Estimating Occupational Exposure to VOCs, SVOCs, Particles and Participant Survey Reported Symptoms in Central Thailand Rice Farmers Using Multiple Sampling Techniques.

Saowanee Norkaew,Mark Gregory Robson,Susan Woskie,Wantanee Phanprasit,Brian T Buckley

doi:10.3390/ijerph18179288

Abstract

Thailand is known for its agricultural productivity and rice exportation. Most farms use small machines and manual labor, creating potential exposure to multiple health hazards. A cross-sectional study was conducted to measure pollutants liberated during preparation, pesticide application, and harvesting. Thirty rice farmers, mostly males from 41 to 50 years old, participated. The participant survey data showed that 53.3% of the respondents spent >2 h per crop on preparation, <1 h on pesticide application, and about 1–2 h harvesting; 86.7% of the respondents maintained and stored mechanical applicators at home, suggesting possible after-work exposures. Gloves, fabric masks, boots, and hats were worn during all activities, and >90% wore long sleeved shirts and pants. VOCs and SVOCs were collected using charcoal tubes and solid phase micro sample extraction (SPME). An analysis of the charcoal and SPME samplers found that 30 compounds were detected overall and that 10 were in both the charcoal tubes and SPME samplers. The chemicals most often detected were 1, 1, 1 Trichloro ethane and xylene. Additionally, farmers experienced the highest exposure to particulates during harvesting. These results demonstrated that farmers experience multiple exposures while farming and that risk communication with education or training programs may mitigate exposure.

Highlights

Thailand is known as an agricultural country and a major exporter of rice
The results show that none of the work practice variables such as farm area, duration of working, and number of annual mechanical application per year were associated with health symptoms (p > 0.05) Likewise farming activities including land preparation, pesticide application, and harvesting had no association with health related symptoms (p > 0.05)
The results showed that most of the samples collected during pesticide application had detectable VOCs and SVOC compounds, in part because the farmers hung the mechanical sprayer on their shoulders, very close to their breathing zone

Summary

Introduction

Fertilizers, herbicides, and insecticides are used to try to help guarantee production quality, but most of the farms cultivated for rice production are medium to small in size and farming activities are generally conducted using small machines and manual labor. Farming activities may expose farmers to a variety of health hazards including dust, aerosols, and engine exhaust generated as part of normal farming practices. The. California Air Resources Board demonstrated that agricultural operations modify the atmospheric particulate matter (PM) concentration in California by about 25%. California Air Resources Board demonstrated that agricultural operations modify the atmospheric particulate matter (PM) concentration in California by about 25% This estimate is based on measurements for a variety of operations (such as land planting, disking, and floating) [7].

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