Your Health in the Fields
Information
Pesticides
Farmworkers and their families may be in frequent contact with pesticides. If you come into contact with pesticides and suffer from dizziness, nausea, vomiting, or hives, consult a doctor as soon as possible.
Spraying people with pesticides is against the law, and you should report exposure to the Iowa Department of Public Health immediately. Call the Iowa Department of Public Health Pesticide Poisoning Surveillance Program at 800-972-2026 or the Iowa Statewide Poison Control Center at 800-222-1222.
The law requires that farmers advise farmworkers if the field in which they work has been recently sprayed. You are not required to work in a field that is being sprayed with pesticides (or that has been recently sprayed).
Drinking water and toilets in the field
Your employer must provide drinking water, toilets, and hand-washing facilities close to the field or farm where you work.
It is against federal law if your boss does not provide toilets, drinking water, and hand- washing facilities near your work, and you may be able to recover up to $500 for each violation.
If you have any questions or if you need legal assistance, you may call Iowa Legal Aid at 1-800-532-1275, hablamos español.