Project Grant 20246702342771

** AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** THIS PROJECT SUPPORTS THE MISSION OF THE AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION BY ADDRESSING THE HATCH ACT AREAS OF SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE.FARMWORKERS ARE VULNERABLE TO AMBIENT ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS. AN EMERGING HEALTH HAZARD IS SMOKE FROM WILDFIRES AND AGRICULTURAL BURNING (SULLIVAN ET AL., 2022). SMOKE POSES AN IMMEDIATE THREAT TO THE HEALTH AND WELLBEING OF FARMWORKERS THROUGH INCREASED RISK OF CARDIOVASCULAR AND RESPIRATORY DISORDERS (REID ET AL., 2016; BLACK ET AL., 2017; LIU ET AL., 2017; WETTSTEIN ET AL., 2018; DEFLORIO-BARKER ET AL., 2019; HEFT-NEAL ET AL., 2023). SMOKE MAY ALSO INFLUENCE FARMERS' AND FARMWORKERS' DECISIONS ABOUT WHEN, WHERE, AND HOW MUCH TO WORK, WHICH RISKS EXACERBATING ONGOING LABOR SHORTAGES IN THE AGRICULTURAL SECTOR. WE WILL CONDUCT A PROJECT THAT WILL QUANTIFY THE EFFECT OF SMOKE FROM 1) WILDFIRES AND 2) AGRICULTURAL BURNING ON FARMWORKER LABOR AND HEALTH OUTCOMES. WILDFIRES ARE A SALIENT RISK AND PRESSING PUBLIC POLICY CONCERN. OVER THE PAST FEW DECADES, THE UNITED STATES HAS WITNESSED A MORE THAN TWOFOLD INCREASE IN THE AREA BURNED BY WILDFIRES ANNUALLY (ABATZOGLOU AND WILLIAMS, 2016). FARMWORKERS ARE PARTICULARLY VULNERABLE TO WILDFIRE SMOKE EXPOSURE: THEY MOSTLY WORK OUTDOORS AND ARE ENGAGED IN VIGOROUS PHYSICAL ACTIVITY. IN ADDITION, THE WILDFIRE SEASON OFTEN OVERLAPS WITH THE PEAK HARVEST SEASON IN THE WESTERN UNITED STATES.AGRICULTURAL BURNING IS ANOTHER IMPORTANT SOURCE OF SMOKE EXPOSURE FOR FARMWORKERS. OPEN BURNING OF AGRICULTURAL FIELDS IS A WIDESPREAD PRACTICE FOR CLEARING POST-HARVEST CROP RESIDUE. IN THE UNITED STATES ALONE, AGRICULTURAL BURNING COVERS APPROXIMATELY 3 TO 5.8 MILLION ACRES EACH YEAR (POULIOT ET AL., 2017). THIS PRACTICE DIRECTLY AFFECTS APPROXIMATELY 15.5 MILLION PEOPLE ACROSS THE UNITED STATES, EXPOSING THEM TO THE SMOKE FROM AGRICULTURAL BURNING (MCCARTY, 2011). AMONG THE MOST AFFECTED ARE FARMWORKERS LABORING NEAR THESE FIELDS WHO ARE PARTICULARLY VULNERABLE TO HEALTH HAZARDS.THIS RESEARCH DIRECTLY ALIGNS WITH THE TOPIC AREA OF SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE UNDER THE HATCH ACT. BY PRIORITIZING THE HEALTH AND SAFETY OF FARMWORKERS, WHO ARE ESSENTIAL CONTRIBUTORS TO AGRICULTURAL SUSTAINABILITY, WE CAN ENSURE THE LONG-TERM RESILIENCE OF OUR AGRICULTURAL SYSTEMS. BY MITIGATING THE HEALTH RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH WILDFIRE EXPOSURE AND AGRICULTURAL BURNING, WE CAN PROMOTE A MORE SUSTAINABLE AND EQUITABLE AGRICULTURAL SECTOR FOR BOTH WORKERS AND THE BROADER COMMUNITY.