About 800 to 1,000 farm workers die each year as a direct consequence of pesticide exposure. Eighty-five percent of the migrant and seasonal farmworkers in the U.S. are minorities. The majority are Mexicans, followed by Puerto Ricans, Carribean Blacks, and African Americans. Pesticides are defined as any poison used to destroy pests. Examples of pesticides include insecticides, fungicides, rodenticides, and herbicides.
Agricultural workers can absorb pesticides through their skin, through inhalation, and by ingestion.
Spraying with pesticides while workers are in the field is not uncommon. Chronic health problems may include chronic dermatitis, fatigue, sleep disturbances, anxiety, memory problems, different kinds of cancers, and birth defects. Core funding for NCFH comes from the Health Resources and Services Administration, Bureau of Primary Health Care, Migrant Health Branch. The center also receives funding from other agencies including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institute of Occupational Health and Safety. According to NCFH, poverty, frequent mobility, low literacy, and language and cultural barriers can impede farmworkers' access to social services and other cost- effective primary care.