Pesticides in the Coachella Valley
R.J Angemi, Kyle Fiacco, Amy Pumputis, and Vijay Sachdev
Introduction:
Agriculture has been a major source of production in the Eastern Coachella Valley
throughout history. Agricultural work has been reserved for racial and ethnic minorities in the
United States beginning with slavery and leading to the many undocumented workers taking to
the fields that we see today (Moses 1993 163). Our intention is to explore pesticide application in
the Coachella Valley to look at its effects on residents living in the area. Through creating maps
using ArcGIS software, we will produce evidence to explore issues of environmental justice,
which will hopefully pave the path towards action and organizing for a more just future.
A pesticide is any substance or mixture of substances used to destroy, suppress or alter
the life cycle of any pest (U.S. EPA 2014). Pests are defined as any living organism that harm or
damage crops or any other living species. Pesticides have played a major role in agricultural
production all around the world to help protect crops from pests. There are heavy applications of
pesticides in the Coachella Valley due to the prevalence of agricultural land. The concentration
of agricultural land is higher in the Eastern Coachella Valley than the Western Coachella Valley,
making this a more toxic area to live.
Humans generally become exposed to pesticides through pesticide drift. Pesticide drift
occurs when the wind picks up the pesticides, which are applied via aircraft or agricultural
worker (U.S. EPA 2010). The wind then pushes pesticides in the direction of its draft. This can
lead pesticide residue to end up all over local homes, stores, and schools. Pesticides have a halflife, which is the time it takes for half of the amount of a pesticide to degrade (Deer 2004). If a
pesticide has a half-life of 30 days, that means 50% of the pesticide will remain after 30 days,
and 25% of the original pesticide will remain after another 30 days, and so on. This is notable
because it means that once a pesticide is introduced to an area, it will always be present to some
degree.
The people most vulnerable to the effects of pesticide drift are infants, children, people
65 years and older, and agricultural workers. Infants and children are more sensitive to the toxic
effects of pesticides than adults because an infant's brain, nervous system, and organs are still
developing after birth (U.S. EPA 2002). When exposed, a baby's immature liver and kidneys
cannot remove pesticides from the body as well as an adult's liver and kidneys (U.S. EPA 2002).
Agricultural workers are at risk due to their close proximity and consistent exposure to pesticides
(Moses 166).
There are a few laws that are supposed to help protect workers from the harmful effects
of pesticides including the National Labor Relations Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, and the
Occupational Safety and Health Act (Moses 171-2). These laws protect the rights of workers,
which can harm the general welfare of the workers, protects the health and safety of the workers,
and makes sure the workers are fairly paid and not overworked. The problem with these laws is
that they exclude the agricultural section of workers.
Figure 1 (Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment 2013): Shows the pounds of pesticides applied by zip code in the Coachella Valley
and surrounding areas of Riverside County. The types of pesticide represented are used for commercial agriculture. The distribution of pesticide
use in the area is uneven as levels reach upwards of 3000 lbs in the E
astern Coachella Valley.
Figure 2.1: Shows the use of pesticides in the area. This is a screen shot taken from an online pesticide-mapping tool located on
www.ehib.org/tool. This tool can be used to find the different crops with various pesticides applied to them. This tool is very interactive and user
friendly.
Figure 2.2: Is an image displaying what happens when you click on a certain box represented on the map. Over 60,000 lbs. of pesticides have
applied within the 10-acre square selected above.
Evidence:
Health Care
Pesticides are a direct health risk, and most of the workers that are in contact with them
are unable to get to a doctor for multiple reasons. Workers fail to see a doctor when they feel ill
because they cannot afford doctor visits and cannot afford to lose a day of pay. For most families
this means the whole family cannot work and will lose the day of pay because they share a
family car because most of the adequate health care facilities are not in close proximity to the
agricultural land where the pesticides are applied. Many workers also fear being fired if their
illness is proven to be related to pesticide exposure.
There is also a big difference in the number of healthcare facilities in the Western and
Eastern Coachella Valley. Aside from the difference in numbers, there is also a large difference
in the quality of care and expertise. Almost all of the clinics in the Eastern Coachella Valley are
non-profit community clinics. These only offer basic care for minor injuries and illnesses. Of the
two hospitals within five miles of the agricultural fields, one is a psychiatric hospital and the
other does not provide adequate care. Locals say that if any remotely serious injury or illness
comes up, they must take an unpaid day off of work to travel to the nicer health care facilities in
the Western Coachella Valley.
Figure 3 (Riverside County Transportation and Land Management Agency and State of California, Department of Health Services. 2011)
There are more health care facilities in the Western Coachella Valley than in the Eastern Coachella Valley. The few facilities that are there are
mostly nonprofit community clinics.
Figure 4 (State of California, Department of Health Services. 2011)
Figure 4 shows an uneven number of healthcare facilities between the Western and Eastern Coachella Valley.
Social Variables
There is a strong correlation between where the heaviest pesticide use and agricultural land is in relation
to the percentage of people in the area that do not speak English very well. This is environmental injustice
because the people have no way of representing themselves and speaking out. The pesticides are directly
affecting their health and they are underrepresented in local and state governments.
Figure 5 (Riverside County Transportation and Land Management Agency)
Figure 5 displays the agricultural land with the heaviest pesticide application. Agricultural land and pesticide application is centered in the middle
of a population that is already disadvantaged due to language barriers.
Figure 6 (ACS 2012)
Figure 6 shows the distribution of people under 18 in the Coachella Valley. Since young people are generally more vulnerable to pesticide
exposure, it is notable that the majority of the population under 18 resides in the Eastern Coachella Valley. Agricultural parcels in the valley are
represented by blocks outlined in black. These are all located in the Eastern Coachella Valley. Figures 1, 2.1, and 2.2 show that these areas have
high levels of pesticide use. The effects of heavy pesticide use weighs more heavily on young people in the valley.
Figure 7 (decennial census 2010)
Figure 7 displays the distribution of people over the age of 65 in the Coachella Valley. This group of people are particularly vulnerable to
pesticide exposures. The majority of people over 65 are not as concentrated near the agricultural parcels visible in figure 6. Census block data
records data more accurately in a smaller area; however, this data leaves certain areas with no data as shown in figure 7.
Figure 8 (ACS 2008-2012)
Figure 8 shows the percent of the civilian labor force working in the agricultural sector. Agricultural workers mainly reside in the Eastern
Coachella Valley resulting in consistent exposure to heavy pesticide applications both in and out of work.
Figure 9 (ACS 2008-2012)
Figure 9 shows census tract data on the total percent of the population living in poverty in the Coachella Valley. Areas with higher poverty rates
are more concentrated in the Eastern Coachella Valley. This means that lower-income areas are more exposed to pesticides which creates serious
consequences for people in those areas.
Figure 10.1 (Decennial Census 2010)
Figure 10.1 displays census block data accounting for the Hispanic population in the valley. This map adds a racial component to the class and
age related social factors we explored above. A higher percentage of Hispanic people are living in the Eastern Valley, following the trend of the
class dynamics explored in figure 9.
Figure 10.2 (Decennial Census 2010; Google Earth 2014)
Figure 10.2 shows data collected from a custom Google Earth search. The circular points represent local food, grocery, and corner/liquor stores in
the valley. Ironically, the Eastern Coachella Valley has relatively no grocery stores in contrast to the plethora of agricultural land used to grow
food. The Western Coachella Valley features plenty of corporate grocery stores. Access to food, thus, is greater as we move to wealthier areas
with a smaller concentration of Hispanic people.
Since the agricultural areas are predominantly corporate owned, and corporations wish to
maximize profits, it is assumed that all agricultural areas presented in the maps are applying
pesticides to their crops to maximize their yields. Figures 2.1, and 2.2 all detail the amount of
pesticides applied and can be used as a reference with the map below in order to extrapolate the
exact pounds of pesticides applied to each acre of the various agricultural fields.
Pink points on the map below mark all elementary schools because young children are
more vulnerable to pesticide exposure compared to older high school students. Elementary
students are still in the process of developing their brains and bodies and are likely to be more
sensitive to pesticide exposure compared to adolescents and adults.
Figure 11 (Riverside County Transportation and Land Management Agency)
Figure 11 reveals the locations and sizes of agricultural fields in the eastern portion of the Coachella Valley, including Indio, Mecca, Thermal,
and the city of Coachella. It also shows agricultural production for the whole area of Riverside County. Figure 11 not only shows locations of
pesticide afflicted areas, but it also shows the point locations of all elementary, middle, and high schools in the Eastern Coachella Valley. The
schools included in the map are either a part of the Desert Palms or Coachella Valley School Districts and are sorted by age (elementary, middle
and high schools). It shows that on average wind patterns in the area travel from the northwest to the southeast and are typically trending from
the west to the east. The wind patterns help readers visualize how pesticides can drift away from their point source locations by showing the
general direction they are drifting in. Furthermore, the wind patterns convey how adjacent, nonagricultural zones, such as residential homes,
parks, stores, and schools can be affected by pesticide drift.
Discussion of Justice:
Citizens of the Coachella Valley are a part of Riverside County. As a result, in order to
be a part of the decision-making process at the county level residents would have to drive to their
county’s town hall located in the city of Riverside. This is a problem because in order to
participate in meetings and events that impact their community, a resident from Mecca, for
example, would need to take a two hour drive, which is increasingly hard for folks living in
poverty. Moreover, most residents from Mecca are unable to afford to take a whole day off of
work in order to make the four hour long round trip to county meetings. A family from Mecca,
say with a single parent, cannot afford to give up the wages that they would be earning for the
day to drive to Riverside to participate in events and meetings in order to affect change in their
community.
Mecca is unincorporated so it is up to the county to fix the significant problems that they
face, and when they do not have access to county level support, residents of Mecca are left alone
and forgotten. This lack of easy and equal access to decision-making processes and the inability
to influence potential policy in their area is characteristic of inequality and presents itself as
another environmental justice issue affecting the Eastern Coachella Valley.
It is clear that the Eastern Coachella Valley bears a larger proportion of negative
environmental impacts due to an economy that relies heavily on agricultural production. There is
not an equitable distribution of agricultural burdens across the County of Riverside, which points
to evidence of a clear environmental injustice.
Spatializing pesticide use in the Eastern Coachella and its harmful effects on the
community will hopefully spark a debate between residents and agricultural landowners in order
to change the current conditions of environmental injustice in the area. If the voices of the people
who are affected by pesticides can be heard, then it would put pressure on agricultural
corporations to change their policy and procedures in relation to pesticide use. Residents could
protest to have them limit the amount of pesticides they are legally allowed to use while
advocating for alternatives to pesticides. Everyone in the area would agree that the economy is
important, but there should not have to be a trade-off between the economy and public safety,
where making money is more important than the healthy state of the community.
Limitations:
Pesticide data has by and large been unavailable to the public; however, certain laws now
require that pesticide use be reported on the county level like in the state of California. Even so,
documents reporting pesticide use are very complex and require experience in data
interpretation. We were only able to map pesticide use by pounds because the data was made
available by the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment.
Since a large portion of the Eastern Coachella Valley is unincorporated, pesticide
reporting may not be as enforced, and may result in less accurate data for these areas. Census
data inevitably leaves many people unaccounted for as well which results in holes in social data,
particularly in census block data.
Some other issues we encountered when researching pesticide use occurred in measuring
pesticide drift by distance. Wind patterns change every day, so we never really know the
consistent direction or distance that pesticides are drifting.
It is hard to quantify the actual effects of pesticides. Some side effects are acute including
rash development, nausea, and vomiting, others are chronic including cancer, sterility, or birth
defects (Moses 166). The effects of pesticide exposure can take anywhere from 10 to 20 years to
develop (Moses 167). Furthermore, issues of environmental justice are multi-linear, so it is
slightly more challenging to target pesticides as the cause of resident’s health issues, or evidence
of injustice in the area.
Conclusion:
The process of bringing environmental justice and equal social opportunities to the
Coachella Valley will take time and effort from both local grassroots agencies as well as
dedicated outside efforts. The collection of maps we have created show evidence of an unfair
distribution of environmental burdens that include pesticide exposure, limited health care access,
and the presence of a food desert in the Eastern Coachella Valley. These burdens are distributed
unequally along lines of race, class, occupation, language, and age.
We believe that our spatial analysis of pesticides in the area is an initial step towards a
future of environmental justice. These maps provide concrete evidence of the environmental
racism and classism manifesting in the Eastern Coachella Valley, which can be used to target the
laws and regulations, which permit pesticides to permeate and encompass the area. Ultimately, it
is up to direct bearers of environmental injustice to make the decisions about the ways they want
to fight for their communities. In this case it is the low-income youth, workers, and people of
color in the Eastern Coachella Valley who will be the inevitable voice of change.
Work Cited
Deer, Howard. “Pesticide Adsorption and Half-Life.” Utah State University, Pesticides. 15.1
(2004). Web. 18 Apr. 2014.
London, Jonathan, Greenfield Teri, Zagofsky Tara. “Revealing the Invisible Coachella Valley.”
UC Davis (2013) Web. 10 Feb. 2013.
Moses, Marion. “Farmworkers and Pesticides.” Confronting Environmental Racism: Voices from
the Grassroots. Ed. Robert D. Bullard. Massachusettes: South End Press, 1993. 161-178. Print.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Pesticides. 26. Mar. 2014. Web. 3 Apr. 2014.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. “Children Are at Greater Risks from Pesticide
Exposure.” Jan. 2002. Web. 3 Apr. 2014.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. “Pesticide Spray and Dust Drift.” Mar. 2010. Web. 3
Apr. 2014.
Map Data
ACS. U.S. Census American Community Survey. Age Data (2012).
18 and Under, 65 and Over
ACS. U.S. Census American Community Survey. 5-Year Labor Data (2005-2010).
Civilian Labor Force—Agricultural
ACS. U.S. Census American Community Survey. Race Data (2012).
Does Not Speak English Very Well
ACS. U.S. Census American Community Survey. Race Data (2012).
Hispanic
ACS. U.S. Census American Community Survey. Poverty Data (2012).
Total Poverty
Environmental Health Investigation Branch (EHIB) Pesticide web Mapping Tool.
www.ehib.org/tool
Pesticide Map Tool
Google Earth. Custom Google Earth search to find grocery store data. April 2014.
Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment. Tiger/LINE data originally created by
CalEnviroScreen. June 2013. http://oehha.ca.gov/ej/ces042313.html
Pesticides
Riverside County Transportation and Land Management Agency. http://rctlma.org/OnlineServices/Downloads/GIS-Data
Agricultural Parcels
State of California, Department of Health Services. 2011