Pesticide management approach towards protecting the safety and health of farmers in Southeast Asia

Abstract

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:sec id="j_reveh-2017-0019_s_999"> <jats:title id="d1036992e451">Background:</jats:title> <jats:p>It is estimated that pesticide production and use have increased continuously in the countries of Southeast Asia in recent years. Within the context of protecting the safety and health of workers in the agricultural sector, there is an existing gap in the implementation of the pesticide management framework because safety and health effects arising from occupational exposures continue to be reported.</jats:p></jats:sec> <jats:sec id="j_reveh-2017-0019_s_998"> <jats:title id="d1036992e459">Objective:</jats:title> <jats:p>This study aims to provide narrative similarities, differences and weaknesses of the existing pesticide management system in Southeast Asian countries (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam) within the context of occupational safety and health.</jats:p></jats:sec> <jats:sec id="j_reveh-2017-0019_s_997"> <jats:title id="d1036992e467">Methods:</jats:title> <jats:p>This is preliminary traditional review study. Pesticide regulation and management at the country level were identified using web-based search engines such as Scopus, ScienceDirect, PubMed and Google. Book, reports, legislation document and other documents retrieved were also gathered from international organizations and specific websites of governmental agency in Southeast Asian countries. The scope of this review is only limited to literature written in English. In total, 44 review articles, reports and documents were gathered for this study. The approach of pesticide management in protecting safety and health in the agricultural setting were benchmarked according to the elements introduced by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, namely, (1) the protection of workers and (2) the practice of safety.</jats:p></jats:sec> <jats:sec id="j_reveh-2017-0019_s_996"> <jats:title id="d1036992e475">Results:</jats:title> <jats:p>All countries have assigned a local authority and government organization to manage and control pesticide use in the agricultural sector. The countries with the highest usage of pesticide are Thailand, Philippines and Malaysia. Most Southeast Asian countries have emphasized safety practice in the management of pesticide usage, but there were less emphasis on the element of protection of workers within the framework in Indonesia, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam.</jats:p></jats:sec> <jats:sec id="j_reveh-2017-0019_s_995"> <jats:title id="d1036992e484">Conclusion:</jats:title> <jats:p>The governing bodies in the countries of Southeast Asia have placed significant effort to develop framework related to pesticide management at the country level. The implementation of pesticide management based on the existing framework is evident in most of the countries but needs to be improved. It is suggested that emphasis be given to the implementation of diagnosis, health surveillance and reporting system as well as following or adopting standard guidelines for the protection of workers in terms of safety and health in the agricultural sector.</jats:p></jats:sec>

Cholinesterase inhibition and its association with hematological, biochemical and oxidative stress markers in chronic pesticide exposed agriculture workers

“…were also reported. The inhibited AChE and BChE activity associated with cholinergic dysfunctions including adverse neurobehavioral outcomes in pesticide‐exposed workers has been determined in some studies . In the present study, the activity of AChE is found to be significantly decreased in pesticide‐exposed agriculture workers consistent with the previous findings …”

“…Limited number of studies were available to report the pesticide‐induced free radical generation associated with toxicity and other neurobehavioral dysfunctions such as dyslipidemia, hypertension and sleep apnea transformed into neurodegenerative and neurobehavioral outcomes including Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease in agriculture workers . An increase in the level of lipid peroxidation and decrease in the activity of catalase, GSH and SOD in pesticide‐exposed agriculture workers as observed in the present study suggesting the increased oxidative stress due to pesticide toxicity in exposed agriculture workers and the findings are consistent with the earlier studies .…”

Pesticides use and health impacts on farmers in Thailand, Vietnam, and Lao PDR: Protocol for a survey of knowledge, behaviours and blood acetyl cholinesterase concentrations

“…It has been estimated that the volume of pesticides used in SE Asian countries increased by approximately 400 per cent in the first decade of the new millennium [ 3 ]. Thailand is reported to be the highest user of imported pesticides by volume in the region [ 21 ], while Vietnam has the highest application rate of 16.5kg/hectare [ 22 ]. However, analysis by these latter authors shows that the acceleration in the use of pesticides has been higher in recent years in Cambodia and Lao PDR than in Vietnam and Thailand.…”

Health Risk Due to Carbamate Exposure in Communities Around Paddy Field Areas

“…Pesticides compounds have been used widely in the agricultural sector to kill pests, weeds and increase harvests productivity (1)(2)(3)(4)(5). The use of pesticides is the basis of agriculture intensification developed in the middle of the 20 th century (6)(7) to improve the productivity and quality of farming commodities (4,(8)(9).…”