Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Article
  • Published:

Evaluation of work place pesticide concentration and health complaints among women workers in tea plantation, Southern India

Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology volume 31, pages 560–570 (2021)Cite this article

Abstract

Background

Women contribute fifty percent of the total work force in tea plantation sector. The continuous use of chemical pesticides in plantation may increase the risk of exposure and can cause detrimental health effects.

Objectives

To assess the health status of women worker exposed to pesticides in tea plantation and to evaluate the pesticide levels in work environment.

Methods

A cross sectional study was performed (n = 204) to assess the health complaints among exposed women workers (n = 116) and non-exposed women (n = 88) using a predesigned questionnaire. Work environmental air samples collected using PUF sampler and personal samplers were analyzed for various pesticides.

Results

Musculoskeletal disorder, skin color changes, allergies and asthma were the most commonly reported health complaints. Notably, only 16% of the women used personal protective equipment (PPE) while 68% reported to have experienced tea plantation work up to 6 month of their pregnancy period. Chlorpyrifos methyl (8.3%), carbendazim (6.7%), thiamethoxam (4.2%), ethion (4.2%) and thiophanate methyl (2.1%) were detected in work place air samples.

Significance

This study is the first to characterize pesticide levels in work place of women workers in India. Women are continuously exposed to pesticides through their work and environmental exposure. Preventive measures are essential to mitigate the adverse health effects of pesticides among women workers.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Fig. 1
Fig. 2: Work practices of tea plantation women workers and comparison of musculoskeletal disorders and chronic diseases with nonworking women.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Ye M, Beach J, Martin JW, Senthilselvan A. Occupational pesticide exposures and respiratory health. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2013;10:6442–71.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  2. Dhananjayan V, Ravichandran B. Occupational health risk of farmers exposed to pesticides in agricultural activities. Curr Opin Environ Sci Health. 2018;4:31–7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Cazé AMB, Lacerda ABM, Lüders D, Conto J, Marques J, Leroux T. Perception of the quality of life of tobacco growers exposed to pesticides: emphasis on health, hearing, and working conditions. Int Arch Otorhinolaryngol. 2019;23:50–9.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Brouwer M, Kromhout H, Vermeulen R, Duyzer J, Kramer H, Hazeu G, et al. Assessment of residential environmental exposure to pesticides from agricultural fields in the Netherlands. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol. 2018;28:173–81.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Debela SA, Wu J, Chen X, Zhang Y. Stock status, urban public perception, and health risk assessment of obsolete pesticide in Northern Ethiopia. Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2019; https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-05694-x.

  6. Quintana MM, Vera B, Magnarelli G, Guiñazú N, Rovedatti MG. Neonatal, placental, and umbilical cord blood parameters in pregnant women residing in areas with intensive pesticide application. Environ Sci Pollut Res. 2017;24:20736–46.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Van den Berg F, Kubiak R, Benjey W, Majewski M, Yates S, Reeves G, et al. Emission of pesticides into the air. Water Air Soil Poll. 1999;115:195–218.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Forero LG, Limay-Rios V, Xue Y, Schaafsma A. Concentration and movement of neonicotinoids as particulate matter downwind during agricultural practices using air samplers in southwestern Ontario, Canada. Chemosphere. 2017;188:130–8.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. JEC. DIRECTIVE 2004/107/EC of the European parliament and of the council, Official Journal of the European Union, L 23/3, 26.1.2005.

  10. Tea Board India. How many pesticides are currently having label claim from CIB&RC for use in tea, 2020. http://www.teaboard.gov.in/TEABOARDCSM/NDQ=.

  11. Sarkar K. Wages, mobility and labour market institutions in tea plantations: the case of West Bengal and Assam. Centre for Development Studies; 2015. http://cds.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/46_Kingshuk.pdf.

  12. Dhananjayan V, Ravichandran B, Anitha N, Rajmohan HR. Assessment of acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase activities in blood plasma of agriculture workers. Indian J Occup Environ Med. 2012;16:127–30.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  13. Dhananjayan V, Ravichandran B, Panjakumar K, Kalaiselvi K, Rajasekar K, Mala A, et al. Assessment of genotoxicity and cholinesterase activity among women workers occupationally exposed to pesticides in tea garden. Mutat Res. 2019;841:1–7.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Singh S, Bhutia D, Sarkar S, Rai BK, Pal Joydeb, Bhattacharjee S, et al. Analyses of pesticide residues in water, sediment and fish tissue from river Deomoni flowing through the tea gardens of Terai Region of West Bengal, India. Int J Fish Aquat Stud. 2015;3:17–23.

    Google Scholar 

  15. Dhananjayan V, Ravichandran B. Organochlorine pesticide residues in foodstuffs, fish, wildlife, and human tissues from India: historical trend and contamination status. In Masood F, Grohmann E, Akhtar R, Malik A, editors. Environmental deterioration and human health. Netherlands: Springer; 2010.

  16. Korrick SA, Chen C, Damokosh AI, Ni J, Liu X, Cho SI, et al. Association of DDT with spontaneous abortion: a case–control study. Ann Epidemiol. 2001;11:491–6.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Kumar S. Occupational exposure associated with reproductive dysfunction. J Occup Health. 2004;46:1–19.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Dhananjayan V, Ravichandran B, Rajmohan HR. Organochlorine pesticide residues in blood samples of agriculture and sheep wool workers in Bangalore (rural), India. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol. 2012;88:497–500.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Rajbangshi PR, Nambiar D. “Who will stand up for us?” the social determinants of health of women tea plantation workers in India. Int J Equity Health. 2020;19:29.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  20. CSDH. Closing the gap in a generation: health equity through action on the social determinants of health. Final report of the commission on social determinants of health. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2008. http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/43943/1/9789241563703_eng.pdf.

  21. Ngowi AV, Mbise TJ, Ijani AS, London L, Ajayi OC. Pesticides use by smallholder farmers in vegetable production in Northern Tanzania. Crop Prot. 2007;26:1617–24.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  22. Catano HC, Carranza E, Huamani C, Hernández AF. Plasma cholinesterase levels and health symptoms in Peruvian farm workers exposed to organophosphate pesticides. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol. 2008;55:153–9.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Damalas CA, Georgiou EB, Theodorou MG. Pesticide use and safety practices among Greek tobacco farmers; a survey. Int J Environ Health Res. 2006;16:339–48.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  24. Barrón Cuenca J, Tirado N, Vikström M, et al. Pesticide exposure among Bolivian farmers: associations between worker protection and exposure biomarkers. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol. 2019; https://doi.org/10.1038/s41370-019-0128-3.

  25. Kudagammana ST, Mohotti K. Environmental exposure to agrochemicals and allergic diseases in preschool children in high grown tea plantations of Sri Lanka. Allergy Asthma Clin Immunol. 2018;14:84.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  26. Larsen AE, Gaines SD, Deschênes O. Agricultural pesticide use and adverse birth outcomes in the San Joaquin Valley of California. Nat Commun. 2017;8:302.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  27. Shaw GM, Yang W, Roberts EM, Kegley SE, Stevenson DK, Carmichael SL, et al. Residential agricultural pesticide exposures and risks of spontaneous preterm birth. Epidemiology. 2018;29:8–21.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  28. Deziel NC, Beane Freeman LE, Hoppin JA, Thomas K, Lerro CC, Jones RR, et al. An algorithm for quantitatively estimating non-occupational pesticide exposure intensity for spouses in the Agricultural Health Study. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol. 2019;29:344–57.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  29. Spiewak R. Pesticides as a cause of occupational skin diseases in farmers. Ann Agric Environ Med. 2001;8:1–5.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  30. Nankongnab N, Kongtip P, Tipayamongkholgul M, Bunngamchairat A, Sitthisak S, Woskie S. Difference in accidents, health symptoms, and ergonomic problems between conventional farmers using pesticides and organic farmers. J Agromedicine. 2020;25:158–65.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  31. Thetkathuek A, Meepradit P. Work-related musculoskeletal disorders among workers in an MDF furniture factory in eastern Thailand. Int J Occup Saf Erg. 2018;24:207–17.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. Padilla Colón CJ, Molina-Vicenty IL, Frontera-Rodríguez M, et al. Muscle and bone mass loss in the elderly population: advances in diagnosis and treatment. J Biomed. 2018;3:40–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. Majeed T, Forder PM, Mishra G, Kendig H, Byles JE. Exploring workforce participation patterns and chronic diseases among middle-aged Australian men and women over the life course. J Aging Health. 2017;29:343–61.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  34. WHO. The WHO recommended classification of pesticides by hazard and guidelines to classification: Geneva 27, Switzerland WHO, 2009.

  35. Wang A, Mahai G, Wan Y, Jiang Y, Meng Q, Xia W, et al. Neonicotinoids and carbendazim in indoor dust from three cities in China: Spatial and temporal variations. Sci Total Environ. 2019;695:133790.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  36. Coupe RH, Manninga MA, Foremanb WT, Goolsbyc DA, Majewskid MS. Occurrence of pesticides in rain and air in urban and agricultural areas of Mississippi, April-September 1995. Sci Total Environ. 2000;248:227–40.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  37. Estellano VH, Pozo K, Efstathiou C, Pozo K, Corsolini S, Focardi S. Assessing levels and seasonal variations of current-use pesticides (CUPs) in the Tuscan atmosphere, Italy, using polyurethane foam disks (PUF) passive air samplers. Environ Pollut. 2015;205:52–9.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  38. Carratalá A, Moreno-González R, León VM. Occurrence and seasonal distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and legacy and current-use pesticides in air from a Mediterranean coastal lagoon (Mar Menor, SE Spain). Chemosphere. 2017;167:382–95.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  39. Peck AM, Hornbuckle KC. Gas-phase concentrations of current-use pesticides in Iowa. Environ Sci Technol. 2005;39:2952–9.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  40. Aulagnier F, Poissanta L, Bruneta D, Beauvaisa C, Pilotea M, Debloisb C, et al. Pesticides measured in air and precipitation in the Yamaska Basin (Québec): occurrence and concentrations in 2004. Sci Total Environ. 2008;394:338–48.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  41. Nascimento MM, da Rocha GO, de Andrade JB. Pesticides in fine airborne particles: from a green analysis method to atmospheric characterization and risk assessment. Sci Rep. 2017;7:2267.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  42. Northcott GL, Jones KC. Experimental approaches and analytical techniques for determining organic compound bound residues in soil and sediment. Environ Pollut. 2000;108:19–43.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  43. Muñoz A, Vera T, Sidebottom H, Mellouki A, Borrás E, Ródenas M, et al. Studies on the atmospheric degradation of chlorpyrifos-methyl. Environ Sci Technol. 2011;45:1880–6.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  44. Padovani L, Capri E. Chlorpyrifos-methyl dissipation in a small adjacent water body following application to citrus. Chemosphere. 2005;58:1219–29.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  45. Tomlin CDS. The pesticide manual: incorporating the agrochemicals handbook. Cambridge: British Crop Protection Council, The Royal Society of Chemistry; 1994.

  46. European Union. European Union pesticides database. http://ec.europa.eu/food/plant/pesticides/eu-pesticides-database/public/?eventDhomepage&languageDEN. Accessed March 2020.

  47. EC (European Commission). Review report for the active substance chlorpyrifos-methyl. SANCO/3061/99, 2002. www.atsdr.cdc.gov.

  48. ATSDR-Toxicological Profile: Ethio. www.atsdr.cdc.gov. September 2000. Retrieved 2017; 03–16.

  49. Dhananjayan V, Jayanthi P, Jayakumar S, Ravichandran B. Agrochemicals Impact on Ecosystem and Bio-monitoring. In: Kumar S, Meena RS, Jhariya MK (eds) Resources Use Efficiency in Agriculture. 2020, Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-6953-1_11

  50. Dhananjayan V, Jayakumar S, Ravichandran B. Conventional Methods of Pesticide Application in Agricultural Field and Fate of the Pesticides in the Environment and Human Health. In: K. R. R., Thomas S., Volova T., K. J. (eds) Controlled Release of Pesticides for Sustainable Agriculture. 2020, Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-23396-9_1.

Download references

Acknowledgements

This study was financially supported by the Science & Engineering Research Board (SERB), Department of Science & Technology (DST), Government of India under the Fast Track Scheme for Young Scientist to Dr Dhananjayan Venugopal (File No: SB/FT/LS-140/2012 Dated 26th April 2013). We are thankful to Dr Kamalesh Sarkar, Director, ICMR-National Institute of Occupational Health, Ahmedabad for his continuous support and encouragement in research and publication. Authors are thankful to ROHC(S) staff, the Deputy Director Health Services, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, Block Medical Officer, Valparai, Mrs. Fathima, Village Health Nurse, Primary Health Centre, Valparai Tamil Nadu for their support in biological sample collection in the field.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. ICMR-Regional Occupational Health Centre (Sothern), ROHC(S), ICMR Complex, Devanahalli TK, Bangalore, 562110, India

    Dhananjayan Venugopal, Panjakumar Karunamoorthy, Ravichandran Beerappa, Mala Aambikapathy, Avinash Gaikwad & Shridhar Kondhalkar

  2. ICAR- Indian Institute of Horticulture Research, Hessaraghatta Lake Post, Bengaluru, 560089, India

    Debi Sharma

  3. Medical Officers, Primary Health Center, Valparai, Tamil Nadu, 642127, India

    Kausic Rajasekar

Authors
  1. Dhananjayan Venugopal
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Panjakumar Karunamoorthy
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Ravichandran Beerappa
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Debi Sharma
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Mala Aambikapathy
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Kausic Rajasekar
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Avinash Gaikwad
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Shridhar Kondhalkar
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Dhananjayan Venugopal.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Supplementary Information

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Venugopal, D., Karunamoorthy, P., Beerappa, R. et al. Evaluation of work place pesticide concentration and health complaints among women workers in tea plantation, Southern India. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol 31, 560–570 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41370-020-00284-3

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41370-020-00284-3

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links