Costa Rican news media are reporting that a group of fifteen workers from a pineapple farm in Aguas Zarcas, San Carlos, received emergency medical treatment yesterday (Wednesday 14 May) after experiencing severe symptoms of agrochemical poisoning.
Local sources report the emergency occurred at the Piñas del Bosque Agroindustrial farm of Standard Fruit Company de Costa Rica when the chemical Diazinon was being applied to one of the crop plots.
According to authorities, an insecticide was being applied to one plot of the farm, and apparently, due to prolonged exposure to the product, 15 workers were affected.
The emergency was initially handled by farm staff, who were joined by firefighters and the Red Cross, who responded with five units. Decontamination and medical evaluation of each patient were carried out on-site.
Of the total number of affected people, five required transfer to medical centres. These were four women and one man, including a 19-year-old woman, who was reported to be in a critical condition.
The other 10 affected people were stabilized on site, without the need to move them.
Costa Rica has one of the highest intensities of pesticide use in the world
Pineapple production is characterised by large-scale, high-input and monoculture plantations dependent on regular and intense use of several toxic agrochemicals. Costa Rica has one of the highest intensities of pesticide use in the world, averaging over 25 kg applied per hectare of cultivated land, according to the Pesticide Action Network. Pesticide use is particularly high on important export crops, including pineapples. Many of the pesticides in use are highly hazardous in terms of acute toxicity, chronic health risk and/or environmental contamination.
The chemical, Diazinon, is a contact organophosphate insecticide that kills flying and crawling insects, ticks, mites and spiders. High levels of exposure to diazinon can cause dizziness and nausea and has been linked to nervous system damage. There are concerns about its persistence in the environment.
Diazinon has been banned in Europe since 2006. It is banned for household use in the US but permitted in agriculture.
