The New York Center for Agricultural Medicine and Health (NYCAMH) has completed a project aimed at improving agricultural workers’ understanding and use of respirators to reduce pesticide exposure.

NYCAMH said the effort, supported by a grant from the Pesticide Educational Resources Collaborative’s Agricultural Community-Based Projects program, focused on Spanish-speaking farmworkers and sought to strengthen respirator training beyond regulatory compliance requirements.

Respirators are among the primary tools used to reduce pesticide exposure in agricultural work, but NYCAMH identified gaps in understanding after finding that fit testing is often treated as a compliance exercise rather than a training opportunity.

The center worked with Spanish-speaking farmworkers and agricultural employers to develop bilingual training materials and practical tools tailored to field conditions.

The project engaged 11 Spanish-speaking farmworkers and four agricultural employers. NYCAMH researchers conducted two rounds of interviews to identify knowledge gaps and barriers to proper respirator use. The resulting materials were distributed at five fit test clinics and six agricultural events.

NYCAMH developed and implemented enhanced training protocols designed to improve understanding and knowledge retention. The program incorporated bilingual Spanish and English materials tailored to farmworker needs.

NYCAMH said the training emphasized hands-on learning and peer demonstrations to help workers apply respirator safety practices in daily work. Materials were designed for immediate use in agricultural workplaces.

Project leaders said the worker-centered approach helped produce tools that reflect agricultural workers’ experience while improving understanding of how proper respirator use can reduce pesticide exposure.

NYCAMH said the project demonstrates how community-based, bilingual training programs can improve both understanding and practical application of respirator safety, helping reduce pesticide exposure risks across agricultural communities.

Source: New York Center for Agricultural Medicine and Health, "The PERCs of Pesticide Safety"