2 million acres to 222 million
acres, of which 55 percent was in the United States. Controversies surrounding
genetically modified foods focus on consumer health and safety but not the health
and safety of the farm workers.
Transportation Injuries
Hispanic farm workers have been reported to have 20 percent higher work-
related mortality than non-Hispanic white farm workers. In Colorado, skull frac-
tures and fatal intracranial head injuries have been reported to be more frequent
in farmers and farm workers than in the general population; the risk in Hispanic
farmers is 1.79 times greater than the risk in non-Hispanic farmers, and the risk
in Hispanic farm workers is 2.50 times greater than the risk in non-Hispanic farm
workers (Stallones and Sweitzer, 2000). Head injuries have been reported to be the
leading cause of work injury-related death in farm workers in Texas (May-Lambert
et al., 1998). Motor-vehicle collisions are the leading cause of head injury, but it
has rarely been considered an issue related to the health and safety of migrant and
seasonal farm workers.
The mobility of the population in question, which follows crops, exposes
them to motor-vehicle injuries as part of their normal work environment. There
is adequate evidence that Hispanic populations in Colorado have higher rates of
fatal motor-vehicle collisions (relative risk [RR], 1.7), seatbelt nonuse (RR, 1.8),
alcohol intoxication (RR, 2.7), speeding and invalid licensure (RR, 2.6) than non-
Hispanic whites involved in fatal motor-vehicle collisions (Harper et al., 2000). In
the United States, farm workers reportedly have higher than expected death rates
related to motor vehicles (Colt et al., 2001). A study of Hispanic farm workers in
California reported low use of seatbelts and car seats (Stiles and Grieshop, 1999).
In Colorado, 53 percent of Hispanics reported not always wearing their seatbelts
compared with 37 percent of all survey respondents (CDPHE, 2002). Driving while
drowsy has been reported to cause 100,000 collisions a year and to result in 71,000
injuries and 1,550 deaths (NHTSA, 2002).