This study investigates how field practices in handling and applying pesticides influence the long-term patterns of professional agricultural operators' exposure to pesticides. It presents the first use of a comprehensive pesticide application dataset collected on behalf of the European Food Safety Authority with 50 operators selected to cover arable and orchard cropping systems in Greece, Lithuania and the UK. Exposure was predicted based on the harmonised Agricultural Operator Exposure Model (AOEM) and compared with Acceptable Operator Exposure Levels (AOELs). The amount of pesticides handled by individual operators across a cropping season was largest in the UK arable and orchard systems (median 580 and 437kg active substance, respectively), intermediate for the arable systems in Greece and Lithuania (151 and 77kg, respectively), and smallest in the Greek orchard system (22kg). Overall, 30 of the 50 operators made at least one application within a day with predicted exposure greater than the AOEL. The rate of AOEL exceedance was greatest in the Greek cropping systems (8 orchard operators, 2.8-16% of total applications; 7 arable operators, 1.1-14% of total applications), and least for the Lithuanian arable system (2 operators, 2.9-4.5% of total applications). Instances in Greece when predicted exposure exceed the AOEL were strongly influenced by the widespread use of wettable powder formulations (>40% of the total pesticide active substance handled for 11 of the 20 Greek operators). In contrast, the total area of land treated with an active substance on a single day was more important in the UK and Lithuania (95 percentile observed value was 132 and 19haday for UK arable and orchard systems, respectively). Study findings can be used to evaluate current assumptions in regulatory exposure calculations and to identify situations with potential risk that require further analysis including measurements of exposure to validate model estimations.
Rice is a globally-significant staple cereal for which cultivation is concentrated in developing countries and, to a large extent, in smallholder farms. There is significant potential for operator exposure to pesticides during such rice production, but research to date is fragmented. This review evaluates methods and outcomes of studies to quantify pesticide exposure amongst rice growers in developing countries. Knapsack sprayers are used very frequently in rice cultivation, but existing exposure estimation methods lack the functionality to generate robust estimates of exposure. Direct measurement methods have been applied in a range of developing countries to measure dermal contact and/or respiratory inhalation during pesticide handling activities, and these have sometimes been coupled with biological monitoring for exposure. Only a few studies have collected contextual information in parallel with exposure assessment, using interviews or questionnaires to capture information on agricultural practices and personal protective measures. There is general agreement that dermal exposure is likely to be larger than inhalation exposure, with dermal contact exacerbated by risk factors including crop structure, maintenance status of equipment, and use of any personal protective equipment. There is frequent use within the reviewed studies of pesticide active substances that have been restricted in other parts of the world. Overall, there is an urgent need for more systematic studies to address gaps in knowledge and improve exposure estimates for use in health analysis and risk assessment.
Occupational exposure to pesticide mixtures comprising active substance(s) and/or co-formulant(s) with known/possible endocrine disrupting activity was assessed using long-term activity records for 50 professional operators representing arable and orchard cropping systems in Greece, Lithuania, and the UK. Exposure was estimated using the harmonised Agricultural Operator Exposure Model, and risk was quantified as a point of departure index (PODI) using the lowest no observed (adverse) effect level. Use of substances with known/possible endocrine activity was common, with 43 of the 50 operators applying at least one such active substance on more than 50% of spray days; at maximum, one UK operator sprayed five such active substances and ten such co-formulants in a single day. At 95 th percentile, total exposure was largest in the UK orchard system (4.1x10-2 mg kg bw-1 day-1) whereas risk was largest in the Greek cropping systems (PODI 5.3x10-1). All five cropping systems had instances indicating potential for risk when expressed at a daily resolution (maximum PODI 1.2-10.7). Toxicological data are sparse for co-formulants so combined risk from complex mixtures of active substances and co-formulants may be larger in reality.
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