Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine the pesticide use and the relationship between keeping the safety rules or use of protective equipments, and poisoning experience. For Puksan province, Choonchun county, we obtained questionnaire data concerning pesticide poisoning and relating factors from 143 people who have farmed and have sprayed pesticides. Important results are follows: 1. The rate of experiences of pesticide poisoning was 33%, and the major symptoms were dizziness(39. 13%), vomiting(20.87%), and visual opacity(11.30%). The most frequent use of pesticide was paraquat(23. 76%), and the next was organophosphates(18.35%). 2. Logistic regression and chi-square analyses showed that duration of spraying per day, following dose limits, and spraying back against wind are significantly associated with poisoning experiences(x2=5.620, p0.018, OR=0.326, CJ=0.109-0.968, OR=0.302, OR=0.097-0.939 respectively). But no associations between poisoning experiences and age, sex, use of protective equipments, and attendance of safety education. Based on these data, despite limitations in exposure assessment and recall biases, it may be necessary to devise a counterplan for development of effective safety education that prevents pesticide poisoning such as popular education in CATA pesticide project, as well as prohibition of use of hazardous pesticides that proved to be fatal.

• Keywords: Pesticide poisoning;Safety rules;Protective equipments;Safety education