This is part one in a series from KRCB, in collaboration with the USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism 2022 California Fellowship, looking into the harsh wildfire conditions agricultural workers in Sonoma County face.
Long-term exposure to the particulate matter released by open agricultural burning has been associated with a suite of health problems, and the communities most affected are majority-Latino.
Clean air advocates hope the EPA will step in to strengthen regulations of polluting industries.
A California senator set out to ban agricultural burning in the San Joaquin Valley nearly 20 years ago. What happened?
Even with $220 million in financial incentives, growers are wondering how they’ll afford whole orchard recycling in the long term – especially small farmers, who have fewer resources to begin with.
In their new plan to ban agricultural burning, air regulators are using outreach and financial incentives to convince growers to adopt an alternative known as whole orchard recycling.
Exposure to air pollution has long been a public health issue for people in South San Luis Obispo County.
The more people are exposed to poor air quality on the Mesa, the sicker they become over time — dealing with allergy symptoms, breathing issues and, for some, even lung disease.
Air pollution from blowing dust on the Nipomo Mesa is hitting people of color and low-income folks especially hard.