If someone is seriously ill or injured and their life is at risk, call 112 or 999. The ambulance service needs the phone number you are calling from, the address or location, and what has happened. The Eircode is very helpful if you know it. Listen carefully to the call taker and tell them if the patient's condition changes. Do not delay the call to search for documents or work out an exact amount: give what you know and say what you do not.
Who to call after pesticide contact
For accidental poisoning, call the Poisons Information Line: 01 809 2166, open 8am to 10pm, 7 days a week. A specialist in poisons information answers and tells you whether medical attention is needed. Outside those hours, contact your GP or hospital; in an emergency call 999 or 112.
Have the full product name ready, and a photograph of the container if you can take one safely. Tell the clinician whether the contact involved concentrate, a diluted mixture or equipment residue, how it reached the body, when it happened, what symptoms appeared and what you have already done. If you do not know the amount, say so; the size of the container is not a measure of how much reached the person.
If the field is remote, describe the entrance, the access track and any locked gate, and ask someone to meet the ambulance and guide the crew. An Eircode may not point to the exact working position on a large holding, so call back if your location changes. Keep these numbers where another worker can find them if you are not available.
Keep these numbers to hand: 112 and 999 (112 also works in all EU countries and from any phone, free of charge), your home's Eircode, your GP's number, your local GP out-of-hours service and your nearest hospital emergency department.
Can I ask the poisons centre by email?
No. The National Poisons Information Centre does not monitor emails continuously and cannot give medical advice by email. Its contact form is for administrative queries only; for urgent poisons information the public line is 01 809 2166, 8am to 10pm every day. A message to a farm adviser, a merchant or an online form is not the same as getting medical advice.
First aid after a pesticide splash, swallowing or inhalation
- Swallowed: do not make the person vomit and never give salt water. Call the Poisons Centre for immediate advice.
- In the eyes: wash the eyes out immediately and keep washing with water for at least 15 minutes. Put nothing on the eye other than water.
- On the skin: immediate washing is essential. Remove contaminated clothing and wash the skin thoroughly with running tap water for at least 15 minutes, with the water draining away from the patient. Put nothing on the skin other than water. Avoid being contaminated yourself while giving first aid.
- Inhaled: do not enter a contaminated area without proper protective equipment. Remove the person to fresh air as soon as possible, make sure the airway is clear and call for medical assistance. Start artificial respiration if the patient is not breathing.
If the person needs to go to hospital, bring the container that the poison was in.
How pesticides can reach the body during farm work
| Route | Description |
|---|---|
| Skin or eye contact | Absorption: some chemicals can damage the skin or cause eye irritation on contact, or pass through the skin or mucous membranes into the body. |
| Inhalation | Breathing in air contaminated with the chemical. |
| Ingestion | Accidentally swallowing the chemical, for example eating with contaminated hands. |
| Injection | Injecting the chemical into the bloodstream. |
When you report an incident, say which route applied and during which task: mixing, spraying, cleaning or repairs. Include work by mechanics or helpers who touched contaminated equipment. The type of harm depends on the hazardous chemical agent. The PPE and risk-assessment guide covers the controls for these routes.
Is glyphosate safe for humans?
Glyphosate is the active ingredient in weed killers such as RoundUp. Spraying can put it on unprotected skin and eyes, and you may breathe it in while spraying; very small amounts can come from food.
- A large amount swallowed can cause nausea and vomiting. Left on the skin or eyes it can be very irritating.
- It has been associated with respiratory effects, such as nose irritation or asthma, in people using glyphosate products; workers who use large amounts for long periods may be more likely to develop them.
- Animal studies found developmental effects, such as lower body weight and problems with bone and organ growth, when pregnant animals were given very large amounts.
- The US EPA classifies glyphosate as “not likely” to be carcinogenic to humans; IARC classifies it as “probably” carcinogenic (see the next section).
Glyphosate-based products contain the active substance and co-formulants, and may contain other chemicals that improve how the products work. So “Roundup” or “glyphosate” alone is incomplete information for a medical enquiry: give the clinician the full name of the product you used and write down every product in the tank mix. Do not read a statement about one ingredient as an all-clear after a splash or inhalation; describe what happened and ask for advice about that event. The label and SDS guide helps match the pack with its documents.
Cancer and pesticides: what the glyphosate assessments say
In March 2015 IARC classified glyphosate as “probably carcinogenic to humans” (Group 2A), based on “limited” evidence of cancer in humans and “sufficient” evidence of cancer in experimental animals. The classification is a hazard classification: it indicates the strength of evidence that glyphosate can cause cancer.
Keep your spray records in one place. Free to start.
The EU’s chemicals agency reached a different conclusion. ECHA’s Risk Assessment Committee discussed the Ramazzini Institute’s newer study at its meeting on 8 September 2026 and maintained that the substance does not warrant a classification for carcinogenicity.
ECHA assessed the hazardous properties of glyphosate, not the likelihood of exposure. Exposure is considered in the risk assessment led by EFSA. On 13 March 2026 EFSA published the minutes of its meeting with ECHA and the Ramazzini Institute on the Global Glyphosate Study.
If you are concerned, bring an exposure history to your GP: the products you used, the years and tasks, repeated contact, the protection you wore and any known incidents. Ask which follow-up is appropriate for you.
Which pesticides have been linked to Parkinson’s disease?
Pesticide exposure has consistently been associated with the onset of Parkinson’s disease.
- A 17-year NIEHS-funded study found that some pesticides, including paraquat, maneb, ziram, benomyl and the organophosphates diazinon and chlorpyrifos, contribute to Parkinson’s onset and progression.
- People who used rotenone or paraquat occupationally developed Parkinson’s disease 2.5 times more often than nonusers.
- People exposed to pesticides in the home or garden may also face a greater chance of developing it.
- Some people are more vulnerable to the harmful effects of pesticides because of their age or genetic makeup.
Check which pesticide and which workers a study looked at: a finding about rotenone or paraquat does not mean glyphosate was the chemical studied, and a population association does not show what caused one person’s illness. If you are worried about past work, discuss your actual exposure history with your GP instead of picking a diagnosis from a search result. List the products, years of use, spills and routine applications separately, mark what you are unsure of, and let the clinician decide what assessment is needed.
DDT exposure and old organochlorine insecticides
DDT and chlordane belong to the organochlorine insecticides, and most of this group has been removed from the market because of its health effects, its environmental effects and its persistence in the environment. A container of such an old product found in a shed is not normal waste: see the disposal guide before moving it, and tell your GP about any contact with it when you list your exposure history.
Can a blood or urine test prove pesticide harm?
There are tests that measure glyphosate in blood and urine, but they are not part of a standard health test in a doctor’s office. They may only show a very recent exposure and give no information about total lifetime exposure. They cannot predict whether you will have health problems from exposure to glyphosate. A result therefore answers a narrower question than “has spraying harmed my health?” Before paying for a test, ask a clinician what question it would answer and how the result would change your care. Give the clinician the dates, the suspected chemical and the time since contact; do not try to turn litres applied to a field into a dose absorbed by a person.
How to reduce contact when using weed killer
Precautions for glyphosate products:
- Wash your hands before eating and after using weed killer.
- Do not eat, drink or smoke while applying weed killer.
Before the next job, check where clean hands, drinks, phones and food meet the work area, and arrange clean water and a place to keep food and phones away from the chemicals. Follow the controls in your risk assessment too; the PPE guide helps choose them. Keep operator exposure and food-residue questions separate so each reaches the right specialist; the MRL guide covers food residues.
Who else is exposed besides the person spraying?
When you assess exposure to a hazardous chemical, ask how it is used and how often, how the user is exposed, how much is used, how long each user is exposed, who uses it, whether vulnerable groups are exposed, whether it is mixed with other chemicals, and whether non-users can be exposed, such as people working nearby, visitors, and cleaning or maintenance staff.
In practice, ask who measured concentrate, held a hose, cleared a blockage, removed clothing, cleaned fittings or moved equipment, and include anyone who dealt with residues after the operator left. For a repair, tell the mechanic which parts held pesticide and which cleaning steps were done; “only used on grassland” is not enough. If you are not sure what residue is on a machine, say so before the work starts.
Prepare for a talk with your GP or occupational health
List the periods and tasks: mixing, tractor or knapsack spraying, glasshouse work, cleaning and repairs. Note approximate product names and bring any labels or safety data sheets you have. Give frequency and duration separately: “three seasons” does not say how many days you handled the product, and “all day” does not say whether you touched concentrate or worked in an enclosed cab. Mention unusual events, failed controls and any medical advice you already had. Ask what follow-up is appropriate and what extra information would help. A product-use record helps with dates and names but does not replace an examination or prove the cause of an illness.
Dangers of pesticides to humans: where to read the risk
The risk of pesticides to human health depends on the product, the dose and how the body is exposed. The dangers of Roundup herbicide, as with other glyphosate products, start with skin and eye irritation and, after swallowing a large amount, nausea and vomiting. For work with any pesticide, the exposure routes and the steps to reduce contact above apply. For the product in your hands, read the hazard statements on its label and safety data sheet and follow the label guide.
Next step
Connect the exact formulation and exposure routes to the PPE risk assessment; see the label and SDS guide and the active-substance assessment guide.