The Most Common Places for Roundup Exposure in Central California

Central California is the agricultural backbone of the United States. The San Joaquin Valley alone produces a staggering share of the country’s fruits, vegetables, nuts, and grapes. That productivity comes with a reality that millions of residents, farmworkers, and their families live alongside every day: widespread and routine use of glyphosate-based herbicides, including Roundup.

For many people in this region, exposure to Roundup is not a single event. It is part of daily life — at work, near home, in public spaces, and sometimes across multiple decades. When Roundup exposure is followed by a diagnosis of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, the question of where and how it happened matters enormously for a potential legal claim.

This guide walks through the most common places where Roundup exposure occurs in Central California, how that exposure typically happens, and what people who believe Roundup may have contributed to their illness should do next.

Agricultural Fields and Row Crops

No setting in Central California generates more Roundup exposure than commercial agriculture. The San Joaquin Valley’s row crops — cotton, tomatoes, corn, alfalfa, garlic, and onions, among others — are managed with glyphosate throughout the growing cycle. Workers who plant, irrigate, thin, harvest, and pack these crops may spend entire seasons working in or near treated fields.

Direct exposure occurs when workers handle product during mixing and application. Residual exposure continues when workers enter recently sprayed fields, come into contact with treated vegetation, or spend extended hours in environments where glyphosate has been applied to the soil.

Farmworkers who apply pesticides directly — or who work nearby during or after application without adequate protective equipment or waiting period guidance — carry some of the highest exposure burdens of any occupational group.

Orchards and Tree Fruit Operations

Almonds, pistachios, walnuts, peaches, nectarines, plums, and citrus dominate enormous stretches of the Central Valley floor. Roundup and other glyphosate-based herbicides are routinely used in orchards to control ground cover beneath tree canopies, where mechanical cultivation is difficult and bare soil is preferred for ease of harvesting.

Orchard floor application is a particularly consistent source of occupational exposure. Workers pruning, irrigating, or operating under trees — sometimes on multiple crews working the same blocks throughout the year — are repeatedly in proximity to treated ground. Glyphosate residue can remain present on soil and on the underside of tree limbs long after application, extending the exposure window beyond the application day itself.

Vineyards

The wine grape regions of Central California — including areas of the San Joaquin Valley and the foothill growing zones — rely heavily on glyphosate for weed control in vine rows and between vine canopies. Vineyard floor management using Roundup is standard practice on many operations.

Workers who train vines, manage canopies, irrigate, and harvest spend prolonged periods working close to the ground in treated vine rows. In warmer months, when application is most frequent, workers may be present in vineyards within a short time of spraying. Repeated skin contact with treated soil, plant material, and surfaces in these environments is a common exposure pathway.

Farmworker Housing Near Treated Acreage

A feature of Central California agricultural communities that is often overlooked in discussions of Roundup exposure is the proximity of farmworker housing to treated fields. In many areas of the valley, labor camps, company housing, and affordable residential developments are built directly adjacent to — or within a short distance of — actively farmed parcels.

Spray drift is a real and documented phenomenon. Wind-carried herbicide droplets can travel significant distances from the target application area, particularly during windy conditions, on slopes, or when application methods create fine mist. Residents who live near treated acreage may be exposed through outdoor air, garden produce, and soil near their homes — even if they have no direct occupational contact with Roundup at all.

Children playing outside near treated fields face a particularly concerning exposure pathway, given their time spent on or near the ground and their developing physiological systems.

Irrigation Canals and Water Infrastructure Rights-of-Way

The irrigation infrastructure that makes Central California agriculture possible — canals, ditches, lateral systems, and associated rights-of-way — requires ongoing vegetation management. Glyphosate is commonly used by irrigation districts and water management agencies to keep canal banks, levees, and access roads clear of weeds and invasive plants.

Workers employed by these agencies may apply glyphosate along miles of infrastructure throughout the growing season. People who fish in or near these canals, walk along access roads, or live adjacent to irrigation infrastructure may have regular proximity to treated vegetation and soil without recognizing it as a source of chemical exposure.

Road Shoulders and Public Rights-of-Way

State highways, county roads, and rural routes throughout Central California are routinely treated with glyphosate to control vegetation on shoulders, medians, and roadsides. Caltrans and county road maintenance departments use herbicides as a standard part of roadside maintenance operations.

Roadside vegetation management generates exposure for the maintenance workers who apply the product, but also for motorists and pedestrians who stop, walk, or work near recently treated areas. Farm laborers who walk along roadsides between work sites, or who wait for transportation at roadside areas, may have regular incidental contact with treated vegetation.

School Grounds

Schools throughout Central California — particularly in agricultural communities — have used glyphosate as part of grounds maintenance programs. Playing fields, sports turf perimeters, parking lot edges, and landscaped areas around school buildings have all historically been treated with Roundup and similar products in many districts.

Children and school staff in these settings face a different kind of exposure than occupational workers, but the cumulative effect of regular time spent on treated ground — particularly for students who spend recesses and physical education classes outdoors — is a legitimate concern that has driven many school districts to reconsider or eliminate glyphosate use on campuses.

If a former student or school employee received a non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma diagnosis after years of time on treated school grounds, documenting that history is a critical step.

Public Parks and Recreational Areas

Parks, greenways, recreational trails, and open space areas maintained by municipal and county agencies in the Central Valley have historically used glyphosate for weed management. People who use these spaces regularly — walkers, joggers, cyclists, families with children, and community members who spend significant time in green spaces — can have repeated contact with treated surfaces.

Local parks in agricultural communities are often managed with the same cost-effective herbicide programs used in commercial agriculture. Workers employed by parks departments and municipal maintenance crews who apply these products on a regular basis carry meaningful occupational exposure.

Landscaping and Commercial Maintenance Work Sites

Professional landscapers, lawn care crews, and commercial property maintenance workers throughout the Central Valley use glyphosate as a standard weed control tool. They may apply Roundup at commercial properties, apartment complexes, business parks, municipal facilities, and residential accounts multiple times per week throughout the growing season.

This occupational group is among the most consistently exposed in non-agricultural settings. Workers who mix and apply product, handle concentrate, and spend their working days in proximity to treated surfaces accumulate substantial exposure over the course of a landscaping career. Many are exposed across years or decades without adequate protective equipment or clear guidance about the potential health risks.

Plant Nurseries and Garden Supply Operations

Nurseries and plant production operations throughout Central California use herbicides including glyphosate to manage weeds in production areas, growing benches, and outdoor propagation zones. Workers in nursery settings may have both direct contact during application and repeated incidental contact during the course of their daily work tending plants in treated areas.

Retail garden center employees and supply yard workers may also be exposed through product handling, storage areas, and treated exterior spaces at those facilities. The duration and regularity of exposure — not just the intensity of any single contact — is what builds a documented exposure history in these settings.

Residential Properties

Roundup has been marketed directly to homeowners for lawn and garden care for decades, and its use on residential properties throughout Central California is widespread. Homeowners who used it regularly in their yards — along fence lines, in vegetable gardens, on driveways and walkways, and in landscaped areas — may have accumulated significant exposure over many years of personal use.

Household exposure can also affect family members who spend time in recently treated areas, walk barefoot on treated lawns, or handle clothing that absorbed product during application. Children and pets who play on treated surfaces are particularly vulnerable to contact exposure in residential settings.

How Exposure Typically Happens in These Settings

Across all these environments, Roundup exposure generally occurs through several common pathways:

Direct application contact — mixing, loading, or spraying the product without adequate protective equipment creates the most intense and direct exposure, often involving skin contact, inhalation of spray mist, and occasional ingestion.

Residual surface contact — working, walking, or spending time on or near surfaces treated with glyphosate after application results in skin absorption through contact with treated soil, plant material, or clothing.

Spray drift — during and immediately after application, particularly in open agricultural settings, fine droplets can travel from the target area and reach nearby workers, residents, and bystanders.

Contaminated clothing and equipment — workers who wear treated clothing home, handle equipment that has absorbed product, or do not change after work before interacting with family members can extend exposure pathways into the home environment.

Proximity to ongoing use — living or working near areas where Roundup is applied regularly creates repeated low-level exposure over time, even without direct contact.

What to Do If You Were Exposed in Central California

If you worked in or around agricultural, landscaping, or maintenance settings in Central California and you have been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, these steps protect your rights now:

Document your exposure history. Write down every job, location, and setting where you may have come into contact with Roundup or other glyphosate-based products. Include approximate dates, how frequently exposure occurred, and how it happened.
Gather employment and work records. Pay stubs, tax records, and Social Security earnings statements help establish where you worked and for how long.
Maintain consistent medical care. Treatment records and physician documentation of your diagnosis are foundational to any legal claim.
Preserve physical evidence. If you have product containers, labels, or protective equipment from your time using Roundup, keep them.
Contact the best Roundup personal injury attorney without delay. California’s statute of limitations applies to these claims, and gathering evidence is significantly easier while memories are fresh and records are accessible.

Contact Walch Law for a Free Consultation

If you or a family member was regularly exposed to Roundup in Central California and received a non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma diagnosis, you deserve an honest evaluation of your legal options. At Walch Law, we handle Roundup exposure cases throughout California and understand the specific agricultural, occupational, and community settings where exposure in this region occurs most often.

We take the time to understand your exposure history, connect you with the right medical and scientific experts, and pursue every available form of compensation — including medical costs, lost income, pain and suffering, and loss of quality of life.

All Roundup cases are handled on a strict contingency fee basis. You pay nothing out of pocket, and we only collect a fee when we recover compensation for you. Contact Walch Law today for a completely free, confidential consultation. We are here to help you understand what happened and what your rights may be.