Application Intensity and Spatial Distribution of Three Major Herbicides from Agricultural and Nonagricultural Practices in the Central Plain of Thailand

Suphaphat Kwonpongsagoon, Chanokwan Katasila, Pornpimol Kongtip and Susan Woskie
Additional contact information
Suphaphat Kwonpongsagoon: Department of Sanitary Engineering, Faculty of Public Health, Mahidol University, 420/1 Rajvithi Road, Bangkok 10400, Thailand
Chanokwan Katasila: Department of Sanitary Engineering, Faculty of Public Health, Mahidol University, 420/1 Rajvithi Road, Bangkok 10400, Thailand
Pornpimol Kongtip: Center of Excellence on Environmental Health and Toxicology (EHT), Bangkok 10400, Thailand
Susan Woskie: Department of Public Health, Zuckerberg College of Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts Lowell, One University Ave, Lowell, MA 01854, USA

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 6, 1-19

Abstract: The herbicides glyphosate, paraquat, and 2,4-D play a significant role in Thailand. This paper is among the first study to describe the intensity of herbicide application and illustrate how the herbicides are extensively distributed over a large area through both agricultural and nonagricultural practices. Using a quick, economical, and simplified method of Material Flow Analysis together with spatial analysis, better data for the analysis of possible environmental herbicide contamination, human exposure, and related health risks for the general public and applicators can be developed. The findings from this study showed that in the study province, about 2.2 million kg of the active ingredients from the three targeted herbicides is applied annually. Pathway flow modeling with spatial analysis identified several local hotspots of concern based on the type of herbicide and crop/activity where it was used. Cassava planting was found to have the highest herbicide application activity, whereas rice cultivation was the major contributor of total herbicide mass, due to the wide area of cultivation in the province. The herbicide most likely to be applied at rates higher than recommended was 2,4-D, particularly on cassava and sugarcane farms.

Keywords: herbicide; glyphosate; paraquat; 2,4-D; agriculture; non-agriculture; environmental contamination; health risk; Thailand (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/6/3046/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/6/3046/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:6:p:3046-:d:517825

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().