Dermal Exposure to Pesticides among Sprayers in Different Agriculture Subsectors in Malaysia: Observational Method using DREAM

Abstract@#Introduction: An assessment of dermal exposure to pesticide mixtures among sprayers was made as a function of crop type, in four agricultural subsectors in Malaysia. Methods: The potential and actual dermal exposures for 160 pesticide sprayers performing pesticide spraying task were estimated by using Dermal Exposure Assessment Method (DREAM). Results: Results showed that there was significant difference between nationality (p<0.001), highest education (p<0.001), monthly income (p=0.002), body mass index (p<0.001) and smoking habit (p<0.001) distributions of sprayers in different agriculture subsectors. Various types of pesticides were used by respondents, where class II (moderately hazardous) and class III (slightly hazardous) pesticides were the most frequently used pesticides. There was a significant difference in both tPDE (χ2 = 118.093, p<0.001) and tADE (χ2 = 84.980, p<0.001) between different agricultural sectors, where the prominent high tPDE was observed among paddy pesticide sprayers (151.39 ± 22.64 DU) while lowest exposure was recorded among oil palm plantation sprayers (47.67 ± 18.47 DU). Conclusion: Based on DREAM exposure categories, majority of the pesticide sprayers (68.9%) working in paddy farming were exposed in low dermal exposure while 26.7% of respondents were exposed to moderate exposure. Pesticide sprayers in other agriculture sectors were exposed to very low to low exposure level. Dermal exposure distributions on body parts were varied between sectors, influenced by several factors such as crop type, height, and spraying methods.

A study on the growth effects of SD rats by repeated restraint in dermal exposure test / 预防医学

Objective To analysis the effects on the growth of rats by repeated restraint in dermal exposure test. Methods SD rats in the restraint group was bound for 6 hours per day for 91 days according the way by dermal exposure, while SD rats in the control group didn't receive the treatment. Clinical signs, body weight and food consumption changes were observed for 91 days. When the study was terminated, hematology, clinical biochemistry, urinalyses, gross necropsy, and histopathology were carried out. Statistical methods such as the generalized estimating equation were used to compare the differences between two groups. Results The statistical results of generalized estimating equation showed that there was an interaction between the group and test time for male and female rats in body weight changes (P<0.05), and the body weight of male rats in the restraint group was lower than the control group (P<0.05) . Further analysis showed that for male rats there was significant difference between groups since the forth week (P<0.05), and the interaction was found between groups and test time (P<0.05) . For female rats, the interaction was found since the eighth week between the group and test time (P <0.05) .There was no significant differences in other parameters between two groups (P>0.05) . Conclusion Repeated restraint during dermal exposure affected the body weight gain of rats, and the sensitivity of male rats was higher than that of female rats.

Pesticide Application, Dermal Exposure Risk And Factors Influenced Distribution On Different Body Parts Among Agriculture Workers

@#Agriculture sector accounts significant numbers of injuries and fatalities in the workplace particularly related to pesticide management. Among three main pathways of pesticide exposure, dermal contact is the most common route, which exposure usually occurs during pesticide mixing/loading, application, harvesting and other farming activities. This review aims to present and discuss several vital components of pesticide dermal exposure among agriculture workers, as well as pesticide application in agriculture sector in Malaysia involving different commodity agriculture sub-sectors. Pesticide exposure was discussed from perspective of three pesticide management activities (i.e. preparation, application and cleaning) that contribute to the risk of exposure through three routes (i.e. emission, deposition, transfer). Moreover, this paper also discussed pesticide dermal exposure risk assessment methods which can be defined into exposure assessment and effect assessment. The exposure rate was affected by various factors such as application equipment, application rate and duration, type of pesticide formulation, pesticide management stage, usage of personal protective equipment, training and aptitude of the applicator as well as environmental factors (i.e. temperature, humidity, wind speed and direction). The factors mention earlier have been used to explain the exposure distribution over different parts of the body and support the fact that pesticide type was not a major factor in total exposure.

How likely does the Microenvironnmental Interaction at a Pesticide-Treated Farming Village could Potentially Affect their Community through Dermal Pathway in a Developing Country, Malaysia?

This paper aims to investigate the potential pesticide dermal contamination among the agricultural community by observing the microenvironmental and macroactivity interaction between farm children and adult farmer. A 24 hours timeline activity was observed and recorded in the agricultural farming village, Kuala Selangor. In this study, 2 homes were monitored for 2 days following a pesticide application. A total of 2 adult farmers and 5 children (7-10 year old) were recruited to participate in this study. Twenty-four hour videotape segments and time-activity diaries were collected during the study. The microenvironment and macroactivity interaction were modelled in this study. By considering only the potential dermal exposure pathway, the different biological vulnerability and exposure pattern to pesticides were observed. Finding showed a greater extent of interaction between human and its environment, where adult farmers are the main contributor of environmental contaminants, and children is one of the vulnerable receivers of the contaminants’ residuals from the environment. The daily activities and behaviors practiced by the agricultural community were among the contributing factors which help to highlight the pesticide dermal contamination pathway in the farming village. This study recommends the necessary to consider the microenvironment and macroactivity of the target community when assess their exposure levels to the environment contaminants.​

Segurança no trabalho com agrotóxicos em citros: aplicação com o turbopulverizador e preparo de calda em tanque de 2.000 L / Work safety in the use of pesticides in citrus: application with an air-assisted sprayer and preparation of spray in a 2.000-L tank

Os objetivos deste trabalho foram quantificar as exposições dérmicas e respiratórias proporcionadas pelas condições de trabalho na aplicação de agrotóxicos em cultura de citros com o turbopulverizador e no preparo de caldas em um tanque de 2.000 L de capacidade; avaliar a eficiência de medidas de proteção individual; determinar as regiões mais expostas do corpo dos trabalhadores e coletiva para esses trabalhadores; e classificar as condições de trabalho, sem e com as medidas de proteção testadas, quanto à segurança ocupacional das recomendações de agrotóxicos registrados para o controle das principais pragas e doenças dessa cultura. Verificou-se, que para o tratorista e para o aplicador, pulverizando agrotóxicos em citros com o turbopulverizador, as medidas de proteção mais eficientes foram o conjunto AZR e a cabina Real. O conjunto AZR foi eficiente no controle da exposição do preparador de caldas, pois foi suficiente para tornar condições de trabalho inseguras em seguras. A região mais exposta do corpo, nas duas condições de trabalho estudadas, foram as mãos dos trabalhadores.

The objectives of this study were: a) to quantify dermal and respiratory exposure resulting from work conditions in the application of pesticides on citrus crops using a air-assisted sprayer and by preparing the spray in a tank with a capacity of2.000 L; b) to evaluate the measures of individual protection for these workers; c) to determine the areas of the worker's body most exposed; and d) to classify the work conditions with and without the protective measures tested, with regard to the occupational safety of the recommendations for the pesticides used in controlling the main pests and diseases of this crop. It was shown that for the tractor driver and sprayer operator applyng pesticides on citrus trees, the most efficient protective measures were the AZR ensemble and the Real cabin. The AZR ensemble was effective in controlling exposure of the spray preparer, because it was sufficient to turn work conditions from unsafe to safe. The area of the body most exposed under the two work conditions studied was the hands of the workers.