PARAQUAT

Through skin exposure
In the 20 years between 1974 and 1994, 11
fatalities as a result of dermal exposure to
paraquat were recorded (Gear et al 2001).
More have occurred since. The poisonings
have occurred in a variety of ways, but appear
to require that the exposure was prolonged, or
to undiluted concentrate, or that the skin was
abraded such as by scratches, dermatitis, burns,
or lesions from scabies or lice (Gear et al 2001).
In 1983 a farmer died within a week of 3.5 hrs
spraying a 0.5% solution of paraquat with a
leaking knapsack (Wesseling 2001a).
In 1993, a man in the UK died after being
splashed in the face when he dropped an open
container of paraquat (PAN UK 1993).
An 81-year-old man in Greece died after
accidental paraquat exposure. He suffered
minimal skin burn, but slept overnight in
trousers on which the paraquat had been spilt,
prolonging the exposure through the skin burn.
He developed severe breathlessness after 4
days, followed by acute renal and respiratory
failure (Soloukides et al 2007).
A 55-year-old crop-dusting pilot died from
respiratory and renal failure after fl ying his plane
into power lines. His plane exploded and the pilot
sustained 37% burns, but it was the concomitant
exposure to paraquat that killed him 4 days later
(Gear et al 2001).
In Thailand a worker in a rubber plantation died
after exposure to a mixture of paraquat and
glyphosate. He sprayed from dawn to dusk, the
employer did not provide protective clothing,
and he was regularly soaked. He developed
a cough, skin disease, became ill, lost his hair
and vision, and eventually died 3 months later
(Bartlett & Bijlmakers 2003).
There were at least 3 known fatal cases
following occupational skin absorption in Papua
New Guinea between 1969 and 1981 (Wohlfahrt
1982); and Wohlfahrt (1981) cautioned that
“because reporting systems are inadequate
many other cases of paraquat poisoning have
not been recorded”.
An analysis of 15 deaths from occupational
exposure to paraquat in Costa Rica revealed
that 5 died from dermal exposure: one from
spilling concentrate on his legs, one from
working in a sprayed plantation with minor skin
lesions on his leg, and three from spraying, one
of these with a leaking backpack. This last one
is of particular concern as it reflects conditions
common in many developing countries. The
plantation worker sprayed for 3 consecutive
days; he received chemical burns on his back,
scrotum and inner thighs, and died 21 days later
(Wesseling et al 1997).
Non-fatal poisonings via dermal exposure have
also occurred. A 60-year-old farmer in Spain
was admitted to hospital with severe liver toxicity
resulting from use of a mixture of paraquat and
diquat applied by knapsack sprayer in high
temperature and humidity and without any
protective clothing – conditions that increase
skin absorption (Peiro et al 2007) and which are
common in developing countries.
Another Spanish male suffered liver problems
(blocked bile duct) 2 years after being
hospitalised as a result of paraquat exposure.
He had used paraquat without protection for 3
weeks. After 2 weeks he had developed severe
dermatitis with superficial ulcers. A further week
of spraying resulted in breathlessness, high
fever, and liver damage (Bataller et al 2000).
A 65-year-old agricultural worker in Spain
suffered intense itching, redness of skin and
papules on face, neck, forearms and hands,
made worse by exposure to sun, and then
developed acute toxic hepatitis from which he
eventually recovered (Vilaplana et al 1993).
A 57-year-old Greek farmer developed
breathlessness, high fever and lung fibrosis
after dermal exposure to paraquat (Papiris et al
1995).
A 26-yr old Sri Lankan man suffered a burnt face
when he was accidentally hit in the face with
paraquat spray solution on opening the spray
tank (Whittle 2010).
Wesseling (undated) provides testimonies of 8
Costa Rican workers interviewed in 2002, all
suffering from dermal exposure to paraquat, 6
because of leaking backpack sprayers. They
ranged in age from 17 to 53. They suffered
burns to arms, back, buttocks, testicles, and
23