Sprayer operator health check

Jack Russell

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Holderness
Has anyone managed to find a gp or doctor that will do a health check for sprayer operators? We are advised we need to offer it but can’t find any info on what the doctor needs to test for and who could actually do it. Our gp hasn’t got a clue about it.
 

Highland Mule

Member
Livestock Farmer
 

Steevo

Member
Location
Gloucestershire

Not much help to OP given he started that thread too! :LOL:
 

Jack Russell

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Holderness
Marvellous. I thought I had looked at this before. Thanks for that.
 

Ivorbiggun

Member
Location
Norfolk
Has anyone managed to find a gp or doctor that will do a health check for sprayer operators? We are advised we need to offer it but can’t find any info on what the doctor needs to test for and who could actually do it. Our gp hasn’t got a clue about it.
Several years ago the EU came up with a plan to make it compulsory for all sprayer drivers to have a blood test every 6 months, if any form of chemical was found in the sample you would be banned from spraying for 2 years.
After which you had to have another test which had to be clear before you were allowed to resume spraying.

But this idea was soon forgotten about when they realised that halve the people on farms may be banned from spraying and the other half would refuse to do spraying because of why the others were banned.
Resulting in no sprayer drivers. !!!!!
 

Andrew K

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Essex
Its the long term effects you want to worry about. Most Neurological health experts believe there is a link between spraying pesticides and Parkinsons... Maybe that is the real reason why Organophosate products got banned?
 

Lowland1

Member
Mixed Farmer
For our Global Gap and TNC audit we have to provide evidence of health checks for those doing spraying or dealing with chemicals. One of the checks is for cholinesterase which i think shows if you’ve been using organophosphates. The auditors who do our audits refused to accept our results as they’d never been to a farm where a white man did the spraying.
 
Its the long term effects you want to worry about. Most Neurological health experts believe there is a link between spraying pesticides and Parkinsons... Maybe that is the real reason why Organophosate products got banned?

OPs have been used on people before and in big doses. Some people do not react well to them. It is true there are links between certain pesticides and long term degenerative illnesses but these products will have been banned 20 years or more now.

I think OPs were done away with mostly because they were so persistent and an environmental nightmare.

Spray operators must must must wear gloves, apron and face visor when handling chemicals- the main danger to them is not from the dilute spray but when handling the concentrate, eye or skin splashes or inhaling fumes, all best avoided. Although I would be willing to bet most chemicals and their formulations are a lot kinder to humans than they were 30 or 40 years before.

Grain store insecticides are the products that would worry me. Need a proper mask for that.
 

Kidds

Member
Horticulture
Repeated skin contact with chemicals or corrosive agents is not recommended- can increase the risk of you getting a squamous cell carcinoma on your hands.
I don't doubt that but did you look up how long your gloves will protect you from that exposure.
Spray operators must must must not assume that wearing gloves protects them from contact. Repeatedly wearing contaminated gloves guarantees exposure!
 
I don't doubt that but did you look up how long your gloves will protect you from that exposure.
Spray operators must must must not assume that wearing gloves protects them from contact. Repeatedly wearing contaminated gloves guarantees exposure!

I don't know how long a pair of nitrile gloves will withstand direct contact/immersion in some products but it will be on the label. You can always wash your gloves after using them. I should think hot water and detergent would remove most products.
 

Kidds

Member
Horticulture
I don't know how long a pair of nitrile gloves will withstand direct contact/immersion in some products but it will be on the label. You can always wash your gloves after using them. I should think hot water and detergent would remove most products.
Chemical breakthrough of nitrile gloves against common pesticide carriers such as toluene, benzene and xylene is measured in minutes and often not very many minutes. Washing the gloves in hot water and detergent does bugger all.
The point really is that they do not give a great deal of protection and the problem is that most sprayer operators think they do. This leads to complacency as the wearer thinks they are safe when they are not and therefore increases amount of contact/contamination.

Treat gloves as an emergency measure and are only there if you do get chemical splash. You should avoid chemical splash completely but if it does happen get your gloves off quick and dispose of them. (I do realise that nobody will do that)
 

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