DPR officials announced that 911 individual cases of pesticide illness were reported in 2005, up from 828 cases the prior year.

Mary-Ann Warmerdam, director of the Department of Pesticide Regulation, said that pesticide drift has been one of the major sources of injuries and illnesses, as the 2005 DPR data show.

Warmerdam has set a department goal to “aim for zero” illnesses and her department has been moving forward to reduce exposures resulting from pesticide applications.