An extesive survey of labor, health and living conditions was conducted on female members of farm households who are primarily growing vegetables such as lettuce and cabbage in the highlands of Nagano Prefecture. The survey included a follow-up on the attitude of those examined physically toward health.
The busiest season for the vegetable growers extends from July to September. About one-third of the respondents in our survey said that they work more than 12 hours a day during the most part of the period.
From the viewpoint of health, the major problem was connected with pesticides, which are sprayed in relatively large quantities over the vegetable fields. Our findings showed that 65% of the female farmers are engaged in the spraying of pesticides, of whom 13% said that they had suffered from intoxication and other types of physical disturbances.
Many complained about trouble in locomotive organs. To be noted is the finding that a half of the examinees had lower back pain, which presumably has something to do with the half-rising posture which the farmers take for a long time while working in the fields.
Our examination also revealed that about 25% of the women are prone to pyelitis and cystitis.
During the busiest season, these working housewives have to bear particular burdens and pressures that have a profund impact on their ability to carry through house work. A half of the housewives said that they do not have time to do family duties such as cooking, washing and cleaning.
Since physical examinations were carried out during the slack season, the attendance at the briefing on the results of examination was pretty good. Most of the examinees who had been told they need a thorough medical checkup or treatment followed the doctors' advice.
The survey found that a majority of the housewives are doing what they can in order to improve their eating habits. As for the improvement of working conditions, however, they find it difficult to lighten their burdens due to the nature of farm work.

To demonstrate delayed neuro-toxicity of organophosphate, we administered 13 types of organophosphorous pesticide to hens. Initially, a screening test was performed with nine varieties of the chemical product. Later, four types were given to the fowls. Those hens dosed with S-Seven and Surecide developed ataxia and other neurophatic symptoms in the lower limbs.
After 50 days of observation, all the hens were killed and anatomized. Phathohistological examination revealed various changes in the hens that developed neuropathic symptoms: atrophy, diminution and disappearance of nerve cells in the anterior horn of the spinal cord ; edematous changes in the myelin; swelling of the neuroglia ; atrophy and vaculolar degeneration of liver cells; and necrobiosis of nepaticlobures.
It was found that these changes are closely related with the development of ataxia and doses of the chemical.
It was also found that the pathotistological changes occurred to a less extent in those hens which did not develop toxicoses.

We investigated the content of NO₃-N in the well water of the eastern, middle and nothern districts of Nagano Prefecture. The NO₃-N content seasonally changes and takes on the pattern of a high in summer and a low in winter.
Rain is considered to dilute the contaminated well water, but it lets NO₃-N flow from the soil into the.well water, when the rain is poured by a typhoon. As a result, a high content of NO₃-N is measured in the well water.
The water sample of 25 out of 85 wells in Matsukawa Town exceeded the tolerance level of NO₃-N (10 ppm, but 44.3 ppm in terms of NO₃^-).
By crop area, the amount of NO₃-N was highest in the fruitgrowing area, which was followed in order of the vegetable-growing area, the flower-growing and the rice planting area.
We consider that the contamination of well water is caused both by chemical fertilizers and the less absorbility of the soil.

Two hundred and thirty adipose tissues were collected from inpatients, who had undergone an operation and an autopsy in the Saku Central Hospital from 1980 to 1982. Organochlorine pesticides were extracted from the adipose tissues and determined by gas-liquid chromatography with an electron-capture detector.
The mean value was 1, 429 ppm for total BHC among males, and 1.665 ppm among females, 4.893 ppm and 3.791 ppm for total DDT, 1.082 ppm and 0.782 ppm for PCB, respectively. Regression analysis between the total BHC residue and the ages of patients indicated a positive correlation for both sexs. As for the relation between the rate of obesity and the residues, low rates of obesity (-10%--19%) were most significantly correlated with high values of total BHC, total DDT and PCB.
We also discussed relations between cancerous diseases and the residues.

Over the past eight years, small doses of an organophosphorous insecticide known in Japan as Sumithion (fenitrothion) have been administered weekly to rehsus monkeys and beagles. In this report, the results obtained during the past three years are discussed.
During the period, two monkeys and one hound died. Pathohistological examination revealed degeneration and disappearance-regeneration of liver tissues, edema of oculomotor muscle stomas, spinal cords and oculomotorius nerve fibers, and atrophy of limph nodes. These are considered the effects of the insecticide.
The surviving animals did not develop any abnormal changes or signs associated with Sumithion-induced disorders. Weight loss was not observed. Routine blood tests were negative. However, serum chemical analyses conducted in the seventh year showed that there are statistically significant differences in GPT, LDH and cholinestrase activity among the animals.