Photo Stories
(April
9, 2004) Today’s photo story, which features the home of a family
affected by pesticide drift, was sent to us by Billie Karel, program coodinator
at the Pesticide Education
Project (PESTed) in Raleigh, NC. PESTed is a non-profit organization
working in North Carolina since 1986 to minimize human and environmental
exposure to toxic pesticides. Reducing pesticide drift has been one of
the organizations top priorities over the past several years.
Pesticides, the poisonous chemicals applied to agricultural fields to kill insects, weeds and other pests, regularly move off the fields they’re applied to and on to surrounding homes, yards, businesses and waterways, a problem known as “pesticide drift.” For Edna Williams of Elizabeth City, NC and many other North Carolinians who live, work, drive, or go to school near sprayed fields, the chemical smell and respiratory irritation from pesticide drift are all too familiar during peak agricultural seasons. Pesticide residues from crop dusters drift on to Edna Williams’ Elizabeth City home from the surrounding fields almost daily during the summer months.
More
than just an annoyance, exposure to pesticide residues from drift poses
serious health risks, especially for children, pregnant women, and other
vulnerable populations. One-time exposure to many common pesticides can
cause poisoning symptoms like dizziness, skin and eye irritation, and
respiratory distress. Exposure to pesticides over time has been linked
to increased risk of asthma, reproductive disorders like miscarriage or
decreased fertility, birth defects, developmental and learning disorders,
and some forms of cancer.
North Carolina has regulations against pesticide drift, but since drift incidents often go un-reported, drift continues to pose a serious threat to the health and safety of NC’s rural residents.
If you live in North Carolina, to get help reporting pesticide drift and protect yourself and your family, call the Drift Watch Hotline toll-free at 1-877-NO-DRIFT. The hotline is operated by PESTed, which offers assistance in English and Spanish, and regardless of the caller’s legal status in the United States. For those outside of North Carolina, call Beyond Pesticides at 202-543-5450.
Beyond Pesticides launched Photo Stories on March 1, 2002. The photos are updated on a biweekly basis. Read the instructions on how to get your photo story featured. To see what other visitors to this site thought about this photo story, visit the reader's comments page.