[Health, environment, and pesticide use in a farming area in Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil].
Pesticide use in agriculture is a nationwide phenomenon in Brazil, and the problem is proportional to this vast country. The widespread and growing use of pesticides for crops and cattle-raising, among other applications, has caused a number of environmental changes and problems, both by contaminating the communities of living beings that comprise the environment and by accumulating in the biotic and abiotic segments of ecosystems (biota, water, air, soil, sediments etc.). Pesticides also cause a number of diseases and health problems in human populations. The current article discusses several pesticide-related implications for human health and the environment in the mountainous region of the State of Rio de Janeiro, an important farming center. The article presents the results of research in the area, identifying possible determinants of the current situation and some of the main challenges for dealing with the problem.
Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública Sergio Arouca, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil. fperes@fiocruz.br
Frederico
F
Peres
Josino Costa
JC
Moreira
D000382:Agricultural Workers' Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced*; D000383:Agriculture / Q000379:methods; D016573:Agrochemicals / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity*; D000818:Animals; D001938:Brazil; D002417:Cattle; D018556:Crops, Agricultural; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D004787:Environmental Pollution / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005506:Food Contamination; D006801:Humans; D016272:Occupational Health; D010575:Pesticides / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity*; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012423:Rural Health; D012424:Rural Population
D016573:Agrochemicals; D010575:Pesticides