Pesticide Exposure, Safety Issues, and Risk Assessment Indicators

Abstract

Pesticides are widely used in agricultural production to prevent or control pests, diseases, weeds, and other plant pathogens in an effort to reduce or eliminate yield losses and maintain high product quality. Although pesticides are developed through very strict regulation processes to function with reasonable certainty and minimal impact on human health and the environment, serious concerns have been raised about health risks resulting from occupational exposure and from residues in food and drinking water. Occupational exposure to pesticides often occurs in the case of agricultural workers in open fields and greenhouses, workers in the pesticide industry, and exterminators of house pests. Exposure of the general population to pesticides occurs primarily through eating food and drinking water contaminated with pesticide residues, whereas substantial exposure can also occur in or around the home. Regarding the adverse effects on the environment (water, soil and air contamination from leaching, runoff, and spray drift, as well as the detrimental effects on wildlife, fish, plants, and other non-target organisms), many of these effects depend on the toxicity of the pesticide, the measures taken during its application, the dosage applied, the adsorption on soil colloids, the weather conditions prevailing after application, and how long the pesticide persists in the environment. Therefore, the risk assessment of the impact of pesticides either on human health or on the environment is not an easy and particularly accurate process because of differences in the periods and levels of exposure, the types of pesticides used (regarding toxicity and persistence), and the environmental characteristics of the areas where pesticides are usually applied. Also, the number of the criteria used and the method of their implementation to assess the adverse effects of pesticides on human health could affect risk assessment and would possibly affect the characterization of the already approved pesticides and the approval of the new compounds in the near future. Thus, new tools or techniques with greater reliability than those already existing are needed to predict the potential hazards of pesticides and thus contribute to reduction of the adverse effects on human health and the environment. On the other hand, the implementation of alternative cropping systems that are less dependent on pesticides, the development of new pesticides with novel modes of action and improved safety profiles, and the improvement of the already used pesticide formulations towards safer formulations (e.g., microcapsule suspensions) could reduce the adverse effects of farming and particularly the toxic effects of pesticides. In addition, the use of appropriate and well-maintained spraying equipment along with taking all precautions that are required in all stages of pesticide handling could minimize human exposure to pesticides and their potential adverse effects on the environment.

Pesticide exposure and health conditions of terrestrial pesticide applicators in Córdoba Province, Argentina

“…The present technological model applied in food production requires the application of increasing amounts of agrichemical products 3 , leading to risks to human health and to the environment 4,11,20 .…”

“…Pesticide exposure in rural areas affects a sector of the population that is highly exposed and very vulnerable 11 , and constitutes one of the biggest health problems in rural communities 12 .…”

Maternal residential pesticide use and risk of childhood leukemia in Costa Rica

“…Understanding the role of residential pesticide exposure in childhood leukemia and other cancers can be difficult because children may be exposed to a mixture of pesticides with different toxicities and modes of application, and also through varying sources and routes of exposure 37. While challenges exist in collecting sufficient toxicological and epidemiological evidence to evaluate the carcinogenicity of exposure to specific pesticides and combinations of pesticides, multiple organophosphates (OPs) and pyrethroids commonly used in agriculture and inside the homes (e.g., glyphosate,38 malathion,38 parathion,38 permethrin,39 tetramethrin39) have been classified as possible or probable human carcinogens.…”

Synthesis and fungicidal activity of phenylhydrazone derivatives containing two carbonic acid ester groups

“…Except for 5D 3 , 5G 2 , and 5G 3 , all other compounds showed substantial inhibitory activities against R. solani. Among them, the EC 50 values of 21 compounds were less than 10 mg/L, and four of them (5F 1 , 5F 2 , The structure-activity relationships (SARs) against R. solani formed three general rules.…”

“…The emergence of pesticide resistance, pollution, unwanted residues, and the accumulation of agrochemicals in food and water have forced researchers to continuously develop new pesticides better suited to the needs of farms and consumers. [1][2][3] Plant diseases caused by fungi are considered a worldwide threat to crop safety and food security, 4) and the threat posed by such disease has only been heightened by farming practices and trade activities being used with increasing frequency. 4) Diseases caused by plant pathogenic fungi, such as Botrytis cinerea, Rhizoctonia solani, and Colletotrichum capsici, are very common and can cause serious economic losses.…”