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Background
Despite the
importance of agriculture in the economy, little is being
done to improve the safety and health of the Filipino
farmers. Chemicals popular in the Philippines have been
banned or severely restricted in the United States.
Further, farmers do not know the consequences of
mishandling these chemicals. Acute pesticide poisoning has
been traced to unsafe practices in the handling, storing
and disposal of pesticides.
There are increasing reports of pesticide poisoning
among agricultural workers exemplified by data from
Benguet General Hospital, which had 83 cases of pesticide
poisoning from 1987 to 1989 compared to 33 cases from 1979
to 1983. Although majority of these patients were suicidal
cases, approximately 30% of the 83 cases were due to
accidental poisoning.
In
a study by Cheng and Bersamira, vegetable farmers in
Benguet have been documented to be dependent on pesticide
use which has caused adverse health effects on the skin,
muscles and nervous system.
Benguet produces 70% of the total vegetable needs
of the country with approximately 117,041 farmers The Mt.
Province likewise produces vegetables and root crops with
more than 11,000 farmers agricultural workers
Objectives
This
study was undertaken to determine the association of
pesticide exposure and the morbidity of farmers using
organophosphates in the provinces of Buguias in Benguet,
and Bauco in the nearby Mt. Province.
Specifically, it aims to determine the level of
exposure of farmers to organophosphates, to identify acute
complaints of farmers exposed to organophosphates, to
correlate the acute health complaints of farmers with
their practices and exposure.
Methodology
A
cross-sectional study was conducted among 75 farm workers
in Buguias, Mt. Province (n=32) and Bauco, Benguet (n=43).
These agricultural workers are actively engaged in
vegetable production with exposure to pesticides in the
care of their crops. The subjects were grouped into two:
the exposed (n=55) and the unexposed (n=20) groups.
Subjects'
personal data (age, gender, smoking and drinking history),
occupational profile (job description, tenure, work-hours
per day, previous occupations), farming practices
(preparation and application procedures of pesticides),
social, medical history and symptoms experienced while
doing farm work were obtained through a survey interview
using a structured pre-tested questionnaire.
Physicians
conducted complete physical and neurological examinations.
Laboratory examination consisted of red blood cell
measurement of acetylcholinesterase (AChE), which reflects
not only the level of exposure but also the intensity of
biological effects.
Results
The three
most common farming activities of the respondents were:
planting (98.7%), land preparation and fertilizer
application (94.7%), and harvesting (92.0%). Pesticide
application and pesticide mixing were done by 84% and 81%
of the subjects, respectively. The most common pesticides
used by respondents are:
carbamates (77.8%), organophosphates (55.6%).
Improvised PPEs were used by all respondents when handling
pesticides, which include use of towels as masks,
inappropriate gloves and jackets instead of work clothes.
Of
the 75 respondents, 55 were identified to be exposed and
20 were not exposed to pesticides for the past 50 days.
Most of the respondents belonged to the 35-55 yrs age
group with a mean age of 40.8 + 14.5 years.
Youngest was a 9-year old male and the oldest was
also a male and is 78 years old. Among the exposed
farmers, more than half were males (58.2%) and are single,
58.2%. Majority of the unexposed respondents were females
(80%) and 85% are married. Results also reveal that
symptoms always felt by the exposed farmers are muscle
cramps, weakness and respiratory tract irritation. Also,
RBC cholineterase was depressed in all respondents
belonging to both exposed and unexposed categories.
Conclusion
The
findings contribute to an understanding of safety and
health problems posed by pesticides in the "Salad
Bowl" of the Philippines.
Organophosphate pesticides produces both short-term
(acute poisoning) and long-term (chronic) effects that
affects various organs in addition to its potential of
causing abnormality in the genes, cancer, and reproductive
system. This
underscores the need for preventive programs to ensure
farmers safety and health. Farmers’ training,
information dissemination on the safe use and handling of
pesticides are immediate activities that can be done by
concerned agencies. In addition, attention should also be
given on the enforcement of laws on the rational use and
disposal of pesticides, and a more efficient use of
protective equipment.
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