Source: ECU, 12/1/21

Dr. Robin Tutor Marcom, director of the North Carolina Agromedicine Institute, has received a national award for her work in educating North Carolina employers and workers on pesticide safety.

Tutor Marcom was honored with the American Association of Pesticide Safety Educators (AAPSE) Professional Recognition Award earlier this year. The award is a culmination of the work Tutor Marcom and her team have done since 2009 to ensure that agricultural workers and their employers understand and follow the strict rules on the use of respiratory protection for anyone using pesticides labelled for respiratory protection in agricultural production. Tutor Marcom focused on disseminating information and regulations from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

“Knowing that others value our work not just now but for the past 12 years is especially meaningful,” Tutor Marcom said. “Among all of the things I’ve done in my career, it is one of the bodies of work that I’m most proud of, and to know that others also value it means a great deal.”

The N.C. Agromedicine Institute is a University of North Carolina inter-institutional institute whose partners are East Carolina University, N.C. State University and N.C. Agricultural and Technical State University. The institute also partners with the agricultural community, other universities, businesses, health care organizations, governmental agencies and other organizations to identify and address health and safety risks of farmers, foresters, fishermen, their families and communities in North Carolina. Tutor Marcom leads the institute, which is led by ECU and housed at the West Research Campus in Greenville.

The timing of the Professional Recognition Award, Tutor Marcom said, was even more poignant because of the additional challenges to ensuring pesticide safety that the pandemic presented.

“As early as the end of February 2020, I became aware that agricultural operations were not going to be able to comply with these rules due to the inability to obtain respiratory protection as respirators were diverted to health care,” Tutor Marcom said.

“Operations were also not able to obtain in-person medical evaluations required prior to using respirators due to restrictions on in-person visits.”

Tutor Marcom and her team immediately alerted the N.C. Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services, the EPA and other agencies.

“Our work to bring attention to PPE shortages, obtain changes in policy and work behind the scenes to make sure farmers and farmworkers had what they need to be safe amidst a global pandemic has been especially challenging,” she said.

Tutor Marcom and institute employees work across the state to ensure the health and safety for one of North Carolina’s largest industries. She said the award represents the institute’s commitment to the difference agricultural workers make to our daily lives.

“In the day-to-day scheme of things, it is definitely not about me or the institute — it is about the individuals working in agriculture,” she said. “To be recognized by my peers from other states and a national organization is also very humbling. I have to say I cried when I received the news; I had no idea and was so very touched. I work with great people who share my zeal for educating farms about pesticide safety.”

The institute’s reach goes beyond those directly involved in the farming and agriculture communities. Tutor Marcom also acknowledged leadership in the Division of Health Sciences for allowing her the freedom to pursue solutions for the agricultural community in tangible ways. The institute also takes opportunities to teach medical students and other students in the division about agricultural safety and health through the course MPH 6036 Fundamentals of Agromedicine. Tutor Marcom and Jessica Wilburn, AgriSafe nurse coordinator, recently taught respiratory protection to the Hawaii Department of Agriculture as well.

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