YORKTON, Sask. – Jim Dosman tells horror stories to highlight his call for safer chemical use.
The head of the Centre for Agricultural Medicine at the University of Saskatchewan tells of a rural municipal worker who left his tractor in a ditch overnight, not realizing a plane would pass over and spray it and he would be sitting in chemical the next day.
He tells of a farmer who used gloves but not a mask while working with chemicals. He slapped a mosquito and spread Roundup on his mouth.
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Dosman and other experts told health-care workers at a seminar here there is an increasing risk of insecticide poisoning because severe infestations of wheat midge, bertha armyworms and diamondback moths mean chemical use is on the rise.
Last year about 1.5 million Saskatchewan acres were sprayed for wheat midge alone.
“We’re into a new ball game here and family physicians aren’t used to this,” Dosman said.
The chemicals used on these pests are from three different families: organophosphorus, such as Monitor, Lorsban and Cygon; carbamates, like Furadan and Lannate; and pyrethroids, such as Cymbush and Decis.
Humans are at a greater risk from the organophosphorus and carbamate chemicals because they inhibit an enzyme called cholinesterase, which is key to the proper functioning of the central nervous system. That is how these products kill insects.
Greg Horsman, medical director of the provincial laboratory, said people using these chemicals should ideally have their base cholinesterase level tested prior to spraying season. The results are kept with the family physician and poisoning can then be identified by a drop in the level.
Testing should be done 10 days after spraying begins and once a month afterward.
Horsman said a 25 percent drop in the baseline is a “flag” that the body is absorbing excessive chemicals. A drop of 50 percent is usually accompanied by symptoms such as nausea and fatigue and the person should not risk further exposure.
The speakers emphasized taking the proper precautions like wearing a respirator rather than a paper dust mask, reading detailed label information about the chemical being used and posting land which has been sprayed to ensure the safety of others.
Fayek Kelada, director of occupational health and safety services for the province, said there have been no deaths associated directly with chemical poisoning in the last 20 years.
“The track record is not bad but are we really handling pesticides in a safe manner or not?” He questioned if there is enough information for farmers and whether they are using it to protect themselves.
