Abstract

Agriculture is a key economic activity in Québec, employing roughly 125,000 workers.

At the present time, agriculture requires pesticides to maintain high yields and meet consumer quality criteria. Exposure to pesticides however, can have a variety of health effects. Pesticide exposure must, as a result, be reduced to safe levels. Use of personal protective equipment (PPE) is predominant among the available prevention measures recommended by Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA). The IRRST’s status report on the matter, however, shows that PPE use as a risk reduction strategy continues to be inadequate and that desired levels of protection may not accordingly be achieved.

A fact sheet has thus been developed to help those who use pesticides get a better understanding of the information on the labels of the products they purchase and hence better protection. The fact sheet comes with a mini-poster recapping safe practices and the personal protective equipment required for adequate protection.