Pesticides are synthetic chemicals used to kill insects, larvae, fungi, ticks. Exposures to
pesticides may be associated with adverse health outcomes for urban garden workers. This
dissertation aimed to identify the situation of exposure and handling of workers to pesticides
in urban gardens in Açailândia/MA. Quantitative, descriptive, exploratory study with a
quantitative approach, approved by the ethics committee by opinion no. 4,797,041/2021, and
carried out with 130 workers. The results showed that in relation to gender, the majority are
male 77 (59%), while 53 (41%) are female. Among the workers, 67 (52%) said they were
married, 30 (23%) were in a stable relationship, 26 (20%) were single and 07 (5%) were
widowed. Regarding education, 69 (53%) had incomplete elementary school, 36 (28%) had
completed elementary school, 22 (17%) had incomplete high school, and 03 (2%) had
incomplete high school; 75 (58%) responded that they had never received guidance on how to
properly use pesticides, while 55 (42%) reported having received such guidance; 82 (63%) of
the workers recognize that the use can harm human health in some way, while 48 (37%) said
they do not recognize such harm to human health with the use of pesticides. Regarding the
time interval between the last application and harvest, 66 (51%) said yes, and 64 (49%) said
there was no such time interval. Most 79 (61%) usually apply more than one pesticide in the
same crop, while 39% (51) do not. As for the storage of pesticides, 75 (58%) store it in their
gardens, while 55 (42%) store it in their homes. The most used pesticides: Herbicides (52%);
Abamectin (25%); Glyphosate (16%), and Acephate (7%). Empty packaging, most workers
89 (68%); burn 35 (2.7%) bury; 04 (3%) store it at home, and 02 (2%) store it in the garden.
About 81 (62%) of the workers reported that they do not use empty pesticide containers,
however, 49 (38%) use or have used empty pesticide containers. Most workers 120 (92%)
have the habit of washing the sprayer after use, and 10 (8%) say they do not wash it. Workers
in urban gardens in Açailândia/MA are constantly exposed to the dangers of pesticides, and
this has caused other environmental risks, such as those produced by burning packages. It is
evident that it is necessary for workers to constantly receive educational interventions and
training on the use of PPE and safe ways of storing pesticides, main methods of application,
forms of preparation, as well as the proper disposal of empty packaging.
|
