Farmers’ exposure to herbicides in North Italy: Assessment under real-life conditions in small-size rice and corn farms

Rubino, Federico Maria; Mandić‐Rajčević, Stefan; Ariano, Eugenio; Alegakis, Athanasios; Bogni, M.; Brambilla, G.; Paschale, Gioia De; Firmi, A M; Minoia, Claudio; Micoli, G.; Savi, Simona; Sottani, Cristina; Somaruga, C.; Turci, Roberta; Vellere, Francesca; Tsatsakis, Aristidis; Colosio, Claudio

doi:10.1016/j.toxlet.2012.01.017

Cited by 38 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…As suggested by the above-mentioned previous study (34), real values of exposure to pesticides are not always easily predictable. A recent study conducted in France, the PESTEXPO study (40), highlighted workers' specific tasks as another important determinant regarding exposure to pesticides.…”

Section: Pesticide Risk Assessmentmentioning

confidence: 87%

“…In this regard, a study performed in northern Italy (34) provided some interesting evidence. The study was conducted on 11 rice and 13 maize farms in Lombardy (Italy), which had a small number of workers (3 or 4), and participated in the study with one worker only, who was in charge for pesticides application.…”

Section: Pesticide Risk Assessmentmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…The PESTEXPO study involved vineyard workers of the area of Bordeaux, which is particularly rich in vineyards, and exposure was assessed by the application of patches over the clothes and directly on the skin, changed after every working switch. Hand skin exposure was evaluated by washing the hands with bottled water and collecting the wastewater, similarly to the method by Rubino et al (34). The study examined exposure levels during various re-entry activities and during the harvest, finding that contamination with pesticides is maximal when raising wires and cutting branches (among re-entry activities) and when picking grapes during the harvest.…”

Section: Pesticide Risk Assessmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Occupational exposure to pesticides as a possible risk factor for the development of chronic diseases in humans

Gangemi

Miozzi

Teodoro

et al. 2016

Molecular Medicine Reports

138

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It is well known that pesticides are widely used compounds. In fact, their use in agriculture, forestry, fishery and the food industry has granted a huge improvement in terms of productive efficiency. However, a great number of epidemiological surveys have demonstrated that these toxic compounds can interact and exert negative effects not only with their targets (pests, herbs and fungi), but also with the rest of the environment, including humans. This is particularly relevant in the case of workers involved in the production, transportation, preparation and application of these toxicants. Accordingly, a growing body of evidence has demonstrated the correlation between occupational exposure to pesticides and the development of a wide spectrum of pathologies, ranging from eczema to neurological diseases and cancer. Pesticide exposure is often quite difficult to establish, as many currently used modules do not take into account all of the many variables that can occur in a diverse environment, such as the agricultural sector, and the assessment of the real risk for every single worker is problematic. Indeed, the use of personal protection equipment is necessary while handling these toxic compounds, but education of workers can be even more important: personal contamination with pesticides may occur even in apparently harmless situations. This review summarises the most recent findings describing the association between pesticide occupational exposure and the development of chronic diseases.

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Section: Pesticide Risk Assessmentmentioning

confidence: 87%

Section: Pesticide Risk Assessmentmentioning

confidence: 94%

Section: Pesticide Risk Assessmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Occupational exposure to pesticides as a possible risk factor for the development of chronic diseases in humans

Gangemi

Miozzi

Teodoro

et al. 2016

Molecular Medicine Reports

138

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“…On the converse, no excess risk emerged in association with overall agricultural crops or other specific crop types. Our a priori hypothesis was that for children living adjacent to cultivated fields, passive exposure to drift of the pesticides used for the specific crop types was not negligible (Lu et al, 2000; Rubino et al, 2012). We selected a 100-meter buffer around homes since it represents the distance where substantial pesticide drift occurs according to some studies (Wittich and Siebers, 2002; Siebers et al, 2003; Martin, 2008; Wolters et al, 2008; Cornelis et al, 2009; Garron et al, 2009), taking into account that in Italy agricultural fields are sprayed only by ground-based devices and therefore larger drifts are difficult to assume (Tsakirakis et al, 2014).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Passive exposure to agricultural pesticides and risk of childhood leukemia in an Italian community

Malagoli

Costanzini

Heck

et al. 2016

International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health

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Background Exposure to pesticides has been suggested as a risk factor for childhood leukemia, but definitive evidence on this relation and the specific pesticides involved is still not clear. Objective We carried out a population-based case-control study in a Northern Italy community to assess the possible relation between passive exposure to agricultural pesticides and risk of acute childhood leukemia. Methods We assessed passive pesticide exposure of 111 childhood leukemia cases and 444 matched controls by determining density and type of agricultural land use within a 100-m radius buffer around children’s homes. We focused on four common crop types, arable, orchard, vineyard and vegetable, characterized by the use of specific pesticides that are potentially involved in childhood induced leukemia. The use of these pesticides was validated within the present study. We computed the odds ratios (OR) of the disease and their 95% confidence intervals (CI) according to type and density of crops around the children’s homes, also taking into account traffic pollution and high-voltage power line magnetic field exposure. Results Childhood leukemia risk did not increase in relation with any of the crop types with the exception of arable crops, characterized by the use of 2.4-D, MCPA, glyphosate, dicamba, triazine and cypermethrin. The very few children (n=11) residing close to arable crops had an OR for childhood leukemia of 2.04 (95% CI 0.50–8.35), and such excess risk was further enhanced among children aged < 5 years. Conclusions Despite the null association with most crop types and the statistical imprecision of the estimates, the increased leukemia risk among children residing close to arable crops indicates the need to further investigate the involvement in disease etiology of passive exposure to herbicides and pyrethroids, though such exposure is unlikely to play a role in the vast majority of cases.

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“…Dermal exposure was assessed by the use of pads and the coordinated collection of the hand wash liquid. Body exposure was assessed using square 0.01 m 2 lab-made pads prepared with filter paper (Whatman no.1 filter paper, Prodotti Gianni, Milan) as previously described OECD, 1997;Rubino et al, 2012). Pads were applied on six representative body districts, namely: right upper limb (arm + right forearm), left upper limb (arm + left forearm), front trunk (thorax + abdomen), rear trunk (back + loin), right lower limb (thigh + right shin), and left lower limb (thigh + left shin).…”

Section: Dermal Samplingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of penconazole exposure in winegrowers using urinary biomarkers

Mercadante

Polledri

Rubino

et al. 2019

Environmental Research

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Penconazole (PEN) is a fungicide used in agriculture. The aim of this work was to evaluate the exposure to PEN in vineyard workers focusing on urinary biomarkers. Twenty-two agricultural workers were involved in the study; they were investigated during PEN applications and re-entry work, performed for 1-4 consecutive working days, for a total of 42 mixing and applications and 12 re-entries. Potential and actual dermal exposure, including hand exposure, were measured using pads and hand washes. Urine samples were collected starting before the first application, continuing during the work shift, and ending 48 hours after the last shift. The determination of PEN in dermal samples and PEN metabolites in urine was performed by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. Dermal potential body exposure and actual total exposure showed median levels ranging from 18 to 3356 and from 21 to 111 µg, respectively. Urinary monohydroxyl-derivative PEN-OH was the most abundant metabolite; its excretion rate peaked within 24 h after the work shift. In this period, median concentrations of PEN-OH and the carboxyl-derivative PEN-COOH ranged from 15.6 to 27.6 µg/L and from 2.5 to 10.2 µg/L, respectively. The concentration of PEN-OH during the work shift, in the 24 h after and in the 25-48 h after the work shift were correlated with actual body and total dermal exposure (Pearson's r from 0.279 to 0.562). Our results suggest that PEN-OH in the 24 h post-exposure urine is a promising candidate for biomonitoring PEN exposure in agricultural workers. AbstractPenconazole (PEN) is a fungicide used in agriculture. The aim of this work was to evaluate the exposure to PEN in vineyard workers focusing on urinary biomarkers.Twenty-two agricultural workers were involved in the study; they were investigated during PEN applications and re-entry work, performed for 1-4 consecutive working days, for a total of 42 mixing and applications and 12 re-entries. Potential and actual dermal exposure, including hand exposure, were measured using pads and hand washes. Urine samples were collected starting before the first application, continuing during the work shift, and ending 48 hours after the last shift. The determination of PEN in dermal samples and PEN metabolites in urine was performed by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry.Dermal potential body exposure and actual total exposure showed median levels ranging from 18 to 3356 and from 21 to 111 µg, respectively. Urinary monohydroxyl-derivative PEN-OH was the most abundant metabolite; its excretion rate peaked within 24 h after the work shift. In this period, median concentrations of PEN-OH and the carboxyl-derivative PEN-COOH ranged from 15.6 to 27.6 µg/L and from 2.5 to 10.2 µg/L, respectively. The concentration of PEN-OH during the work shift, in the 24 h after and in the 25-48 h after the work shift were correlated with actual body and total dermal exposure (Pearson's r from 0.279 to 0.562).Our results suggest that PEN-OH in the 24 h post-exposure urine is a promising candidate for bio...

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Farmers’ exposure to herbicides in North Italy: Assessment under real-life conditions in small-size rice and corn farms

Cited by 38 publications

References 20 publications

Occupational exposure to pesticides as a possible risk factor for the development of chronic diseases in humans

Occupational exposure to pesticides as a possible risk factor for the development of chronic diseases in humans

Passive exposure to agricultural pesticides and risk of childhood leukemia in an Italian community

Assessment of penconazole exposure in winegrowers using urinary biomarkers

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