2008 Health Award Laureate
Pesticide Action Network North America
| Laureate Country: United States |
| Project Countries: Germany, the Philippines, South Africa, United States |
| Website: http://www.panna.org/drift/catcher |
| Video: 2008videos/Pesticide_Action_Network.mov |
The Pesticide Action Network devised air-monitoring technology that allows people to detect and fight toxic pesticide exposure.
Five billion pounds of hazardous pesticides are applied to crops each year. The chemicals are a major source of toxic air pollution. As a result, farm workers and others near agricultural sites experience high rates of cancer, asthma, miscarriage, and birth defects.
The Pesticide Action Network developed the Drift Catcher, a monitoring system that allows people without scientific training to test their air for pesticides. The device captures airborne pesticides on a resin filter, which is then analyzed in a lab to determine the quantity and types of pesticides present. With these scientific results in hand, vulnerable communities have won legislation to force the use of safer pest management and reduce hazardous exposures.
