FARM WORK IS DANGEROUS FOR TEENS - AGRICULTURAL HAZARDS AND INJURIES AMONG NORTH-CAROLINA TEENS

Children who work in agriculture suffer more than 23,000 injuries and 300 fatalities on American farms every year. Using survey data collect ed from a random sample of working teens (ages 14 to 17) in North Caro lina, the authors analyze the farm-based hazard exposure and injury ex periences of teens who work on farms. The group of farmworking teens ( N=141) is 72 percent male, has a mean age of 16.6 years, and is, on av erage, in the 10th grade. The data show that teens working on farms in North Carolina are exposed to significant safety hazards throughout t heir farmworking careers. A majority of the respondents in this group of farmworkers reported exposure to tractors, large animals, all-terra in vehicles, farm trucks, and rotary mowers, and more than one-third r eported exposure to pesticides and tobacco harvesters. Common reporter s injuries include insect stings, cuts, burns, and falls. The research ers find that gender, age, and farmwork experiences are related to var iations in types of hazards to which teens are exposed and in the type s of injuries they suffer. These variables also are related to the ove rall complexity of the teens' farmwork experiences and the burden of i njury endured by teens.