Pesticide Poisonings in the Lawn Care and Tree Service Industries: A Review of Cases in the New York State Pesticide Poisoning Registry

Although pesticides are used extensively by lawn care and tree service workers, the incidence of pesticide poisonings among this population has never been systematically assessed. This article is a review of suspected and confirmed pesticide poisonings of lawn care and tree service applicators that were reported to the New York State Pesticide Poisoning Registry from 1990 to 1993. Thirty-nine cases were identified, of which 28 satisfied the criteria for a suspected or confirmed poisoning. At the time of the poisoning, the majority of applicators reported the use of more than one class of pesticide. The most common classes of pesticide applied were organophosphates (71%) and herbicides (43%). Twenty-four cases were identified through laboratory reporting. All 24 laboratory tests had been ordered for worker surveillance. Twenty of the reported workers were symptomatic. Personal protective equipment was used routinely by 22 of the 27 applicators for whom information was available. These data suggest that pesticide exposures are occurring among a subset of the lawn care and tree service applicators, despite the reported routine use of safety measures. More rigorous evaluation of the control measures utilized in the lawn care and tree and shrub industry is warranted.