| And what about safety to farmers? I've used phosmet, an organophosphate insecticide, and I don't like to use it. You can know it's around in the warehouse, still in the original sealed packages, just by smelling it. A feeling of dry mouth and eyes usually follows. And it's not because it's a dangerous substance - most pesticides with very few exceptions are dangerous - but because it is very hard to handle. Phosmet is usually sold as a fine powder, and as it is the case of most soluble powders, it disperses in air easily. I always ask for liquid insecticides, but these are not always available. Masks are not particularly useful: cotton masks are of little to no use, filters are compromised by facial hair[1] and air supply masks are crazy expensive. If farmers respect the required safety intervals, harm to consumers is considerably minimized.
The main hazard comes to people that come in contact with larger concentrations of pesticides: manufacturers, sellers and farmers. Now I just open the package carefully underwater, if the sprayer is full enough and the package is to be completely emptied. This minimizes dispersion considerably. [1] http://multimedia.3m.com/mws/media/463742O/facial-hair-and-r... |