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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2009 Nov 9.
Published in final edited form as: Int J Occup Environ Health. 2009 Oct–Dec;15(4):339–350. doi: 10.1179/oeh.2009.15.4.339

TABLE 3.

Work and Exposure Characteristics for Four Periods across the Agricultural Season for Farmworkers, eastern North Carolina, 2007

Period

Work and Exposure Characteristics 5/1–6/8
(n = 250)
6/9–7/7
(n = 233)
7/8–8/5
(n = 229)
8/6–9/4
(n = 227)

n % n % n % n %
Work Characteristics
Previous 3 Days Worked in:
  Tobacco 82 32.8 112 48.1 171 74.7 190 83.7
  Cucumbers 9 3.6 29 12.4 15 6.6 0 0
  Sweet potatoes 76 30.4 55 23.6 16 7.0 16 7.0
Previous 3 Days:
  Planted 99 39.6 46 19.7 5 2.2 1 0.4
  Cultivated 84 33.6 50 21.5 13 5.7 10 4.4
  Topped tobacco 0 0 68 29.2 106 46.3 5 2.2
  Harvested 60 24.0 59 25.3 76 33.2 118 52.0
Total Hours worked in Previous 3 Days
   Did not work 9 3.6 7 3.0 13 5.7 8 3.5
   1–20 108 43.2 107 45.9 104 45.4 96 42.3
   More than 20 133 53.2 119 51.1 112 48.9 123 54.2
Exposure Characteristics
Pesticide Safety Training
  No Training or Understood Some or None
    of Training in Current Year
129 51.6 129 55.4 118 51.5 109 48.0
  Training in Current Year and Understood
    Most or All
121 48.4 104 44.6 111 48.5 118 52.0
Housing Type
  House 109 43.6 100 42.9 93 40.6 86 37.9
  Barracks 49 19.6 48 20.6 43 18.8 42 18.5
  Trailer 92 36.8 85 36.5 92 40.2 99 43.6
People in Camp per Showerhead
  Fewer than 4 57 22.8 47 20.2 50 21.8 90 39.6
  4 – 7.9 127 50.8 123 52.8 129 56.3 96 42.3
  8 or more 66 26.4 63 27.0 50 21.8 41 18.1
Pesticides Applied In Room 35 14.0 48 20.6 23 10.0 25 11.0
Pesticides Applied In Camp 62 24.8 34 14.6 12 5.2 13 5.7
In Previous 3 Days
  Mix, Load, or Apply Pesticides 26 10.4 10 4.3 13 5.7 2 0.9
  Worked in Fields in which Pesticides Had
    Been Applied in Last 7 Days
85 34.0 58 24.9 48 21.0 26 11.5
Average Number of Times Washed Hands
Per Days Worked
  0–2 40.5 56.8 125 53.6 119 52.0 92 40.5
  More than 2 59.5 43.2 108 46.4 110 48.0 135 59.5