Dermal exposure assessment of pesticide use: The case of sprayers in potato farms in the Colombian highlands

Evaluation of models for dermal exposure assessment in farming systems in developing countries

“…COSHH, EASE and STOFENMANAGER were not selected because they did not fulfill most of the criteria, as the results will show in the section 3.1 and (Figure 1). The data used as input to evaluate the models DERM, DREAM, PHED and RISKOFDERM was taken from a previous survey made in the study area with 197 smallholder potato growers in four communities [13] and previous studies about dermal exposure in the same study area [15,21]. The calculations and outcome of each model are provided in the supplementary information.…”

“…Potato crops in this region are vulnerable to three major pests: the soil-dwelling larvae of the Andean weevil (Premnotrypes vorax), the late blight fungus (Phytophthora infestans) and the Guatemalan potato moth (Tecia solanivora) [22]. The pesticide management to control these pests is performed along three main activities: the preparation of the pesticide, the application itself, and the cleaning of the spraying equipment [18,21]. During the whole pesticide management, farmers use work clothing consisting of trousers, short sleeve shirts and plastic boots.…”

“…Previous studies in Vereda La Hoya found that dermal exposure to pesticides is very high [15,21] because of the inadequate work clothing, the modification of nozzles to increase the discharge, the inappropriate cleaning of the application equipment, the pesticide application against the wind direction and the use of pesticide with a high level of toxicity. Even though the evaluated dermal exposure models give an insight of the level of exposure, their outcomes are not comparable (Table 2).…”

“…In developing countries this is of special interest because pesticide management activities face weak safety standards [2,12,13,17]. Studies in potato farming systems in Vereda La Hoya in Colombia [12,13,15,18,21,30]. Mojanda, Ecuador [31]; and El Angel, Ecuador [27] have shown that pesticide management in these countries has no particular knowledge foundation and is performed by trial and error, finding out what works out in practice.…”

“…Mojanda, Ecuador [31]; and El Angel, Ecuador [27] have shown that pesticide management in these countries has no particular knowledge foundation and is performed by trial and error, finding out what works out in practice. Furthermore, farmers do not wear adequate personal protective equipment, apply pesticides which are banned in industrialized countries and modify the standard discharge of nozzles to reduce the application time [21]. Because these issues increase the health risk, a risk assessment of pesticide use in these areas is required in order to determine the risk level faced by people.…”