Participatory research with populations exposed to pesticides in Mato Grosso: methodological aspects and political challenges

Abstract

The aim was to describe the methodological, operational, and political aspects of the project ‘Assessment
of occupational, environmental and food contamination by pesticides in the Juruena Basin, Mato Grosso (MT)’,
carried out between 2015 and 2019 in municipalities with high agricultural production geared towards agribusiness:
Campo Novo do Parecis, Sapezal, and Campos de Júlio. Based on critical epidemiology, popular and developmental
surveillance, the participatory research involved the population through links with town halls, unions public schools,
and rural and urban workers. Environmental (water, air, sediment), food (vegetables, commodities, and animals),
and human (blood and urine) samples were collected, and a population survey was carried out on self-reported
health conditions, environmental, food, and occupational exposure of workers and residents. The data revealed a
1 Universidade Federal de
Mato Grosso (UFMT) –
Cuiabá (MT), Brasil.
maelison@gmail.com
2 Fundação Oswaldo Cruz
(Fiocruz), Escola Nacional
de Saúde Pública Sergio
Arouca (Ensp) – Rio de
Janeiro (RJ), Brasil. process of imposing contamination throughout the territory of the Juruena River basin, in the environment, in food, and in acute and chronic illnesses supposedly related to environmental and occupational exposure to pesticides.