Risks of herbicide poisoning

Herbicides are a combination of substances that eliminate or weaken unwanted agricultural organisms that inhibit the production process, in order to allow crops to grow undisturbed. Depending on the application of these products against wild weeds, insects or fungi, they are referred to as herbicides, insecticides or fungicides. The partly highly toxic active ingredients developed and used to kill organisms have a seemingly harmless image, which is why inevitably many crops are increasingly sprayed with mixtures of active ingredients to prevent weeds from developing resistance.

Chemicals in agriculture

Chemical plant toxins, such as products containing glyphosate, are not only used in conventional agriculture to combat weeds, but are often used illegally to speed up the ripening process of grain and for drying. Thus, very often the prescribed waiting time until harvesting is not respected in the threshing process, with the result that food and feed contain glyphosate. The use of herbicides promotes cultivation methods that would not work without the support of these substances: monocultures, short crop rotations or cultivation of hybrid varieties.

Herbicides are deposited in the soil and not all of them are broken down within crop rotation cycles, thus increasing the concentration of active substances in the soil. Anti-parasitic active ingredients always have a broad spectrum effect, as they damage soil organisms and microbiology. The damaged microbiology prevents or delays the degradation of many of the active ingredients of herbicides, creating a vicious circle. Pesticide active ingredients that have not been broken down thus reach the deeper layers of the soil and eventually the groundwater.
The fertility of the soil is compromised and the accumulated systemic toxins reach subsequent crops via the root system. Subsequent food and feedstuffs are then further contaminated by active substances that were applied in the previous crop cycle. As a result, animal products contain residues of these substances if the animals are given contaminated feed.

The properties that make herbicides lethal to weeds can sometimes also be lethal to humans. Most herbicide poisonings are caused by organophosphate and carbamate compounds, some of which are components of neurotoxins. While pyrethrins and pyrethroids, other commonly used herbicides, are derived from plants and are usually not toxic to humans.
Many herbicides can cause poisoning if ingested, inhaled and absorbed through the skin; some of them are odourless, so the person does not know that he or she has been exposed to them. Organophosphate and carbamate herbicides alter the nerves, causing many organs to become overactive and eventually stop working. Pyrethrins sometimes cause allergic reactions, while pyrethroids rarely cause problems.

Symptoms of herbicide poisoning

Organophosphates and carbamates cause lacrimation, blurred vision, increased salivation, sweating, coughing, vomiting and frequent bowel movements and urination. Blood pressure may fall or become irregular and convulsions may occur. Breathing may become difficult and muscles contract and weaken. However, in rare cases shortness of breath and muscle weakness can be fatal. Symptoms last for a few hours or days after exposure to carbamates, but weakness can last for several weeks with exposure to organophosphates.
Pyrethrum may cause sneezing, watery eyes, coughing and occasionally difficulty breathing, but serious symptoms rarely occur.