Health Effects of Greenhouses and Pesticide Application on Farmworkers

Greenhouses play a positive role in supplying more vegetables in winter and increasing farmers' income. But the special microenvironment of greenhouses, especially high temperature and high humidity, could make farmers suffering from higher pesticide exposure than those working in open-air and increase health risks to greenhouse farmworkers. The growing researches on greenhouse microenvironment in China mainly focus on improving agricultural production efficiency and economic benefits, but studies on the related health effects are limited. With rapid economic development in China, the occupational health security of greenhouse farmworkers draws more attention. This article summarized domestic and international studies on health effects of pesticide application in greenhouse, in terms of greenhouse microenvironment, pesticide exposure of greenhouse farmworkers, and its health effects, in order to provide recommendations for improving occupational safety and health of greenhouse farmworkers in China.