Pesticide exposure of workers in apple growing in France

Mathilde Bureau,Geoffroy Duporté,Isabelle Baldi,Yannick Lecluse,Marie-Hélène Dévier,Emmanuelle Barron,Béatrix Béziat,Hélène Budzinski,Alain Garrigou,Valérie Bouchart,Pierre Lebailly

doi:10.1007/s00420-021-01810-y

Abstract

ObjectiveAlthough apple trees are heavily sprayed, few studies have assessed the pesticide exposure of operators and workers in apple orchards. However, these data are crucial for assessing the health impact of such exposures. The aim of this study was to measure pesticide exposure in apple growing according to tasks and body parts.MethodsA non-controlled field study was conducted in apple orchards in 4 regions of France during the 2016 and 2017 treatment seasons. Workers’ external contamination and their determinants were assessed over 156 working days corresponding to 30 treatment days, 68 re-entry days and 58 harvesting days. We measured pesticide dermal contamination during each task and made detailed observations of work characteristics throughout the day. Captan and dithianon were used as markers of exposure.ResultsThe median dermal contamination per day was 5.50 mg of captan and 3.33 mg of dithianon for operators, 24.39 mg of captan and 1.84 mg of dithianon for re-entry workers, and 5.82 mg of captan and 0.74 mg of dithianon for harvesters. Thus, workers performing re-entry tasks, especially thinning and anti-hail net opening, presented higher contamination, either equal to or higher than in operators. For these last ones, mixing/loading and equipment cleaning were the most contaminating tasks. Most of the contamination was observed on workers’ hands in all tasks, except for net-opening in which their heads accounted for the most daily contamination.ConclusionsThis study highlights the importance of taking indirect exposures into account during re-entry work in apple growing.

Highlights

Numerous epidemiological studies have found associations between occupational pesticide exposure and health issues such as cancers, neurological diseases and reproductive disorders (Blair et al 1992; Acquavella et al 1998; Colosio et al 2003; Alavanja et al 2004)
Captan and THPI were extracted from the gloves and patches with respectively 80 ml and 40 ml ACN acidified with 0.1% formic acid (FA)
13 farms were completely devoted to fruit growing, 6 cultivated other crops, and 5 had crops and cattle

Summary

Introduction

Numerous epidemiological studies have found associations between occupational pesticide exposure and health issues such as cancers, neurological diseases and reproductive disorders (Blair et al 1992; Acquavella et al 1998; Colosio et al 2003; Alavanja et al 2004). Lee et al 2018) and greenhouses (Adamis et al 1985; Fenske et al 1987; Machera et al 2003) These studies have assessed pesticide dermal contamination, respiratory exposure and biological levels, thereby helping to develop tools to estimate pesticide exposure among operators. They have enabled an assessment of levels of contamination according to specific tasks and, in some, an identification of the major determinants of exposure. They have offered a better understanding of the usual conditions of work in noncontrolled conditions. Numerous studies have suggested that the dermal route greatly contributes to pesticide exposure during occupational outdoor tasks, but contamination may occur through the respiratory route, especially when working with highly volatile pesticides or in confined spaces (Dowling and Seiber 2002)

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Discussion

Conclusion