RISKS TO WORKERS' HEALTH AND GOOD OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY PRACTICES IN THE APPLICATION OF HERBICIDES IN SUGARCANE

Brazil stands internationally as the largest producer of sugarcane, a key crop for national agribusiness. In this crop, weeds can cause serious damage, thus, making its control necessary. To this end, chemical control is mainly based on herbicides. However, the exposure of rural workers to herbicides has been associated with several health problems in these individuals. Therefore, this paper seeks to raise awareness through a bibliographic survey of the importance of sugarcane culture, herbicide use in these crops, the risks to which rural workers are exposed, and which health problems can occur by handling and applying these products, as well as the legislation that supports these workers and the challenges to ensuring this legislation's effectiveness. A literature search was conducted using the integrative review method. The deleterious effects of workers' exposure to herbicides are well reported in the literature for different active ingredients. Brazil has dense legislation in force focused on occupational safety, which, in theory, would make the handling and application of herbicides and other pesticides a low-risk activity for rural workers' health. However, unfortunately, this is not the picture seen in many agricultural regions of the country, mainly due to the lack of use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). Actions such as periodic training for these professionals are necessary, and a more rigorous inspection of their use should also be implemented.