Pesticides

Christopher Simmons Honored by Department of Pesticide Regulation

The Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) honored Christopher Simmons, PhD, and his research team, with an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Achievement Award for their work with biosolarization, a process that combines the sun’s heat with soil amendments to manage weeds and other soil-borne pests.

Healthy Lungs and Agriculture

Agricultural workers face numerous airborne threats every day. Air pollutant emissions, soil fumigants, pesticides, mold, asbestos, and dust are a few of the potential lung health hazards that an agricultural worker can come into contact through work.

Wildfire Smoke and Pesticides

Potential health risks of wildfire smoke may be magnified due to pesticide application across California’s vast agricultural land and the use of fire retardants to fight fires. 

Agricultural Practices

California’s San Joaquin Valley (SJV) offers a unique opportunity to study how exposure to particulate matter emissions from targeted agricultural practices and activities affect farmworker health.

Fighting in the Dirt

Biosolarization simply means harvesting the power of biology (bio) plus the sun (sol) to kill pests. Add plastic and compost, and you are ready to roll.