Estimating Occupational Exposure to VOCs, SVOCs, Particles and Participant Survey Reported Symptoms in Central Thailand Rice Farmers Using Multiple Sampling Techniques

Saowanee Norkaew, Wantanee Phanprasit, Mark Gregory Robson, Susan Woskie and Brian T. Buckley
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Saowanee Norkaew: Faculty of Public Health, Thammasat University, Khlong Nueng 12121, Thailand
Wantanee Phanprasit: Department of Occupational Health and Safety, Faculty of Public Health, Mahidol University, Bangkok 10400, Thailand
Mark Gregory Robson: Department of Plant Biology, School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA
Susan Woskie: Department of Public Health, Zuckerberg College of Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts Lowell, Lowell, MA 01854, USA
Brian T. Buckley: Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute, Rutgers University, Rutgers, NJ 08854, USA

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 17, 1-17

Abstract: Thailand is known for its agricultural productivity and rice exportation. Most farms use small machines and manual labor, creating potential exposure to multiple health hazards. A cross-sectional study was conducted to measure pollutants liberated during preparation, pesticide application, and harvesting. Thirty rice farmers, mostly males from 41 to 50 years old, participated. The participant survey data showed that 53.3% of the respondents spent >2 h per crop on preparation, <1 h on pesticide application, and about 1–2 h harvesting; 86.7% of the respondents maintained and stored mechanical applicators at home, suggesting possible after-work exposures. Gloves, fabric masks, boots, and hats were worn during all activities, and >90% wore long sleeved shirts and pants. VOCs and SVOCs were collected using charcoal tubes and solid phase micro sample extraction (SPME). An analysis of the charcoal and SPME samplers found that 30 compounds were detected overall and that 10 were in both the charcoal tubes and SPME samplers. The chemicals most often detected were 1, 1, 1 Trichloro ethane and xylene. Additionally, farmers experienced the highest exposure to particulates during harvesting. These results demonstrated that farmers experience multiple exposures while farming and that risk communication with education or training programs may mitigate exposure.

Keywords: rice farmer; passive air sampling; hazard exposure (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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