108 Agricultural Harm to the Environment
individual exposure time to pesticides and explain some of the difference. A village
effect might have been introduced in the reporting by the fact that each facilitator
was operative in only one village.
The gender segregated analysis showed no significant differences in the distri-
bution of signs and symptoms between men and women. Also, the severity class
was not significantly correlated with the gender of the respondents. The health
effects experienced by the women were comparable to the ones experienced by
men. No significant correlation was found between severity class and age. How-
ever, the reader is reminded that children were not included in the surveillance.
These results confirm the hypothesis that women are seriously exposed to pesticide
contamination.
Severity class and total number of S&S (#S&S) versus exposure variables
Each exposure was described by five variables:
- Pesticide toxicity: toxicity of the formulated chemical product classified accord-
ing to the WHO Hazard classes. Pesticides belonging to the WHO class 1a
Figure 5.3 Distribution of acute poisoning signs and symptoms by landholding classes