Pesticide handling practices and health risks among the apple orchard workers in Western Indian Himalayan region

Abstract

Lack of awareness in handling, spraying, and disposal of pesticides could lead to adverse health effects in human beings. The present study evaluated the knowledge and safety practices among the apple orchard workers handling pesticides. The study also included the assessment of health effects due to exposure to pesticides. Around 97% of the respondents were strongly agree with the poisonous properties of pesticides while 92% always washed their hands and 96% always changed clothes after the pesticide spraying. However, safe operational practices, as prescribed by the (WHO), were uncommon among the respondents; 53% used sticks whereas 15% used hands for mixing pesticides. Storing pesticides in the house was believed harmless by 65% of the respondents. Only 24% of the respondents had formal training in pesticide spraying. Regarding awareness of WHO hazard color code, although 59% had seen the codes and only 18% could rightly identify the meaning of the codes. Most of the agricultural workers (85%) had reported acute health issues in handling the pesticides, especially in spraying. Bivariate analysis showed that duration of work and mixing techniques were significantly correlated to the acute pesticide poisoning. This study points to the strong need of safety and awareness training programs related to hazards in pesticides handling and use.