title: Utilization of Boxes for Pesticide Storage in Sri Lanka.
abstract: Pesticide self-poisoning is now considered one of the two most common methods of suicide worldwide. Encouraging safe storage of pesticides is one particular approach aimed at reducing pesticide self-poisoning. CropLife Sri Lanka (the local association of pesticide manufacturers), with the aid of the Department of Agriculture, distributed lockable in-house pesticide storage boxes free of charge to a farming community in a rural district of Sri Lanka. Padlocks were not provided with the boxes. These storage boxes were distributed to the farmers without prior education. The authors carried out a cross-sectional follow-up survey to assess the usage of boxes at 7 months after distribution. In an inspection of a sample of 239 box recipients' households, 142 households stored pesticides in the provided box at the time of survey. Among them, only 42 (42/142, 29.65%) households had locked the box; the remaining households (100/142, 70.4%) had not locked the box. A simple hand over of in-house pesticide storage boxes without awareness/education results in poor use of boxes. Additionally, providing in-house storage boxes may encourage farmers to store pesticides in and around houses and, if they are not locked, may lead to unplanned adverse effects.
authors.affiliation: a South Asian Clinical Toxicology Research Collaboration (SACTRC), Faculty of Medicine , University of Peradeniya , Peradeniya , Sri Lanka.
authors.forename: Ravi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pieris
authors.affiliation: a South Asian Clinical Toxicology Research Collaboration (SACTRC), Faculty of Medicine , University of Peradeniya , Peradeniya , Sri Lanka.|b Department of Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Allied Sciences , Rajarata University of Sri Lanka , Saliyapura , Anuradhapura , Sri Lanka.
authors.forename: Manjula
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Weerasinghe
authors.affiliation: c Pharmacology, Toxicology & Therapeutics, Centre for Cardiovascular Science , University of Edinburgh , Edinburgh , UK.
authors.forename: Tharaka
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Abeywickrama
authors.affiliation: d Department of Agriculture , Office of the Registrar of Pesticides , Peradeniya , Sri Lanka.
authors.forename: Gamini
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Manuweera
authors.affiliation: a South Asian Clinical Toxicology Research Collaboration (SACTRC), Faculty of Medicine , University of Peradeniya , Peradeniya , Sri Lanka.|c Pharmacology, Toxicology & Therapeutics, Centre for Cardiovascular Science , University of Edinburgh , Edinburgh , UK.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Eddleston
authors.affiliation: a South Asian Clinical Toxicology Research Collaboration (SACTRC), Faculty of Medicine , University of Peradeniya , Peradeniya , Sri Lanka.|e Sydney Medical School , University of Sydney , Sydney , Australia.
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dawson
authors.affiliation: f Department of Public Health, Global Health Section , University of Copenhagen , Copenhagen , Denmark.
authors.forename: Flemming
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Konradsen
mesh_terms: D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005191:Family Characteristics; D006801:Humans; D010575:Pesticides / Q000633:toxicity*; D011482:Protective Devices / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012424:Rural Population; D013188:Sri Lanka
chemical_list: D010575:Pesticides
keywords: Pesticide; safe storage; self-poisoning; suicide