Shock Troops of the Toxics War : Pesticides: Being sprayed with malathion is nothing compared to what farm workers endure. Now, maybe city people will rally to their cause.

The helicopters dropping malathion bait in Los Angeles’ new skirmish with the Medfly have become a focus of middle-class protest, as reputable scientists raise questions about unknown effects of repeated exposure to small amounts of the pesticide. And still in recent memory is the scare over apples sprayed with Alar, as well as a growing longer-term concern over the use of many chemicals on the food we grow.

While we worry, not without reason, we forget that much of our incomplete knowledge of how pesticides affect humans comes from study of a group far removed from the public eye nowadays--the farm workers. Like many occupational groups working with chemicals, they have been “shock troops,” enduring heavy exposure to the pesticides that end up in vastly smaller quantities in our food, air or water.

Pesticides are chemicals that destroy, repel or control pests, including insects, rodents, worms, fungi and weeds, among others. Pesticides are also big business. The United States produces 1.5 billion pounds annually, valued at approximately $5 billion. About 600 commonly used active ingredients are formulated into roughly 50,000 products, each registered and licensed by the federal Environmental Protection Agency and the various states. About 15 new active ingredients are licensed annually, with hundreds of new formulations.

The basic pesticide chemical is mentioned as “active” on the label and all other ingredients are labeled “inert.” Although not harmful to the target pest, the more than 50 “inert” ingredients, according to the EPA, include benzene, chloroform and formaldehyde--all very harmful to humans.

One of the major tasks facing the EPA when it was formed in 1970 was to inventory some 35,000 pesticide products then in use. Virtually no data was available on long-term effects. Today, it’s estimated that the majority of pesticides have not been adequately tested. A National Academy of Science report, “Regulating Pesticides in Food: The Delaney Paradox,” criticized the EPA’s pesticide regulations, noting that 60% of all pesticides are either known or thought to cause cancer, and that 28 pesticides are particularly hazardous.

In the 1940s, organic pesticides were developed and their use skyrocketed. For two decades, organochlorines such as DDT predominated. Once they were banned or restricted, the more toxic but less persistent organophosphates, including parathion and malathion, derived from German nerve gas research, became widespread. Initially hailed as the key to increased farm efficiency, their promise hasn’t held up.

In 1940s America, 50 million pounds of pesticides were used annually; pre-harvest loss to insects was 7%. In 1978, 600 million pounds were used; crops lost to insects totaled 13%. With less than one-quarter of 1% of the world’s arable land, California uses 5% of the world’s pesticides. And despite the failure of present pesticide use, we have yet to seize the promise of a new generation of pest control, one based on ecological principles and on maintaining economically acceptable levels of pests rather than rarely possible total eradication.

Most agricultural pesticides used in this country are broadly toxic, including to humans. Many are potential causes of cancer and birth defects. Many have caused neurological and pulmonary disease, skin rashes and other effects on those exposed. The World Health Organization estimates half a million pesticide poisonings annually worldwide, with 5,000 deaths.

With California accounting for 20% of the country’s pesticide use, it’s not surprising that the state was the focus of a revolt of sorts by heavily exposed farm workers. More than 20 years ago, boycotts by the United Farm Workers, beginning in Delano, led to important concessions, including banning of five toxic pesticides and passage of the Agriculture Labor Relations Act. The strictest controls on pesticides in the nation were passed.

Despite gains in those more liberal times, farm workers now complain that the law is no longer enforced, that laws concerning posting of fields after spraying have been diluted, and that farm workers have the highest rate of work-related illness in California. Their agenda includes the immediate banning of five very toxic pesticides (captan, parathion, Phosdrin, dinoseb and methyl bromide) and later elimination of other particularly toxic pesticides. They advocate a joint UFW-grower initiative for labeling pesticide residues in fruits and vegetables for sale to consumers.

The last item should strike a chord in all of us. Consumers and farm workers share a similar goal. Less use of toxic pesticides in the fields equals less exposure in consumer produce.

The majority of pesticides have been inadequately tested for safety. Heavy pesticide use has become increasingly ineffective while causing havoc to the environment and human health.

As consumers, we enjoy flawless produce in the supermarket. The price for eradication of cosmetic blemishes may be too high. Perhaps it’s time, again, for consumers and agricultural workers to join together for the reduction of toxic pesticides in the pursuit of better health for ourselves and future generations.