Vincent C. Merrill, PhD, Kinesiology and Health Science, California State University Fullerton, P.O. Box 6870, Fullerton, CA 92834-6870, 714/278-5649, vmerrill@fullerton.edu

In the 1970’s, migrant opium-growing peoples (Hmong) settled in the headwater forest area of the Mae Soy valley, Thailand. With the help of foreign development aid aimed at opium eradication, the forests were soon being cleared for large-scale commercial cabbage production by using slash-and-burn cultivation. The changing conditions of the upper watershed have led to the loss of topsoil and the drying of streams which feed the whole agricultural plain of the Mae Soy lowland. In addition to the effects of deforestation, the over-use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers in this area has continued largely unchecked during this time. As a consequence, the down-stream farming village communities have been exposed to high levels of environmental contaminants in their main source of water for the region. This study will provide an ecological risk assessment for the down-stream village communities to these pesticides and chemical fertilizers. Exposure and ecological effects assessments will be reported. As part of this risk characterization of the long-term health effects of these environmental hazards, a cross-sectional analysis will be conducted comparing similar villages in the region across appropriate health indicators for specific pesticide and chemical exposures. Possible solutions to this complex sociopolitical issue will also be explored.

Learning Objectives:

• To understand the sociopolitical dynamics of environmental degradation and their impacts on public health in developing countries

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.