Farmers' behavior towards safe pesticide handling: An analysis with the theory of planned behavior Asghar Bagheri a, ⁎, Naier Emami a , Christos A. Damalas b, ⁎ a Department of Agricultural Management and Water Engineering, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, Iran b Department of Agricultural Development, Democritus University of Thrace, Orestiada, Greece HIGHLIGHTS • Farmers' behavior in safe pesticide use was assessed in Ardabil Province, Iran. • The construct attitudes towards safe pesticide use gained the highest score (2.91). • Attitudes positively impacted (P < .01) intention to handle pesticide waste safely. • Perceived behavioral control negatively impacted (P < .01) intention and behav- ior. • Attitudes and perceived behavioral con- trol must be targeted for increasing safety. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT abstract article info Article history: Received 3 July 2020 Received in revised form 10 August 2020 Accepted 13 August 2020 Available online 15 August 2020 Editor: Damia Barcelo Keywords: Attitudes Health Intention Safety Sprayers Waste Inappropriate handling of pesticides in agriculture poses a major risk to the environment and human health, but factors affecting farmers' behavior are diverse and often unclear. The present study examined farmers' behavior in safe pesticide use (disposal of spray solution leftovers, places for washing sprayers, disposal of rinsates, and use of personal protective equipment) in Ardabil Province, Iran by applying the well-known theory of planned be- havior, which states that attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control of individuals shape inten- tion and engagement in a specific behavior. Almost 30% of the farmers threw pesticide spray solution leftovers away, while the remaining farmers kept it for next spraying. Concerning place for washing sprayers, 55.3% of the farmers washed sprayers in their home yard, 21.0% washed them in the river or the canal flow, and 14.7% washed them in the water source of the farm. Just less than two-thirds (64.3%) of the farmers said that they leave the rinsates onto the farm, while almost one-third (34.0%) said that they pour the rinsates into the river or the canal flow. Most farmers used trousers and blouse and to a lesser extent mask, gloves, and hat when han- dling pesticides. Attitudes towards safe pesticide use showed the highest mean score (2.91), illustrating neutral to relatively negative attitudes of farmers towards safe pesticide use. Intention showed the lowest mean score (2.28), indicating poor motive to use pesticides safely. Attitudes showed positive impact, while perceived behav- ioral control showed negative impact on intention. Subjective norms had no significant impact on intention. These three constructs totally explained 78.1% of the variance in farmers' intention towards safe pesticide use. Improving attitudes and perceived behavioral control of farmers towards safe pesticide use through extension education should be targeted for improving farmers' intention and behavior towards safe pesticide handling. © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Science of the Total Environment 751 (2021) 141709 ⁎ Corresponding authors. E-mail addresses: a_bagheri@uma.ac.ir (A. Bagheri), cdamalas@agro.duth.gr (C.A. Damalas). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.141709 0048-9697/© 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Science of the Total Environment journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/scitotenv