Health risks from rural workers exposed to pesticides

Abstract

The aim is to analyze the prevalence of risk factors for the health of rural workers exposed to pesticides. This is a cross-sectional, observational study, which took place from March to August 2019 and whose sample consisted of 60 rural workers from the municipality of Casimiro de Abreu, in the state of Rio de Janeiro. It was identified that the rural worker had 30.1 years of contact with pesticides, and 54.3% of the participants reported having some intoxication symptoms (headache, dyspnea, itchy body, nausea and sinusitis). Glyphosate is the most widely used pesticide in the municipality and most of the workers interviewed do not use adequate Personal Protective Equipment when handling agrochemicals. The need for alternative mechanisms for cultivation practices in agribusiness was highlighted, as well as care for the health of workers exposed to the use of pesticides through the adoption of educational and preventive measures. Public agencies are recommended to implement specific programs for rural workers, with the unique perspective of remaining in the agribusiness ranking, but with practices to promote the integral health of this vulnerable rural population in its entirety.