Pesticide Illness Surveillance Program

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Investigator: Stuart Heard, PharmD
Sponsor: California Environmental Protection Agency, Environmental Health Hazard Assessment

Location(s): United States

Description

Since 1971, California law requires physicians to report any known or suspected illness caused by a pesticide exposure. The Pesticide Illness Surveillance Program (PISP) is tasked with collecting and evaluating these reports before they are assigned to county agricultural commissioners to investigate the exposure circumstances. Scientists then review the collected information and enter it in a database. This data not only reflects the effectiveness of the California's pesticide regulatory program but also identifies areas for improvement. PISP data is also used by the Exposure Monitoring and Health Investigation Program, Industrial Hygiene Program, Human Health Assessment and Human Health Mitigation Program.