Environmental Engineering Reference
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and Beheira Governorate (Mansour 2008). The main purpose was to get the answers con-
cerning the levels of education, the farmers' knowledge of pesticides, and the sources they
used to obtain information about use and risk avoidance, as well as ways in which they
dispose of empty pesticide containers. Figure 15.18(a-e) summarizes the results of the two
investigations, which may highlight the necessity of paying more attention to this concern.
The participants in the questionnaire of the year 2008 differed greatly in how long
they had been employed in farm work (including pesticide applications). Because health
hazards are proportionate to duration of exposure to toxicants, Mansour (2008) esti-
mated the ratio (years of employment: age; E/A) for each participant and expressed the
products in percentages. The resulting values were used in rating the degree of occu-
pational exposure to pesticides among the studied group in five categories such as
(a) Excessive occupational exposure for individuals of E/A = >70%; (b) Extreme occupa-
tional exposure for individuals of E/A = 56%-70%; (c) High occupational exposure for
individuals of E/A = 36%-55%; (d) Moderate occupational exposure for individuals of
Q1: About education level
60
54.5
None
Elementary
Secondary
50
37
34.6
40
30
21.9
20
13.9
8.7
10
0
Sharkia G.
Beheira G.
(a)
Location (governorate)
Q2: About wearing protective clothing
48.9
46.8
50
Never
Sometimes
Always
45
40
33
32
35
30
21.2
25
18.1
20
15
10
5
0
Sharkia G.
Beheira G.
(b)
Location (governorate)
FIGURE 15.18
(a-e)
Results of a questionnaire regarding the attitude and behavior of Egyptian farmers in two different gov-
ernorates, Sharkia and Beheira, with respect to pesticide use and handling. (From Ibitayo, O. O., Risk Anal., 26,
989-995, 2006 and Mansour, S. A.,
Rev. Environ. Contam. Toxicol.
, 196, 1-51, 2008.)
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