Brazilian animal livestock is in full expansion but linked to the use of veterinary drugs which may be considered as emerging contaminants. The study aimed to characterize the disposal of Animal Healthcare Service Waste (AHSW), especially of veterinary drugs, besides identifying the most used drugs in the city of São Joaquim municipality, southern Brazil. Eighty-four cattle ranchers were interviewed through a structured questionnaire with closed questions about drugs use and disposal of the AHSW. The active ingredients of drugs most used were the antiparasitic ivermectin (68% of properties) and the antimicrobial oxytetracycline (48%). After the use, the disposal of the AHSW, including expired drugs, leftovers and wrapper, was the disposal next to the domestic trash, burned and deposited in the soil. The Chi square test showed association between the age of the participants and the disposal of sharp objects (X2 = 36,36, p= 0,020), showing that farmers aged above 60 years usually reuse, the ones who are 20 years old return to the place where they acquired the material and the rest adopts improper practices. The disposal practices of the AHSW adopted in the properties are still in disagreement with the current Brazilian legislation and may cause adverse effects on human, animal and environmental health.

This research aimed to verify how the disposal of pesticide wastes occurs in apple orchards (Malus domestica) in the south of Brazil and to verify its compliance with current legislation. This was a quantitative, descriptive and prospective field study. The research was carried out with 82 farmers from two rural areas belonging to the municipality of São Joaquim, the largest Brazilian apple producer, located in the Serrano Plateau of the State of Santa Catarina, southern Brazil. The farmers were interviewed at home and questioned about the disposal of empty pesticide containers. The results of this research showed that most farmers carry out the proper management of the empty pesticide containers and return them to the collection stations or centers (85.5%), the other 8.5% dispose empty containers inappropriately, keeping them in the open air or burning them. It should be noted that 20.7% of farmers store these containers in the open air until they are delivered to the collection stations without any protection and exposed to people and animals. In addition, it was observed that individuals without any level of education tend to store empty containers inadequately. Thus, despite the fact that Brazil is a world reference in terms of the proper disposal of empty pesticide containers, there are still cases of non-compliance with the current legislation in relation to these procedures, and there is a need for technical guidance to workers, especially those with lower levels of education, as well as greater rigor of the legislation of supervision by the competent body.

Atualmente, o Brasil é líder mundial no consumo de agrotóxicos. O aumento do uso e manuseio desses produtos químicos pode provocar o aumento nos casos de intoxicações humanas, oferecendo risco à saúde do trabalhador rural e ao próprio ambiente. A expansão crescente da agricultura na Região da Serra Catarinense provoca o consequente incremento do uso de agrotóxicos, que pode culminar com o aumento dos casos de intoxicações e colocar em risco à saúde do trabalhador rural.  O objetivo desse estudo foi levantar possíveis casos de intoxicação por agrotóxicos em maleicultores de um município da Serra Catarinense e comparar as informações coletadas com seus respectivos prontuários de atendimento médico na Unidade Básica de Saúde (UBS) que atende a região estudada. Foram entrevistados 66 maleicultores dos quais 11 manifestaram intoxicação por agrotóxicos. Os resultados demonstraram que os indivíduos que informaram ter sofrido intoxicação por agrotóxicos apresentaram no mínimo dois sintomas, sendo que os mais comuns foram cefaleia e irritação da pele, relacionados principalmente, ao uso de Mancozebe, Fenitrotiona e Difenoconazol.  Na UBS, Foram encontrados quatro prontuários referentes a esses indivíduos, entretanto em nenhum deles o diagnóstico foi descrito como intoxicação, apesar de alguns sintomas descritos no prontuário remetessem a sintomas de intoxicação por agrotóxicos.  Conclui-se que há casos de intoxicação na região, entretanto, os respectivos prontuários de atendimento não associam o caso à intoxicação por agrotóxicos.