Nine Kentucky tobacco workers sent to hospital
Aug 24, 2007—The Lexington (KY) Herald-Leader reported Friday that nine tobacco workers were taken to various Lexington hospitals Thursday evening after becoming seriously ill on the job.
The men suffered from abdominal cramps, nausea and vomiting, and all worked on a crew together, said a worker who was not ill.
Lexington paramedics responded to the Ingleside trailer park off Gibson and Devonshire avenues just after 6 p.m., said Maj. Jeff Nantz with the Lexington Fire Department.
"We suspect there was tobacco poisoning," he said.
Known often as "green tobacco sickness," the illness results from absorbing nicotine from tobacco leaves through the skin.
Three workers were taken to Good Samaritan Hospital, three to UK Hospital and three to St. Joseph Hospital.
Some of the crew members who were not as ill stayed behind. One of them lay on the floor of a trailer, his shirt off, and his arm covering his head. He eventually had to run outside to vomit.
Another worker said he was working alongside the other men, but was not sick.
Statements by the other workers indicated the crew was cutting tobacco on a farm Thursday afternoon. As they hung the tobacco from rafters, there was a fire underneath to dry the leaves, he said. The smoke concentrated where many of the men worked, he said.
Ramirez said the men had been in Lexington eight days and that this was the first year they had worked tobacco. They had picked tomatoes before.
Aug 24, 2007—The Lexington (KY) Herald-Leader reported Friday that nine tobacco workers were taken to various Lexington hospitals Thursday evening after becoming seriously ill on the job.
The men suffered from abdominal cramps, nausea and vomiting, and all worked on a crew together, said a worker who was not ill.
Lexington paramedics responded to the Ingleside trailer park off Gibson and Devonshire avenues just after 6 p.m., said Maj. Jeff Nantz with the Lexington Fire Department.
"We suspect there was tobacco poisoning," he said.
Known often as "green tobacco sickness," the illness results from absorbing nicotine from tobacco leaves through the skin.
Three workers were taken to Good Samaritan Hospital, three to UK Hospital and three to St. Joseph Hospital.
Some of the crew members who were not as ill stayed behind. One of them lay on the floor of a trailer, his shirt off, and his arm covering his head. He eventually had to run outside to vomit.
Another worker said he was working alongside the other men, but was not sick.
Statements by the other workers indicated the crew was cutting tobacco on a farm Thursday afternoon. As they hung the tobacco from rafters, there was a fire underneath to dry the leaves, he said. The smoke concentrated where many of the men worked, he said.
Ramirez said the men had been in Lexington eight days and that this was the first year they had worked tobacco. They had picked tomatoes before.
