Table 2.
Off-target drift events and pesticide poisoning cases by pesticide and application characteristics, 11 states, 1998–2006.
| Drift events (n = 643) | Drift cases | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total (n = 2,945) | Occupational n = 1,380 (%) | Nonoccupational n = 1,565 (%) | ||||||||
| Variable | n (%) | n (%) | ||||||||
| Pesticide functional class | ||||||||||
| Insecticide only | 198 | (30.8) | 678 | (23.0) | 32.9 | 14.3 | ||||
| Herbicide only | 108 | (16.8) | 195 | (6.6) | 4.0 | 8.9 | ||||
| Fungicide only | 29 | (4.5) | 64 | (2.2) | 3.7 | 0.8 | ||||
| Fumigant only | 52 | (8.1) | 1,330 | (45.2) | 27.0 | 61.2 | ||||
| Other, single | 43 | (6.7) | 87 | (3.0) | 2.8 | 3.1 | ||||
| Multiple | 207 | (32.2) | 585 | (19.9) | 29.4 | 11.4 | ||||
| Unknown | 6 | (0.9) | 6 | (0.2) | 0.2 | 0.2 | ||||
| Common pesticide chemical classa | ||||||||||
| Organophosphorus compound | 181 | (28.1) | 660 | (22.4) | 36.7 | 9.8 | ||||
| Inorganic compound | 87 | (13.5) | 231 | (7.8) | 11.1 | 5.0 | ||||
| Pyrethroid | 52 | (8.1) | 207 | (7.0) | 9.6 | 4.7 | ||||
| Dithiocarbamatesb | 47 | (7.3) | 726 | (24.7) | 22.5 | 26.5 | ||||
| N-Methyl carbamates | 33 | (5.1) | 71 | (2.4) | 4.1 | 1.0 | ||||
| Chlorophenoxy compound | 26 | (4.0) | 47 | (1.6) | 0.9 | 2.2 | ||||
| Triazines | 11 | (1.7) | 34 | (1.2) | 1.1 | 1.2 | ||||
| Maximum toxicity category | ||||||||||
| I | 203 | (31.6) | 1,944 | (66.0) | 59.9 | 71.4 | ||||
| II | 167 | (26.0) | 468 | (15.9) | 21.2 | 11.2 | ||||
| III | 154 | (24.0) | 327 | (11.1) | 13.6 | 8.9 | ||||
| Unknown | 119 | (18.5) | 206 | (7.0) | 5.2 | 8.6 | ||||
| Application target | ||||||||||
| Fruit crops | 189 | (29.4) | 588 | (20.0) | 27.6 | 13.2 | ||||
| Grain/fiber/grass crops | 185 | (28.8) | 411 | (14.0) | 12.8 | 15.0 | ||||
| Vegetable crops | 85 | (13.2) | 374 | (12.7) | 22.9 | 3.7 | ||||
| Soil | 55 | (8.6) | 1,337 | (45.4) | 27.5 | 61.2 | ||||
| Landscape/forest | 32 | (5.0) | 64 | (2.2) | 2.8 | 1.7 | ||||
| Undesired plants | 29 | (4.5) | 44 | (1.5) | 0.9 | 2.0 | ||||
| Other (e.g., miscellaneous crops, seed, livestock farm) | 27 | (4.2) | 66 | (2.2) | 2.0 | 2.5 | ||||
| Unknown | 41 | (6.4) | 61 | (2.1) | 3.6 | 0.8 | ||||
| Application equipment | ||||||||||
| Aerial applicator | 249 | (38.7) | 695 | (23.6) | 32.0 | 16.2 | ||||
| Handheld or backpack sprayer | 24 | (3.7) | 63 | (2.1) | 3.8 | 0.6 | ||||
| Chemigation | 22 | (3.4) | 752 | (25.5) | 16.4 | 33.5 | ||||
| Soil injector | 20 | (3.1) | 558 | (18.9) | 10.0 | 26.8 | ||||
| Other ground applicator | 254 | (39.5) | 747 | (25.4) | 32.6 | 19.0 | ||||
| Multiple | 8 | (1.2) | 41 | (1.4) | 0.2 | 2.4 | ||||
| Unknown | 66 | (10.3) | 89 | (3.0) | 4.9 | 1.4 | ||||
| aCategories with the largest numbers of cases. Events and cases can be exposed to multiple categories. bMostly from single products. | ||||||||||