Assessment of pesticide exposure in the working population in Latin America: a systematic review

Abstract

Abstract: 

Latin America is a region known for its extensive use of agricultural pesticides, which pose severe threats to health and the environment. The correct assessment of exposure among workers and communities is a necessity and an important challenge, particularly in informal production contexts. A systematic review of the literature was developed in order to generate learning about assessment methodologies applied in the region.

Material and Methods: PubMed, Scielo (Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Costa Rica and Peru) and Lilacs were searched between January 2010 and April 2021. Keywords selected: "pesticides", "occupational exposure", "farmers", "pesticide exposure" and "Latin America". After a filtering process, 114 publications that met the defined criteria were retained for analysis from Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Costa Rica, Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, Cuba, Ecuador and Venezuela. They were grouped into sub-themes: a) evaluation of exposure to pesticides (EEP); b) EEP in formal workers, c) EEP in informal economy workers. Results: Different expressions of the term exposure, a concept scattered in the literature, were identified. Pesticide exposure in LA is heterogeneous and has been assessed in different ways, using methods that are difficult to identify and classify. Most epidemiological studies were descriptive and used different types of assessment: a) indirect methods: surveys, construction of algorithms, use of population censuses in ecological studies, and measurement of environmental parameters (water and soil); b) direct methods: identification of biomarkers of exposure in blood and urine; c) combination of both methods. It is evident that in informal contexts pesticide exposure transcends the work environment and happens in the daily life of the worker and his family. Conclusions: There is a need for further study of exposure assessment, mainly in informal work contexts.