Brazilian research on exposure to agrochemicals wins two awards at European Conference

Brazilian researcher Hamilton Ramos, coordinator of the IAC Program for the Quality of Personal Protective Equipment in Agriculture (Quepia), received in Portugal two of the three awards granted by the European Conference on Protective Clothing. Ramos is the author of studies on the exposure of rural workers to agrochemical products. Held every two years, the conference brings together European scientists in the city of Porto.

Developed in the Quepia Program laboratory, installed at the Engineering and Automation Center of the São Paulo Agronomic Institute (CEA/IAC), in the city of Jundiaí, the award-winning scientific works comprise changes in the evaluation method adopted globally in quality analyzes applicable to clothing. of protection. They also propose changes in the manufacturing of these products, in order to provide more comfort to rural workers during agrochemical applications.

“It is gratifying to have Brazilian scientific research in the area recognized worldwide. These achievements reinforce Brazil's importance in developing measures aimed at protecting rural workers. These are not awards won in isolation, but the result of the effort of an entire team, of the companies and entities that sponsor the Quepia program and also of the high capacity of the CEA/IAC laboratories to produce science”, declared Ramos.

For the scientist, however, despite Brazil having become a global reference in investments aimed at protecting rural workers who apply agrochemicals, a large number of agricultural producers and agro-industries still remain unaware of the need to provide labor allocated to the area certified quality protective equipment.

According to Ramos, the study that deals with evaluating the safety effectiveness of clothing was in partnership with researcher Anugrah Shaw, from the North American University of Maryland. The research focused on the manufacture of these products had the support of scientists from the United States, Spain, France and Slovenia.

The Quepia Program unites the Engineering and Automation Center of the Agronomic Institute (CEA/IAC) - an entity of the Secretariat of Agriculture and Supply of the State of São Paulo - with the Brazilian protective clothing industry.