Pesticide exposure among farm workers

Burns, Carol J.; Mahlburg, William M.; Dutra, J.P. “Jack”

doi:10.1016/j.envres.2007.05.002

Cited by 10 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 12 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…It is not surprising that re-entry farm workers may face even greater exposure than pesticide applicators, possibly because safety training and the use of PPE are usually less, and the duration of exposure may be greater than that of the applicators [ 31 , 32 , 33 ]. Exposure by re-entry in the sprayed fields may become a serious problem if farm workers re-enter the treated fields soon after pesticide application [ 34 ]. Spray drift from neighboring fields and overexposure events of this kind, each involving groups of workers, have been documented as inadvertent events of farmers’ exposure to pesticides [ 35 ].…”

Section: Pesticide-related Work Tasksmentioning

confidence: 99%

Farmers’ Exposure to Pesticides: Toxicity Types and Ways of Prevention

Damalas

Koutroubas

2016

Toxics

478

300

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Synthetic pesticides are extensively used in agriculture to control harmful pests and prevent crop yield losses or product damage. Because of high biological activity and, in certain cases, long persistence in the environment, pesticides may cause undesirable effects to human health and to the environment. Farmers are routinely exposed to high levels of pesticides, usually much greater than those of consumers. Farmers' exposure mainly occurs during the preparation and application of the pesticide spray solutions and during the cleaning-up of spraying equipment. Farmers who mix, load, and spray pesticides can be exposed to these chemicals due to spills and splashes, direct spray contact as a result of faulty or missing protective equipment, or even drift. However, farmers can be also exposed to pesticides even when performing activities not directly related to pesticide use. Farmers who perform manual labor in areas treated with pesticides can face major exposure from direct spray, drift from neighboring fields, or by contact with pesticide residues on the crop or soil. This kind of exposure is often underestimated. The dermal and inhalation routes of entry are typically the most common routes of farmers' exposure to pesticides. Dermal exposure during usual pesticide handling takes place in body areas that remain uncovered by protective clothing, such as the face and the hands. Farmers' exposure to pesticides can be reduced through less use of pesticides and through the correct use of the appropriate type of personal protective equipment in all stages of pesticide handling.

show abstract

Section: Pesticide-related Work Tasksmentioning

confidence: 99%

Farmers’ Exposure to Pesticides: Toxicity Types and Ways of Prevention

Damalas

Koutroubas

2016

Toxics

478

300

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…This finding is in agreement with studies in Philippines by Perez et al (2015). Nevertheless, this practice exposes the farmers, their family members and animals for long periods of time resulting into pesticide toxicity through direct inhalation from direct spray or by contact with pesticide residues on the crop or soil (Burns et al, 2007;Perez et al, 2015;Damalas and Koutroubas, 2016). Human exposure to hazardous pesticides leads to several different acute and chronic health effects and may affect the health of both farmers and consumers (Thundiyil et al, 2008;Mostafalou and Abdollahi, 2013;de Bon et al, 2014).…”

Section: Re-entering Coffee Fields After Sprayingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Farmers’ knowledge and perception of the use of pesticides in Arabica coffee, Coffea arabica agro-ecologies of Uganda

Godfrey¹,

Kucel²,

Kobusinge³

et al. 2018

JAES

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Low yields of coffee in Uganda are due to a number of factors with insects, diseases and weeds being paramount. In response, farmers respond by applying all kinds of pesticides to control these stresses. A questionnaire to elucidate farmers' knowledge and perceptions of pesticide use was therefore administered to 325 randomly selected respondents in the Arabica coffee growing regions of Uganda. Our results showed that only 23% of the respondents had ever used or were using pesticides, although, >50% of these respondents had knowledge on pesticides use. However, the methods of pesticide disposal were poor with >40% of these respondents disposing the wash water and unused/waste pesticide on their farms whereas, used containers were being burned. Also, >60% of these respondents were re-entering their coffee fields in less than one week after spraying. These practices expose the farmers, their animals and the environment to pesticide poisoning. Nevertheless, >50% of these respondents were aware of the negative effects pesticides are likely to cause to humans, animals and environment. Therefore, in order to minimize pesticide exposure and toxicity, training and awareness campaigns on pesticides use, particularly pesticide disposal should be rolled out to all the coffee growing agro-ecologies of Uganda.

show abstract

“…There is evidence that re-entry workers may have pesticide absorption greater even than applicators, possibly because safety training and use of personal protective equipment (PPE) are less and their duration of exposure may be greater than that of applicators [20,36,37]. Re-entry exposure is a particular problem if workers re-enter treated fields very soon after pesticide application [28]. Field workers may also be inadvertently exposed to spray drift from neighboring fields, and overexposure events of this kind, each involving groups of workers, have been documented [11,38].…”

Section: Pesticide-related Work Tasksmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dermal Exposure Associated with Occupational End Use of Pesticides and the Role of Protective Measures

MacFarlane

Carey

Keegel

et al. 2013

Safety and Health at Work

140

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BackgroundOccupational end users of pesticides may experience bodily absorption of the pesticide products they use, risking possible health effects. The purpose of this paper is to provide a guide for researchers, practitioners, and policy makers working in the field of agricultural health or other areas where occupational end use of pesticides and exposure issues are of interest.MethodsThis paper characterizes the health effects of pesticide exposure, jobs associated with pesticide use, pesticide-related tasks, absorption of pesticides through the skin, and the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) for reducing exposure.ConclusionsAlthough international and national efforts to reduce pesticide exposure through regulatory means should continue, it is difficult in the agricultural sector to implement engineering or system controls. It is clear that use of PPE does reduce dermal pesticide exposure but compliance among the majority of occupationally exposed pesticide end users appears to be poor. More research is needed on higher-order controls to reduce pesticide exposure and to understand the reasons for poor compliance with PPE and identify effective training methods.

show abstract

Pesticide exposure among farm workers

Cited by 10 publications

References 12 publications

Farmers’ Exposure to Pesticides: Toxicity Types and Ways of Prevention

Farmers’ Exposure to Pesticides: Toxicity Types and Ways of Prevention

Farmers’ knowledge and perception of the use of pesticides in Arabica coffee, Coffea arabica agro-ecologies of Uganda

Dermal Exposure Associated with Occupational End Use of Pesticides and the Role of Protective Measures

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About