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Highlights in Minority Health
September 15th - 21st, 2004
| September 15
- 21 is
National Farm Safety and Health Week..."Not Just
for Farmers Anymore." |
| Agriculture ranks among the most
hazardous industries. According to the National Institute of
Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), there are 600 farm-related
fatalities and 200,000 farm-related injuries in the United States
annually. Farmers are at high risk for fatal and nonfatal injuries,
work-related lung diseases, noise-induced hearing loss, skin
diseases, and certain cancers associated with chemical use and
prolonged sun exposure. Farming is one of the few industries in
which the families (who often share the work and live on the
premises) are also at risk for injuries, illness, and death. |
| In 1997-98, 81% of all farmworkers were
foreign born. The vast majority of the foreign-born (95%) were from
Mexico, comprising three-quarters of the farm workforce. U.S.-born
whites accounted for seven percent of all farmworkers, while
U.S.-born Hispanics, African Americans, and others made up the
remaining 12%. Approximately one million
children and adolescents under 15 years of age reside in farm
operator households, while another 800,000 children and adolescents
live in households headed by hired farm workers. |
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In 2000, there were approximately 47,700 farms
operated by minorities in the United States, with an estimated
28,600 youth living in these farm households |
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Between 1995 and 2000, the injury fatality rate for
youth on minority farm operations was 34 fatalities per 100,000
youth |
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In 2000, the non-fatal injury rate for all youth who
reside on, work on, or visit minority farm operations was 130
injuries per 100,000 youth on the farm |
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