Pesticides Community Outreach & Education

Wishtoyo / Ventura Coastkeeper released our research paper, "Agritoxins: Ventura County's Toxic Time Bomb" in November 2003 at a press conference held at the Mandalay Beach Resort in Oxnard, CA. ("Agritoxins", a word coined by Wishtoyo, refers to toxic agricultural pesticides.)  The study quantifies the effects of pesticides used in Ventura County agriculture on human health. The paper was co-authored by Socorro Lopez Hanson and Mary Haffner, a Ventura attorney with expertise in pesticides regulations.  

Please visit Wishtoyo's Pesticides Update for current news about the program.

As a result of the paper's findings, Wishtoyo Foundation launched a community outreach program to reduce the health and environmental hazards of toxic chemicals. A major factor in the threat of exposure is aerial application; certain types of weather promote widespread drift to surrounding communities, including wind, and fog - which suspends the particles in the air for long periods of time. 

Therefore we are working with community members and state officials on the issue of enforcement of regulations, to ensure the safety of our communities. We also provide educational programs for schools in farming areas, including bilingual safety information.
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In addition, we collect water samples at key agricultural runoff sites. This is a community-based program, utilizing a volunteer team to participate in the sampling events. Water samples are sent to certified labs for testing. 

For a Project Update, Please Click Here. To view the White Paper in pdf format, please Click Here. (Please note, it may take a moment for it to appear on your screen.)

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