Environmental Health/ Environmental Justice
While California agriculture accounts for 25% of all food produced in the U.S., current agricultural practices pose immediate and substantial health risks to farmworkers, their families, and communities adjacent to farming operations. Farmworkers face a greater risk of pesticide exposure than any other segment of the population and suffer the highest rate of chemical related illness of any occupational group. Children are especially vulnerable to pesticide related health risks due to their developing immune systems. Children who attend school or live next to farms that use toxic pesticides are potentially placed at risk on a daily basis.

Medical school training does not typically include information on the proper diagnoses and treatment of pesticide exposures. This misdiagnosis and lack of reporting has led to a significant underestimate of the amount of pesticide-related illnesses occurring in the state, and in turn undermines the state’s ability to implement additional safety precautions and regulations for pesticide use. This translates into inadequate state public health and safety protections for farmworkers, their children and families, and residents near the agricultural/urban interface.

The goal of EDC’s environmental health and justice program is to protect human health and safety. The objectives of this program are to: promote sustainable agriculture; identify and prevent environmental health risks at the agricultural/urban interface; develop programs to protect human health at the agricultural/urban interface; reduce toxics in the environment; and eliminate the use of toxic materials.

Visit CCEHP's new website at www.ccehp.org

Central Coast Environmental Health Project (CCEHP)
The Central Coast Environmental Health Project (CCEHP) is designed to address human health risks associated with pesticide use at the agricultural/urban interface. Tools include assessment, community and farmworker education, training for health care professionals, and policy and regulatory advocacy. The project is tailored to the needs and concerns of farmworkers and their families, and other community members who work, go to school, or live near farming operations. Call Eric Cárdenas at (805) 963-1622 or email him at cardenas@edcnet.org for more information.