Pesticide Exposure Numbers
As is obvious, pesticide poisoning in developing countries is quite frequent. In
2004, the UN and WHO estimated that 1 million to 5 million cases of pesticide poi-
sonings occur each year, resulting in several thousand fatalities, including children.
Most of the poisonings take place in rural areas, where safeguards are typically inad-
equate or nonexistent. Although developing countries use 25 percent of the world’s
pesticides production, they experience 99 percent of the resultant deaths.
Children are at higher risk because they are more susceptible than adults to pesti-
cide exposure. Children’s behavior, playing, and ignorance of risks result in greater
potential for exposure. Malnutrition and dehydration also increase their sensitivity to
pesticides. The levels of pesticides that persons in industrialized nations are exposed
to are considerably lower than the levels in those who grow food for them, and their
families, are exposed to.^9
‘‘Safe Use’’ versus ‘‘Safer Use’’
The ‘‘safe pesticide use’’ slogan, particularly as promoted by pesticide manufac-
turers, has been the feature of a common approach toward mitigating the health
problems caused by pesticides. Invariably, however, ‘‘safe use’’ neglects to describe the
many alternatives available to farmers, choices including pesticides but not limited to
them. Rather, the approach focuses only on pesticide-related matters, such as pesti-
cide selection, new and correct application techniques and methodologies, registration
issues, and the use of personal protective equipment such as masks and clothing.
Consequently, many pesticide users, whatever their education, view pesticides as the
crop protection method of choice, a ‘‘silver bullet,’’ so to speak, when, in fact, there
may be many less-toxic choices that are never even considered.
In reality, overwhelming evidence from the developing world demonstrates that ‘‘safe
pesticide use’’ programs are not wholly successful. This is true whether or not studies
measure utilization of safety gear and practices or rates of exposure. Of particular con-
cern is the paradoxical fact that the use of protective equipment often increases personal
exposure to pesticides. Poor user habits due to lack of water, soap, or initiative enable
pesticides to accumulate in protective clothing and masks. Users are then subject to
more exposure and higher doses with each ‘‘safety equipment’’ use.
Most farmers do not use safety equipment or gloves when applying pesticides.
Even if they do, toxic residues remain from previous sprayings because they have too
little water for cleaning and lack cautionary training. They also usually do not know
how to adjust the sprayers properly in order to apply the correct amount of pesticide.
As a result, too much is applied, wasting the pesticide and heightening the danger to
people and the environment.
On the other hand, the new focus on ‘‘safer pesticide use’’ promotes the principle
that all options for pest management should be considered, tested, and integrated
into strategies for sustainable and environmentally sound crop production. A longer-
term view of production and pest management is favored over the short-term reactive
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