Skip to main navigation menu Skip to main content Skip to site footer
##common.pageHeaderLogo.altText##

Original article

Vol. 148 No. 1718 (2018)

Occupational exposure to plant protection products and health effects in Switzerland: what do we know and what do we need to do?

  • Halshka Graczyk
  • Nancy Hopf
  • Zakia Mediouni
  • Irina Guseva Canu
  • Olivier Sanvido
  • Kaspar Schmid
  • Aurélie Berthet
DOI
https://doi.org/10.4414/smw.2018.14610
Cite this as:
Swiss Med Wkly. 2018;148:w14610
Published
26.04.2018

Summary

AIMS

There is currently no centralised database on workers’ exposures to plant protection products (PPPs) in Switzerland, nor a national register for negative health effects linking them to occupational PPP exposure. This lack of basic data makes it difficult to implement either epidemiological research or prevention campaigns for the agricultural sector. The first objective was to understand the level of information and flow of data on occupational PPP exposures and health effects in the Canton of Vaud, Switzerland. Then, to apply this information to develop recommendations for improving a vigilance system for occupational health effects related to PPP exposure.

METHODS

A mapping study and semistructured stakeholder interviews were conducted to better understand the flow of data on occupational PPP exposures and health effects. A clinical records investigation of workers occupationally exposed to PPPs was undertaken to understand the magnitude of this potential problem. Finally, a workshop brought together relevant stakeholders to discuss recommendations for the way forwards.

RESULTS

A lack of data on PPP exposures and associated health effects was revealed. This highlighted important knowledge gaps at different levels of the current institutional information flow system. We found that although there were numerous stakeholders that worked efficiently in their own mandate, there was a clear need for increased collaboration and coordination in order to make use of existing data to promote safer PPP use among agricultural workers in Switzerland.

CONCLUSIONS

Due to increasing evidence of an association between PPP exposure and health effects, increased collaboration between stakeholders is necessary to develop links between the data sources that already exist. Our study was the first to investigate the health effects linked to PPP exposure among the Swiss agricultural population. The recommendations presented in this paper would help promote a safer and healthier agricultural workforce in Switzerland, as well as the population at large.

References

  1. European Commission. Food safety – pesticides. 2017. Available from: https://ec.europa.eu/food/plant/pesticides_en. Accessed: 12 Oct 2017.
  2. Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale. Pesticides - Effets sur la santé. Paris: Inserm; 2013.
  3. Damalas CA, Eleftherohorinos IG. Pesticide exposure, safety issues, and risk assessment indicators. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2011;8(5):1402–19. doi:.https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph8051402
  4. Donham KJ, Thelin A. Agricultural Medicine: Rural Occupational and Environmental Health, Safety, and Prevention. Oxford: John Wiley & Sons; 2016.
  5. Gunnarsson L-G, Bodin L. Parkinson’s disease and occupational exposures: a systematic literature review and meta-analyses. Scand J Work Environ Health. 2017;43(3):197–209. doi:.https://doi.org/10.5271/sjweh.3641
  6. Ntzani EE, Ntritsos CMG, Evangelou E, Tzoulaki I. Literature review on epidemiological studies linking exposure to pesticides and health effects. EFSA Support Publ. 2013;10(10).
  7. Mostafalou S, Abdollahi M. Pesticides: an update of human exposure and toxicity. Arch Toxicol. 2017;91(2):549–99. doi:.https://doi.org/10.1007/s00204-016-1849-x
  8. Federal Office for Agriculture (FOAG). Index des produits phytosanitaires (Version: 10.09.2017) - Substances actives. Produits phytosanitaires. [Online]. Available at: http://www.psm.admin.ch/psm/wirkstoffe/index.html?lang=fr. Accessed: 22 September 2017.
  9. Federal Office for Agriculture. Procédure d’autorisation. Produits phytosanitaires - Procédure d’autorisation, 04-Jul-2017. [Online]. Available at: https://www.blw.admin.ch/blw/fr/home/nachhaltige-produktion/pflanzenschutz/pflanzenschutzmittel/bewilligungsverfahren.html. Accessed: 25 September 2017.
  10. Läubli Thomas. Les coûts de la santé générés par de fortes contraintes au travail. SECO: Bern; 2014.
  11. International Labour Organization. World Statistic 13-Jul-2011. [Online]. Available at : http://www.ilo.org/moscow/areas-of-work/occupational-safety-and-health/WCMS_249278/lang--ru/index.htm. Accessed: 12-October-2017.
  12. OECD. Health Data Governance. Paris: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development; 2015.
  13. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. OECD Review of Agricultural Policies: Switzerland 2015 - en - OECD. [Online]. Available at: http://www.oecd.org/switzerland/oecd-review-of-agricultural-policies-switzerland-2015-9789264168039-en.htm. Accessed: 12 October 2017.
  14. Cooper ID. What is a “mapping study?”. J Med Libr Assoc. 2016;104(1):76–8. doi:.https://doi.org/10.3163/1536-5050.104.1.013
  15. Swiss Federal Council. “Plan d’action visant à la réduction des risques et à l’utilisation durable des produits phytosanitaires.” [Online]. Available at: https://www.blw.admin.ch/blw/fr/home/nachhaltige-produktion/pflanzenschutz/aktionsplan.html. Accessed: 09 May 2017.
  16. MacFarlane E, Glass D, Fritschi L. Is farm-related job title an adequate surrogate for pesticide exposure in occupational cancer epidemiology? Occup Environ Med. 2009;66(8):497–501. doi:.https://doi.org/10.1136/oem.2008.041566
  17. Federal Office of Public Health. Ordonnance sur l’enregistrement des maladies oncologiques : consultation 24-Aug-2017. [Online]. Available at: https://www.bag.admin.ch/bag/fr/home/themen/strategien-politik/nationale-gesundheitspolitik/gesetzgebungsprojekt-registrierung-von-krebserkrankungen/vernehmlassung-zur-krebsregistrierungsverordnung.html. Accessed: 12 October 2017.
  18. Droz Y, Mieville-Ott V, Jacques-Jouvenot D, Lafleur G. Malaise en agriculture. Une approche interdisciplinaire des politiques agricoles France-Québec-Suisse. Paris: KARTHALA Editions; 2014.
  19. Federal Statistical Office. Agriculture et alimentation - Statistique de poche 2017. 11-Jul-2017. [Online]. Available at: https://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/fr/home/statistiques/agriculture-sylviculture.assetdetail.2906687.html. Accessed: 12 October 2017.
  20. Mamane A, Baldi I, Tessier J-F, Raherison C, Bouvier G. Occupational exposure to pesticides and respiratory health. Eur Respir Rev. 2015;24(136):306–19. doi:.https://doi.org/10.1183/16000617.00006014
  21. Elbaz A, Clavel J, Rathouz PJ, Moisan F, Galanaud JP, Delemotte B, et al. Professional exposure to pesticides and Parkinson disease. Ann Neurol. 2009;66(4):494–504. doi:.https://doi.org/10.1002/ana.21717
  22. Baldi I, Gruber A, Rondeau V, Lebailly P, Brochard P, Fabrigoule C. Neurobehavioral effects of long-term exposure to pesticides: results from the 4-year follow-up of the PHYTONER study. Occup Environ Med. 2011;68(2):108–15. doi:.https://doi.org/10.1136/oem.2009.047811
  23. Spiewak R. Pesticides as a cause of occupational skin diseases in farmers. Ann Agric Environ Med. 2001;8(1):1–5.
  24. Macfarlane E, Carey R, Keegel T, El-Zaemay S, Fritschi L. Dermal exposure associated with occupational end use of pesticides and the role of protective measures. Saf Health Work. 2013;4(3):136–41. doi:.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.shaw.2013.07.004
  25. European Food Safety Authority. Scientific Opinion of the PPR Panel on the follow-up of the findings of the External Scientific Report ‘Literature review of epidemiological studies linking exposure to pesticides and health effects.’ EFSA journal. 2017. [Online]. Available at: https://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/consultations/call/170612. Accessed: 12 October 2017.
  26. Brouwer M, Schinasi L, Beane Freeman LE, Baldi I, Lebailly P, Ferro G, et al. Assessment of occupational exposure to pesticides in a pooled analysis of agricultural cohorts within the AGRICOH consortium: authors’ response. Occup Environ Med. 2017;74(1):81. doi:.https://doi.org/10.1136/oemed-2016-104110
  27. Leon ME, Beane Freeman LE, Douwes J, Hoppin JA, Kromhout H, Lebailly P, et al. AGRICOH: a consortium of agricultural cohorts. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2011;8(5):1341–57. doi:.https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph8051341
  28. Kass DE, Thier AL, Leighton J, Cone JE, Jeffery NL. Developing a comprehensive pesticide health effects tracking system for an urban setting: New York City’s approach. Environ Health Perspect. 2004;112(14):1419–23. doi:.https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.7149
  29. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Improving policy coherence and integration for sustainable development: a checklist. Paris: OECD; 2002.
  30. Russel D, Jordan A. Gearing-up governance for sustainable development: Patterns of policy appraisal in UK central government. J Environ Plann Manage. 2007;50(1):1–21. doi:.https://doi.org/10.1080/09640560601048267
  31. National Institute and for Occupational Safety and Health. Pesticide related illness and injury surveillance. A how-to guide for state based programs. Cincinnati: National Institute (NIOSH); 2005. pp 2006–102.
  32. Federal Office of the Environment. Persistently high pesticide levels found in small streams. 04-Apr-2017. [Online]. Available at: https://www.bafu.admin.ch/bafu/en/home/topics/water/news-releases.msg-id-66224.html. [Accessed: 12 October 2017.

Most read articles by the same author(s)