Assessment of occupational exposure to agrochemicals

Advances in the agrochemical industry combined with new planting techniques have enabled the country to achieve record annual agricultural production. However, the chemical agents used to achieve these results are not inert to human health. Inadequate and repeated exposure to these chemical compounds can result in absorption and cause acute or chronic poisoning, damaging the health of rural workers. In order to assess these exposures, blood counts, acetylcholinesterase enzyme activity levels and levels of some metals and selenium were carried out on blood samples from rural workers and compared with samples from urban dwellers who were not occupationally exposed to these chemical agents.