Migrant children travel throughout much of the United States during several months of the year.
They work and play in commercial vegetable fields, fruit groves and other businesses where their parents find seasonal work. The National Agricultural Workers' Survey data of 1989 estimated there were 587,000 children of migrant workers age 21 or younger involved in seasonal agricultural services in the United States. There are hazards for migrant children not only in the fields but also in their housing. Dangers exist in chemical exposures, wells for drinking water with high nitrogen and dangerous equipment, including knives, Dr. Vela added. Approximately 100 children younger than 20 years of age die of agricultural injuries on U.S. farms and ranches annually and more than 100,000 children are injured.