A review of agricultural pesticide incidents in man in England and Wales, 1952-71

Abstract

An analysis was carried out of the poisoning incidents attributed to pesticides in England and Wales investigated by the Safety Inspectorate of the Pesticides Branch of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food from 1952 to 1971. All poisoning incidents attributed to pesticides which are reported to the Safety Inspectorate are recorded and separated into reported and confirmed incidents. The confirmed incidents are classified into fatal and non fatal. The non fatal incidents are subdivided into 4 categories, systemic poisoning, eye injuries, dermatitis, and chemical burns. There were 9 fatal cases of poisoning due to pesticides between 1952 and 1971, of which only 3 were occupational in origin. The remaining 6 were nonoccupational but were investigated by the Safety Inspectorate only because the incident happened to arise on, or in connection with, a farm. The details of all the cases are recorded. There were 222 nonfatal confirmed incidents during the period, affecting a total of 296 persons. There was an increased frequency of incidents since 1966 largely attributable to more complete and comprehensive recording by the Safety Inspectorate. Out of a total of 250 recorded pesticide effects, 121 (48.5%) were systemic poisoning, 57 (22.8%) were eye injuries, 54 (21.65%) were dermatitis and 18 (7.1%) were chemical burns. Of the 121 incidents of nonfatal systemic poisoning, usually of a mild character, 34 were due to organophosphates, 27 to a single incident involving chloropicrin, 15 to arsenites, 8 to dinitro compounds, 3 to nicotine, 2 to fungicides, 1 to cyanide, and one to an organomercury compound. Thirty one incidents were not classified because the symptoms were nonspecific in character and the worker had been exposed to a large number of different chemicals. In some instances the relationship of the symptoms to previous exposure to pesticides was extremely uncertain. Eye injuries and dermatitis were attributable to a wide variety of different chemicals and in the majority of instances were mild. Sulphuric acid, used for potato haulm destruction, was the commonest recorded cause of chemical burns. The main problems in the use of pesticides in England and Wales today are the illicit decanting of concentrate from the manufacturer's labeled containers, the hoarding of incompletely used containers, the disposal of empty containers and the importation of pesticides in inadequately labeled containers. These defined practical problems of safety in application and accident control are perhaps of greater importance than the long term theoretical toxicological effects of pesticides.