Protective headgear for midwestern agriculture: A limited wear study

Baseball caps are popular with farm workers, but have been criticized becau se they do not sufficiently shade the face, neck, and ears. U.S. Environmen tal Protection Agency standards require workers to wear chemical-resistant hoods or chemical-resistant hats with wide brims during the application of pesticides whose labels call for head protection. In this study, four farm workers ware baseball caps and two alternative types of headgear with wide brims for 20 to 36 hours during planting of corn and soybeans to compare pe rformance features and practicality. Afterwards, researchers analyzed the h eadgear fabrics by gas chromatography or high-performance liquid chromatogr aphy to determine the levels at which five herbicides were deposited on the headgear: 2,4-D, metolachlor, acetochlor, ethalfluralin, and glyphosate. C hemical analysis revealed that 12 percent of specimens had detectable resid ue: levels of glyphosate in the nanograms-per-square-centimeter (ng/cm(2)) range and levels of 2,4-D in the micrograms-per-square-centimeter (mug/cm(2 )) range. Workers, however, preferred the baseball caps because of problems with the wind and feelings of embarrassment about wearing other types of h eadgear. An acceptable, protective substitute for the baseball cap has yet to be designed.