14
Help - Help for Webmasters« back to results for ""Below is a cache of http://www.hesperian.info/assets/EHB/14_Chapter14.pdf. It's a snapshot of the page taken as our search engine crawled the Web.
The web site itself may have changed. You can check the current page or check for previous versions at the Internet Archive.Yahoo! is not affiliated with the authors of this page or responsible for its content.14248pagePesticides Are Poison14In this chapter:Pesticides cause many health problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .252
Children and pesticide poisoning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
Protecting children from pesticides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .254
Story: A village struggles against pesticide poisoning . . . . . . . . . . .254
Treatment for pesticide poisoning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .256
Drawing for discussion: How do pesticides enter the body? . . . . . .260
Long-term health effects of pesticides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
Pesticide poisoning can look like other illnesses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .264
Story: Doctors do not always have the answers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
Activity: Body mapping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .266
How to reduce harm from pesticide use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
Pesticides on food . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
Pest control at home . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
Pesticides harm the environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272
Resistance to pesticides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273
Pesticide education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274
Story: Farmers organize to stay independent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274
Activity: Drawing pesticide solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
Activity: How to read and understand pesticide labels . . . . . . . . . . . 276249Pesticides Are PoisonPesticides are chemicals used to kill insects, rodents, and weeds that might
harm our crops and health . But pesticides also poison and kill other living
things, including helpful plants and insects, and animals and people . Pesticides
can drift far from where they are used and pollute the soil, water, and air .In this chapter we use the wordpesticides to describe all chemicals used tocontrol pests . They include:Insecticides used to kill insects .Herbicides used to kill weeds and unwanted plants .Fungicides used to control plant molds .Rodenticides used to kill rats, mice, and other rodents .Farmers did not always use pesticides, and many farmers have great success
farming without them . If you have a choice, it is safer for your health and the
health of the land not to use pesticides .Pesticides are never safe. But for farmworkers, plantation workers, and anyone who feels they must use pesticides,
there are ways to reduce harm and to be as safe as possible .Pesticides are Poison250Why are pesticides used?Pesticides are not healthy for the food, the farm, the farmer, the farm worker,
or the environment . So why do people use them?Pesticides are often usedtogether with farm machines,
giant irrigation systems, low-
paid workers, and government
subsidies to produce crops thatcan be sold cheaply . Pesticides can
kill everything that might reduce
crop yields or make the food look less
attractive, so large farm corporations
use them as part of a system to sell
more food .For family farmers to competewith large corporate farms, they oftenbelieve they too must use pesticides .When a struggling farmer needs tofeed his family today, he may not
think about what will happen to his
own health or his familys health tomorrow . But this way of producing crops
has high costs for peoples health and the environment .Over time, pesticides cause great harm . After years of spraying, pests maybecomeresistant to chemicals (see page 273) . Pesticides also kill many insectsand birds that are not pests and that actually control crop pests . When this
happens, pesticides no longer reduce crop loss from pests, crop yields go down,
and family farmers are forced into poverty . Worse, pesticides kill thousands of
people every year and make many more sick .The companies that make pesticides say their products will help farmersfeed the world . But what these companies really want is to feed their profitswithout considering the long-term harm they cause . Pesticides are one part
of an unjust and unhealthy system that makes a few people richer and makes
everyone else sick .Farm owners callpesticides medicine.But are they reallymedicines? No. They arepoisons thatkill weeds andinsects. They caneven kill people.Pesticides are Poison251There are many kinds of pesticidesThere are many types and brands of pesticides, and they are called differentnames in different countries . Some pesticides may be banned in one country
for being too dangerous, while still being sold in other countries .Pesticides are made in different forms: powders for mixing with water and
spraying, granules and dusts for dusting, liquids for spraying, coatings on
seeds, pellets to kill rodents, and others . Mosquito coils and rat poisons are
common for killing pests at home .Pesticides are sold in different packages: cans, bottles, buckets, bags,and others . Pesticides are often put in other containers than the ones they
originally came in . No matter what kind of pesticide it is, no matter what form
it is in, no matter what kind of package it is in,pesticides are poison! I understand that pesticides arepoison. But I still need to go towork on the banana plantation.Sometimes I feel sick when I gohome. How can I know if it is fromthe pesticides we use?Pesticides are Poison252Pesticides Cause Many Health ProblemsA person exposed to pesticides may have more than one sign of illness . Somesigns show up at the time the person is exposed . Other signs do not show
up until hours, days, or even years later . (For more on health effects of toxic
chemicals, see Chapter 16 .)Many people are exposed to pesticides but may not know it . Laundry workers,garbage and recycling workers, and others who have direct contact with
pesticides may be in just as much danger of poisoning as farm workers . They
should be aware that there are pesticides in their environment, and they should
follow the same precautions as farm workers .Signs of pesticide poisoningLegs and arms:muscle cramps or pains, twitchingHead and eyes:headaches, vision problems,small pupils in the eyes, tearsStomach:pain, diarrhea, nausea, and vomitingChest and lungs:pain, breathing problems, coughingHands:damage to fingernails, numbnessand tingling in fingersOther general signs ofpesticide poisoning are:confusion, weakness, trouble walking,trouble concentrating, muscletwitching, restlessness and anxiety, baddreams and trouble sleepingNose and mouth:runny nose, droolingSkin:itching, rashes, bumps, redness,blisters, burning, sweating too muchPin-point pupilsIf you have any of these problems while working with pesticides, leave the
worksite immediately . Do not wait until you feel worse . Get away from the
pesticides andgo to a hospital or clinic right away!Severe pesticide poisoning can kill.Signs of severe poisoning:Unconsciousness, loss of controlover bladder and bowels, bluelips and fingernails, shakingchildren and Pesticide Poisoning253Children and Pesticide PoisoningPesticides are more dangerous to children than they are to adults . Because
children are smaller and are still growing, they get sick from amounts of
pesticides that may not hurt adults . Amounts of pesticides that will make
adults sick may kill babies and children .Signs of pesticide poisoning in childrenEven small doses of pesticides can affect a childs ability to learn and grow,
and may cause allergies and breathing problems that last his whole life .Common signs of pesticide poisoning in children are:Signs that may show up months or years after a child is exposed to chemicals include:Pesticides can also cause birth defects (see page 324) . For more on how toxic
chemicals affect children, see page 322 .tirednessdiarrheapain in the stomachskin rashescoughing fitsseizures (fits)and shaking
unconsciousnessallergiesbreathing problemsdifficulty learningslow growthcancerother health problemsmay be made worsePesticides are Poison254A village struggles against pesticide poisoningPeople in Padre Village in Kerala, India used to think they were cursed . Young
people suffered from serious health problems such asepilepsy, brain damage,and cancer, and did not grow as they should . Many women were unable to give
birth, and many babies were born with missing arms and legs . What could
cause all this illness besides a curse?Padre Village was famous for its rich cashew plantations . Years ago, thecompany that owns the cashew plantations began spraying a pesticide called
endosulfan . After spraying began, villagers noticed that bees, frogs, and fish
vanished from the area . Many people thought they were killed by endosulfan,
but they could not prove it .Shree Padre, a local farmer and journalist, saw his calves born withdeformed limbs . Since endosulfan had been sprayed near his farm many times,
he wondered if the birth defects were caused by the pesticide . Shree Padre spoke
with a doctor who had noticed similar health problems in people . After writing
to people all over India, they learned that almost all the problems they noticed
were known to be caused by endosulfan .Protecting Children from PesticidesChildren should by kept away from pesticides. Children:should not play with, use, oreven touch old pesticide containers .
should not play on farm equipment thatis used to spray pesticides .
should not wade or swim in irrigation ordrainage ditches .
should not enter or play in recentlytreated fields .Adults can protect children from pesticides:wash work clothes, shoes and your hands beforeentering the house and before touching children .
wash childrens clothes apart from parents clothes .wash fruits and vegetables very well before anyone eats them .avoid the use of pesticides at home, especially indoors .store pesticide containers and equipment out of childrens reach .Wait a moment untilI change my clothesand wash, Olanike.Protec ting children from Pesticides255Visits from other organizations confirmed what Shree Padre and the doctorhad learned . Word spread that the ill health of the people was caused by
endosulfan .Villagers gathered at the plantation offices and demanded that the sprayingbe stopped . The plantation officials, the pesticide industry, and some local
authorities denied that endosulfan caused the problems . The police were called
in and protests were broken up .Soon, the local press and television picked up the story . Before long, peopleacross India and around the world learned about the health problems caused by
endosulfan . The state government banned endosulfan in Kerala .But the pesticide industry argued that endosulfan was safe . They paiddoctors and scientists to say that the health problems had no connection to
endosulfan . Soon, due to pressure from the pesticide industry, the ban was
dropped . Plantations in Padre began spraying again .Farmers, doctors, and villagers from the area demanded that thegovernment study the problem . Finally, the government agreed with the people
of Padre Village: endosulfan was a deadly poison . A law was passed to ban it
once and for all in that part of India .But endosulfan is still sprayed in other parts of India, and in other countries .Laws say it is poison in some places, while it is considered safe in others . Poisons
like endosulfan are only banned when people work together to pressure industry
and governments for change .Pesticides are Poison256Treatment for Pesticide PoisoningLike other toxic chemicals, pesticides can poison people in different ways:
through the skin and eyes, through the mouth (by swallowing), or through the
air (by breathing) . Each kind of poisoning needs a different kind of treatment .When pesticides get on the skinMost pesticide poisonings are from pesticides being absorbed throughthe skin . This can happen when they spill while being moved, when
they splash during mixing, during spraying, or when you touch
crops that have just been sprayed . Pesticides can also get on your
skin through your clothes, or when you wash clothes with pesticideson them .Rashes and irritation are the first signs of poisoning throughthe skin . Because skin problems may be caused by other things,such as a reaction to plants, insect bites, infections, or allergies,it can be hard to know if the problem is caused by pesticides .Talk to other workers to find out if the crop you are workingwith causes this kind of reaction . If you work with pesticides
and get any unexpected skin rashes, it is safest to treat them
as if they are caused by pesticides .TreatmentIf you or someone else gets pesticides on the body:Pesticides can stick to your skin, hair, and clothes, even if you cannot see or
smell them . Always wash with soap after using pesticides .Quickly remove any clothing the pesticides spilled onto .Wash the pesticides off the skin as soon aspossible with soap and cool water .
If it got into the eye, rinse the eye with cleanwater for 15 minutes .If the skin is burned from pesticides:Rinse well with cool water .Do not remove anything stuck to the burn .Do not apply lotions, fats, or butter .Do not break blisters .Do not remove loose skin .Cover the area with a sterile dressing, if available .If pain lasts, get medical help! Bring the label from the pesticidecontainers or the names of the pesticides with you .treatment for Pesticide Poisoning257When pesticides are swallowedPeople can swallow pesticides by eating, drinking, or
smoking cigarettes in the fields while working with
pesticides, or by drinking water polluted with pesticides .
Children can drink or eat pesticides, especially if pesticides
are stored in containers also used to hold food, or left in
the open or low to the ground .TreatmentWhen someone swallows pesticides:If the person is unconscious, lay her on her side andmake sure she is breathing .
If the person is not breathing, quickly do mouth-to-mouth breathing (rescue breathing, see page 557) .Mouth-to-mouth breathing can also expose you to
the pesticide, so cover your mouth with a pocketmask, a piece of cloth, or thick plastic wrap with
a hole cut in the middle, before you start mouth-
to-mouth breathing .
Find the pesticide package and read the labelright away . The label will tell you if you should make the person vomit
up the poison or not .
If the person can drink, give her lots of clean water .Seek medical help. If it is available, always take the pesticide label orname with you .Do not vomit if the label says not to. Never vomit afterswallowing a pesticide that contains gasoline, kerosene,
xylene, or other petroleum-based liquids . This will make the
problem worse . Never make the person vomit or drink if she is
unconscious, confused, or shaking badly .
If you are sure vomiting is OK,give the person:a glass of very salty water or2 tablespoons of poundedstrong-tasting edible plant (such as
celery, basil, or another local herb)
followed by 1 or 2 glasses of warm
waterKeep the person moving around .This can help her vomit sooner .After vomiting, activated or powderedcharcoal (see next page) can help absorb any poison still in the stomach .Eating foods sprayedwith pesticides mightmake you sick later.Pesticides are Poison258Mix
refer page:-------http://www.officesoon.com/doc/101471-14
Click Here To Download...