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. 2020 Jul;30(4):730-742.
doi: 10.1038/s41370-019-0128-3. Epub 2019 Feb 20.

Pesticide exposure among Bolivian farmers: associations between worker protection and exposure biomarkers

Jessika Barrón Cuenca  1   2 , Noemi Tirado  3 , Max Vikström  4 , Christian H Lindh  5 , Ulla Stenius  4 , Karin Leander  4 , Marika Berglund  4 , Kristian Dreij  6
Affiliations

Pesticide exposure among Bolivian farmers: associations between worker protection and exposure biomarkers

Jessika Barrón Cuenca et al. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol. 2020 Jul.

Erratum in

Abstract

The use of pesticides has increased during the past decades, also increasing the risk of exposure to toxic pesticides that can cause detrimental health effects in the future. This is of special concern among farmers in low-to-middle-income countries that may lack proper training in the safe use of these chemicals. To assess the situation in Bolivia a cross-sectional study in three agricultural communities was performed (n = 297). Handling, use of personal protective equipment (PPE) and pesticide exposure were assessed by a questionnaire and measurements of urinary pesticide metabolites (UPMs). Results showed that methamidophos (65%) and paraquat (52%) were the most commonly used pesticides and that 75% of the farmers combined several pesticides while spraying. Notably, only 17% of the farmers used recommended PPEs while 84% reported to have experienced symptoms of acute pesticide poisoning after spraying. UPM measurements indicated high levels of exposure to chlorpyrifos, pyrethroids and 2,4D and that men generally were more highly exposed compared to women. Our study demonstrates that farmers who are better at following recommendations for pesticide handling and use of PPE had a significantly lower risk of having high UPM levels of most measured pesticides. Our results thus confirm the need of proper training of farmers in low-to-middle-income countries in proper protection and pesticide handling in order to reduce exposure levels and health problems.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Map of Bolivia showing the three studied communities. Com1 (Sapahaqui in La Paz), Com2 and Com3 (respectively Villa Bolivar and Villa 14 de Septiembre in Cochabamba). Image used from Google maps (free online version) with modifications for the present study
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Differences in UPM concentrations between the 3 communities. Significantly different concentrations of 3PBA (a), DCCA (b), 4F3PBA (c) and 2,4D (d) were found between the 3 communities. LOD = limit of detection. *p < 0.05; **p < 0.01; ***p < 0.001 by one-way ANOVA with Bonferroni adjustment
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Impact of life style factors on UPM concentrations. UPM concentrations of CFCA, 4F3PBA and TCP were significantly affected by source of drinking water (a), type of occupation (b), level of education (c) and years working as farmer (d), respectively. *p < 0.05; **p < 0.01 by Student T-test or one-way ANOVA with Bonferroni adjustment
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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