Care in handling and applying pesticides

One of the main challenges of the agricultural pesticides sector is ensuring the correct use of products in the field. This is because pesticides were developed to effectively combat pests, diseases and weeds in crops without causing risks to the environment, the health of rural workers and consumers of food from crops protected by these products during their handling.

Agricultural pesticides are chemical and biological products that have different degrees of toxicity. As this is a characteristic of each product, care to reduce the risk of contamination or poisoning during handling and application must be aimed at reducing exposure to pesticides. In practice, some simple measures can be adopted to reduce this exposure, such as, for example, handling products with care, observing all recommendations for use, using application equipment that is calibrated and in good condition and always wearing protective clothing. suitable and sterilized.

However, lately, it has been quite common to relate safety in the application of agricultural pesticides only to the use of personal protective equipment (PPE), but promoting safety involves risk control in three phases: at the source of the process, in the trajectory and on the individual who is applying the product – to be clearer, I will explain each of these phases.

Source control is the most effective form of precaution because it aims to eliminate the risk at the beginning of the process, through direct actions, to guarantee good conditions and a safe working environment. Points that we take into account at this time, before the need for application, are crop diversification and rotation, ecological management and integrated pest management, as alternative ways to reduce the need for the use of pesticides. Once the real need for application has been identified, subject to pest control in the crop, and the level of economic damage to the crop has been reached, control at the source must be carried out following the recommendation of an agronomist, through prescription through agronomic recipe of a product duly registered for the crop and target, as well as using spraying equipment in good condition and functioning and the appropriate adjustment of the sprayer.

Path control consists of barrier measures to eliminate contact between the agricultural pesticide and people potentially exposed to it. Examples of this control include the use of a “Napoleon hat” type accessory - used in backpack sprayers and which keeps the jet directed to a restricted area, reducing product drift - cabin tractors and protected booms, such as those used in citrus, coffee and planted forests.

Finally, control on the individual is complementary to the previous ones and aims to protect the individual exposed to risk, contributing to reducing this exposure. It is basically the use of appropriate PPE, which needs to be selected according to the risk, and which provides adequate thermal comfort, as provided for in national legislation and in the product label and leaflet. To ensure protection, the legislation also provides that some of the responsibilities fall to the employer - such as providing PPE suitable for work, instructing and training on the use of equipment, monitoring and demanding the use of PPE and providing decontaminated equipment for each new application, replacing the damaged ones. The employee is responsible for using PPE and informing the need for replacement due to wear and/or defects.

For each activity involving the use of agricultural pesticides, there are specific PPE, which are included in the leaflets of each product. The following protective equipment can be used to apply and handle pesticides: clothing (such as pants, coat and cap/hood), gloves, respirators, face visor or protective glasses, Arab cap, apron and boots. This protective equipment is indicated depending on the crop, type of sprayer and application conditions. The clothes, in general, are made of cotton, providing thermal comfort to the user and must contain water-repellent treatment to offer safety and protection against splashes and possible mists during handling and/or spraying. Regarding aprons, it is important that they protect the user up to the knees. The length of the Arab cap must fully protect the worker's neck and part of the shoulder. Gloves must be nitrile or neoprene - which are suitable for protecting hands against chemical contamination, and boots must be made from PVC, as leather boots can absorb products.

It is worth noting that PPE must be used whenever pesticide containers (full or empty) are handled, during the preparation of the mixture, during application and whenever someone enters a recently treated area, before completing the re-entry period. - which is the period after the application of the agricultural pesticide on the crop in which people without using PPE are prohibited from entering. For this reason, it is essential to mark newly treated areas, informing the re-entry period.

As you can see in this article, the correct use of PPE is essential to guarantee the safety of workers and this equipment must be used in all situations involving the application and handling of agricultural pesticides, regardless of the size of the property. Furthermore, the guarantee of the correct and safe use of agricultural pesticides is linked to the recommendations for application of the products contained in the label and leaflet and through the prescription of an agronomic recipe signed by an agronomist, a legal requirement since 1989 for the purchase and use of any and all agricultural pesticides.