B.C. farmworkers
still unprotected
from unregulated
toxic pesticides

By SEAN GRIFFIN

On Aug. 24 last year, farm
worker Hamir Singh Grewall was
taken to Abbotsford hospital gasp-
ing for breath from the pains in his
chest and the muscle spasms.

Later that same day, he died on
the hospital bed, only hours after
he had sprayed a field with the
deadly pesticide, parathion. The
doctor who admitted him noted
that the symptoms were, in fact,
consistent with parathion poison-
ing and suggested that the highly
toxic pesticide might have been the
cause of his death.

For Grewall’s family as for the
Canadian Farmworkers’ Union,
the death appeared to confirm the
worst fears of farmworkers as well
as many researchers: that the
widespread use of pesticides in
B.C. vegetable and tree fruit farms,
has created an enormous health
hazard the dimensions of which
have only begun to be known.

What the organizers for the CFU
do know is that, even as various

pesticides-are implicated by scien-

tific research as contributing to
myriad of occupational diseases,
including cancer, farmworkers
continue to be exposed to them in
the fields.

But even Grewall’s death did not

dramatize that issue for the provin- «

cial government or the WCB.

An autopsy revealed that he had
atheroscleroris (deposits on the in-
ner walls of the arteries) adding
weight to a later diagnosis that he
had died of a heart attack,
although he was only 34.

Strangely enough, there was on--

ly aroutine blood test conducted as
part of the autopsy. The RCMP lab
which conducted it received only
seven millilitres of blood and was
not given any information as to the
particulars of the death.

Had he known that pesticides
were involved, a lab spokesman
said, he would have required at
least 25 ml of blood as well as tissue

and liver samples to run a check. '

But it was not sent — and the ques-
tion as to whether parathion played
any role in Grewall’s death remains
unanswered.

It is that way for perhaps other
deaths as well — and certainly is the
case for hundreds of ailments,
ranging from simple headaches
and eye irritation to increased
susceptibility to cancer. Many
workers know that pesticides are
implicated but because of conflic-
ting, and even occasionally

fraudulent evidence, the proof is

elusive. And action to correct the

problem comes tragically slowly.
For farm workers, the problem

is even greater: since they are ex- ~

cluded from Workers’ Compensa-
tion Board Act, they do not have
the protection, minimal though it
is, of WCB regulations which pro-
vide for protective apparel when
using pesticides and maximum
levels of allowable exposure.

The parathion that Grewall was
using in the Abbotsford field, is,
according to Jos Campioni, a
spokesman for the federal health
protection branch, ‘‘one of the
most toxic substances you can
work with.”’

An organo-phosphate, it was
originally developed by the Nazis
for biological warfare. Now used in
the Fraser Valley as an insecticide
to treat beans, peas, carrots, onions
and a variety of other vegetables
and tree fruits, it retains its lethal
qualities. It is absorbed through the
skin and even minute doses can be
fatal.

Because of the danger, the pesti-
cide issue, perhaps more than
other, has focused the farmwork-
ers’ current campaign for inclusion
of farmworkers under Workers’
Compensation legislation. -

Aneven more chilling case is that
of Captan, a fungicide used exten-
sively in the province by both fruit
and vegetable farmers and even by
home gardeners.

Captan was on a list of 89
suspect chemicals, made public by
the federal government in 1980.
They had been given approval for
use based on fraudulent test studies
conducted by Industrial Biotest
Laboratories, a U.S. firm. Subse-
quent testing by federal agencies
has resulted in the recent banning
of some chemicals on the list but
Captan is not among them.

Campioni told the Tribune
Tuesday that the health protection
branch ‘feels very
uncomfortable’’ with Captan and
stated bluntly: ‘‘We would like to
see it banned.’’ The actual decision
to remove it from the market,
however, lies with the federal
department of agriculture.

A study submitted to the branch
in January confirmed a 1978 U.S.
study indicating that Captan was a
potent carcinogen (capable of caus-
ing cancer). In that study, tumors
were reported in 25 to 52 percent of
laboratory animals treated with
three diffeent doses of Captan.

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PACIFIC TRIBUNE—OCT. 2, 1981—Page 12

B.C. FARMWORKERS .
_ And in neither study was a “‘safe’’

dose indicated, since increased
tumors occurred at all doses tested.

Campioni said that the branch
could set a ‘‘zero tolerance level’’
— ordering that fruits and
vegetables be totally free of Captan
residue — but that would require
taking virtually all fruits and
vegetables off the market, a move
which he suggested would cause
Schaus’7s 5 e—

Instead, the branch must wait
for the agriculture department to
act, a process which is. often
dangerously slow, as studies must
be considered and affected parties
consulted — including the Captan
manufacturers.

As early as 1975, a British study
indicated that the ‘‘mutagenicity”’
(ability to cause gene mutation) of
Captan ‘‘is not insignificant and
might be appreciable.”’

There are also more immediate
effects as a number of tree planters
in the Terrace area reported in Ap-
ril of this year. The planters, who
formed the Pacific Reforestation
Workers’ Association to press their
case, were working with pine seedl-
ings, the roots of which were dip-
ped in Captan to prevent fungus
growth.

Several members of the planting
crew reported various symptoms,
ranging from contact dermatitis,
inflamed skin rashes which spread
over the arms and upper body, to
chronic skin infections. Nearly all
of them reported diarrhea, irritated
eyes and headaches.

Liz Wright, information office:
from the Workers’ Compensation
Board, confirmed that the Board
had received the complaints from
the tree planters and said that in-
structions had been sent out to en-
sure that planters used gloves to
minimize any skin contact.

Although it is questionable how
valuable the precautions are, Cap-
tan is one of several hundred
substances controlled by the WCB
which has established allowable
levels of exposure which are
theoretically monitored by the
board.

Similarly, the workers in provin-
cial government tree nurseries,
where Captan is also used, have a
modicum of protection from both
the WCB and their union, the B.C,
Government Employees’ Union.

BCGEU ‘Local 803 spokesman
Wayne. Dermody noted that the
nursery workers ‘‘a re all BCIT
graduates or long time members of
the forest service and they know
what they’re working with.

“Tf thereis anything unsafe, they
just don’t wor!

“But that’a a luxury that farm-
workers don’t have,’’ he added.

_In fact, farmworkers have no
protection in law from the health
effects of pesticides. And the Cap-
tan case has highlighed the grim in-
adequacies of current legislation
covering pesticides and their use in
the province.

Captan is extensively used by

farmers in_the Fraser Valley, for

berry crops and vegetables — yet

there is no way of knowing which
farmer used the substance at what
time, since farmers are not required
to obtain a licence if they are spray-
ing on their own land.

Similarly, according to the
Canadian Farmworkers Union,
the provincial pesticide control
branch keeps no record of pesti-
cides used, nor of the farms which
use them. It is up to farmers them-

selves to monitor the extent and

dosage level of their spraying.
And since farm workers are ex-
cluded from the WCB Act, there
are no safety inspections on farms
to determine whether even the
board’s minimum ~ requirements

are being maintained.

As a result, farmworkers enter-
ing the fields can -be entering a
biological mine field: they have no
way of knowing whether the field
Has just been treated with Captan,

‘or with any other pesticide.

Moreover, since, because of low
wages and lack of day care
facilities, farm workers are forced
to take their children into the fields
with them, the already significant
risk is compounded, given
Captan’s known record as both a
carcinogenic and mutagenic
substance.

That danger, in fact, prompted
University of Western Ontario
geneticist Joseph Cummins to
warn: ‘‘Pregnant women should be
out of the fields, toddlers should be
out of the fields most
childhood cancers — brain
cancers, leukemia, bone cancer —
are caused by exposure of the
mother to carcinogenic agents at
the time the baby is being carried.”

Although the larger problems
related to pesticide control and the
near-criminal delay between the
time a substance is reported unsafe
and actual banning, would remain,

‘at least some of the risk for farm

workers could be minimized with
immediate legislation to include
them under the Workers’ Compen-
sation Act.

In a brief earlier this year, the
CFU called for legislation to
amend the Act to include farm-
workers and to include farm work
as an industrial undertaking listed
in the Act.

CFU president Raj Chouhan
said that the union would be press-
ing the campaign for WCB
coverage this fall and winter with
public meetings, rallies and other
actions.

The: CFU has called on union

locals throughout the province to

pass resolutions calling on the pro-
vincial government to include all
farmworkers under the Workers’

Compensation Act, without excep-’

tion.

The union also wants the
government to consider special
safety regulations for farmworkers
similar to those in California which
specify that a certain number of
hours must elapse after spraying
before farm workers can ae the
field.

The Farmworkers Legal ‘Ser-
vices Project, which works closely

..) headquarters have not even sent

‘| scheduled.

| construction workers is als

‘|labor centrals will represent |

. facing an Saknnen danger in the fields.

with the CFU, has also released sta-
tistics from the U.S. indicating that )
farm workers have the highest rate
of occupational disease in the
country. In addition, a study con-
ducted among Washington state
orchard workers — where condi-
tions closely parallel those-in the
Okanagan — revealed an abnor-
mally high rate of lung and intesti-
nal cancers, pernicious anemia,
cerebral embolism and thrombo-
sis, presumably the result of ex-
posure to pesticides.

‘Comparable figures are not
available for this province, the Pro-
ject noted but ‘‘the dangerous
agricultural industry remains the
largest single unregulated
industry.”

likely delay
seen for CFL

The bid by the international
officers of the Buildings Trades
to set up the breakaway Cana-
dian Federation of Labor ap-—
pears headed for a postpone-
ment.

Although the call for the
founding convention was sent |
out in August — before the
Aug. 25-26 meeting between the
Building Trades and the Cana-
dian Labor Congress — the
deadline for registration has
already past and in the case of at
least two unions, the Canadian

out delegate credential and
registration forms to local
unions.

The founding convention
was to have been held Nov. 2-4
in the Skyline Hotel in Ottawa.
The deadline has also apparent-
ly passed for booking rooms in
the hotel.

Inits initial call to the conven-
tion, the Building Trades noted
that further action on the foun- |
ding meeting would depend on
the outcome of a Aug. 25-26
meeting between the Building
Trades andthe CLC.

Some agreement on the
outstanding issues in: dispute }
was reached in that meeting and |
a further meeting was subse-
quently scheduled for Sept. 14
to deal with the contentious
issue of Quebec jurisdiction.

Negotiations reportedly
broke. down. atthe. Sept. 14)
meeting and it was not knownif-
yet another meeting was”

A particularly critical vote |
among some 90,000 Quebec

scheduled for November i
which workers will decide — 18
a mandatory, government-
supervised vote — which of i

them. That vote, which will like
ly favor the CLC-affiliated FTQ
Construction, is expected

have a considerable bearing 0”

the CLC-Building Trades issue