9 Moorpark Farmworkers Rushed to Hospital After...Trouble Breathing

[Rose Siding]

Nine workers at a farm in Moorpark were rushed by ambulance to a local hospital Wednesday morning after complaining of having difficulty breathing.

The workers were picking in a field operated by Muranaka Farms in the 11000 block of East Los Angeles Avenue when two of them began complaining of irritating fumes and breathing problems, authorities said.
.....
Battalion Chief David Chovanec said the irritation was caused by a pesticide that had been sprayed on another Muranaka field about 200 yards away an hour before the picking started. "Their symptoms had subsided by the time we arrived," Chovanec said.

All 20 people working in the field were given on-site medical checkups and offered the option of being transported to Simi Valley Hospital for further examination, he said. One woman and eight men, ages 18 to 44, were taken in for observation.

"They were all in pretty fair condition," hospital spokeswoman Alicia Gonzales said. "Some had burning of the eyes, but the main complaint was trouble breathing."

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-farmworker7apr07,1,4059985.story?coll=la-headlines-california

[Demit]

1. Probably docked for taking time off to get the medical attention, too.

[Rose Siding]

2. At least those pesky class actions aren't the threat they used to be

/sarcasm.

ARE there stats on farm workers illness/death rates?