Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
actionsthatworkersassociatedwithBordeauxspraying.Long-termexpo-
sureproducedrespiratoryproblems,weightloss,andinsomecases,death.
Many observers believed that spray work brought on tuberculosis. Cer-
tainly the chronic symptoms linked to spraying—coughing, fatigue, and
weight loss—are not unlike those associated with tuberculosis. During
the 1920s, tuberculosis, along with bronchitis, pneumonia and other pul-
monary illnesses was not uncommon among the United Fruit Company's
workforce. The numerous references made by former banana workers to
respiratory disease is not surprising given the congested living spaces in
which they rested, ate, and slept.The frequent movement of workers from
camp to camp further facilitated the spread of human illness. Lourdes
Mejía, a former administrator in the Tela Railroad Company's labor re-
lations department, helped to process workers diagnosed with tubercu-
losis during the late 1940s. 94 Thecompanyprovidedsickemployeeswith
100 lempiras in compensation, after which many ''returned to their home
towns to die.'' Although she did not share Amaya Amador's political
views, Lourdes considered his portrayal of spray work in Prisiónverde to
be accurate.
The pervasiveness of respiratory diseases among plantation workers
in general fails to explain the perception that veneneros—more so than
other workers—fell prey to debilitating, tuberculosis-like symptoms.
However, from an epidemiological perspective, the likelihood of a di-
rect link between copper sulfate exposure and tuberculosis incidence is
remote. 95 Although little information exists on the effects of long-term,
occupational exposure to copper sulfate, a small number of studies from
grape-growing regions in Portugal and Spain have linked copper sulfate
exposure to respiratory ailments in field workers. 96 A study published
in 1969 reported two cases of what the researchers termed ''Vineyard
sprayer'slung.'' 97 BothcasesinvolvedPortuguesemenintheirmid-thirties
whohadworkedasBordeauxsprayersinvineyards.Oneindividualdevel-
oped shortness of breath on moderate exertion. The other suffered from
weight loss, general weakness, and a cough. The two workers had previ-
ously been treated with antibiotics for tuberculosis even though neither
one tested positive for the bacteria. When their conditions failed to clear
up entirely, doctors made chest incisions that revealed ''the intensely blue
aspect of the visceral pluera [outer lining of the lung] which could not be
explained by known pathological conditions.'' 98 Microscopic lesions de-
tected on the lungs had silicosis-like nodules that contained a ''substance
rich in copper.'' 99 The Portuguese researchers did not attempt to deter-
mine disease incidence among vineyard sprayers, but they believed that
Search WWH ::




Custom Search