ISO International meeting debates Brazilian study on exposure to agrochemicals

A testing booth adapted by scientists, with the aim of simulating agricultural pesticide applications, will be at the center of a global meeting taking place on December 2nd, in Brussels, the Belgian capital. The extraordinary meeting, convened by ISO International, will focus on updating the ISO 17.491-4 standard, with an emphasis on the exposure of rural workers to chemical products in agricultural countries and on the safety standards of protective clothing used in the field.

Scientific researcher Hamilton Ramos, from the Engineering and Automation Center of the Agronomic Institute (CEA-IAC), a body of the Secretariat of Agriculture and Supply of the State of São Paulo, based in the city of Jundiaí, participates in the meeting as a member of the ISO International Committee . He will bring to the group of scientists a new method, developed in Brazil, to improve the regulation of the testing booth for agrochemical applications, a study tool used in the main agricultural countries.

“In partnership with other countries, we found ways to more accurately assess the possibility of penetration of products resulting from the application of agrochemicals to workers’ protective clothing”, summarizes Ramos. The researcher is the coordinator of the IAC-Quepia Personal Protective Equipment in Agriculture program, an initiative that unites the private sector with the São Paulo Department of Agriculture and Supply.

According to Ramos, the Brussels meeting should also result in the production of a new text, specifically to modify the current ISO 17.491-4 standard. The final text, he adds, will be assessed at a new international ISO meeting scheduled for the French city of Lyon, in the first quarter of 2020.

“The initial goal is to discuss the calibration protocols suggested by Brazil, Japan and Luxembourg in the test cabin,” says Ramos. “The current specifications for tests, as we investigated, do not provide absolute security to the results of laboratory analyzes. There are still doubts regarding the accuracy of tests that measure the amount of liquid that penetrates a garment during spraying, depending on the quality of the fabrics, seams or modeling of these products.”

Created 13 years ago, through a partnership between the private sector and the Engineering and Automation Center of the Agronomic Institute (CEA-IAC), an entity of the Secretariat of Agriculture and Supply of SP, Quepia had a decisive role in reducing, in Brazil, , the disapproval of protective clothing submitted to quality certifications. This rate, which was 80% in 2006, fell to 20% last year.