Ministry of Environment and Climate Affairs, PO Box 321, Muscat 100, Oman; Centre for Environmental Strategy, Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, University of Surrey, Guildford, Surrey GU2 7JH, UK.
Centre for Environmental Strategy, Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, University of Surrey, Guildford, Surrey GU2 7JH, UK.
Sci Total Environ. 2015 Jan 1;502:457-61. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2014.09.044. Epub 2014 Oct 2.
The level of uptake and use of personal protective equipment (PPE) by farm workers in Oman is low; the conditions under which pesticides are stored are frequently below acceptable international standards. Research was undertaken to explore the drivers working against safe storage of agrochemicals and effective personal protection usage by pesticide application personnel. Results from a survey of over 200 respondents, representing workers in, and owners of, farms either within or outside a local farmer's association (FA), suggest that FA membership raises standards of behaviour both in terms of safe pesticide storage and use of PPE. Age of respondents had no apparent effect on the likelihood of PPE (gloves and masks) use. PPE use was, however, highest among respondents with more advanced educational backgrounds. Positive responses for glove and mask use, when applying pesticides, were higher for owners and workers in FA farms compared to non-FA farms. Lowest reported use of PPE was among workers in non-FA farms. Analysis of responses appears to indicate that behaviour patterns of workers in FA farms mirror that of the farm owners. This was not the case in non-FA farms. The results suggest that conformity to social norms, in this case acceptable work-environment behaviour, is a powerful driver behind raised usage levels of PPE in farms in Oman.
阿曼的农场工人对个人防护设备 (PPE) 的使用率很低；农药储存的条件经常低于可接受的国际标准。本研究旨在探索阻碍农药安全储存和农药施用人员有效使用个人防护设备的因素。对 200 多名受访者进行的调查结果表明，代表当地农民协会 (FA) 内外农场的工人或农场主，FA 成员资格提高了安全储存农药和使用个人防护设备的行为标准。受访者的年龄对 PPE（手套和口罩）使用的可能性没有明显影响。然而，教育程度较高的受访者使用 PPE 的比例最高。与非 FA 农场相比，在 FA 农场中，在施用农药时对使用手套和口罩的正面回应更高。在非 FA 农场中，报告的 PPE 使用量最低。对回应的分析似乎表明，FA 农场工人的行为模式反映了农场主的行为模式。在非 FA 农场中则并非如此。结果表明，在这种情况下，对社会规范的遵从，即可接受的工作环境行为，是阿曼农场提高个人防护设备使用率的一个强大驱动力。
