Mitos e verdades sobre os defensivos agrícolas

Abstract

This work aims to clarify and inform about issues involving the indiscriminate use of pesticides and how harmful they are. Several studies prove the harm to human and environmental health if exposed to these chemicals. They are composed of chemical substances that are intended for the control, destruction or prevention, directly or indirectly, of pathogenic agents for plants, animals and people. According to Lopes and Albuquerque (2018, p. 219), Brazil is currently the largest consumer of crop protection products in the world. And in 2010 and 2011, 936 thousand tons of these were consumed. The use of agricultural defensives arrived in the 1960s and with the implementation of the National Agricultural Defensive Program (PNDA), it gained momentum in the 1970s. It is well known that the impacts generated by the exaggerated use of agricultural defensives have spreading countless problems to the population in general and the use and handling by rural workers without proper protection, has caused fatal pathologies. According to an article published on the website Redalyc.org says: [...] they act in the human body by inhibiting a group of enzymes called cholinesterase, which act in the degradation of acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter...