Agropesticide Contract Sprayers in Central Thailand: Health Risks and Awareness

Chemical agropesticide use in Thailand has been on an ever rising trend. As the process of agricultural intensification evolves, a large number of rice farmers in the irrigated area in Central Thailand no longer apply chemical agropesticides themselves but instead have been hiring others to do the task. This report describes the results of a study of the agropesticide contract sprayers. They were found to work both individually and in groups/teams, primarily on rice, but also on some other crops as well. Many had been contract sprayers much longer than five years which they themselves said should be the reasonable maximum. Virtually all had experienced acute pesticide poisoning to varying degrees, and a large majority had experienced one or more incident of being “knocked out by the drug.” Most contract sprayers recognized that pesticide injury was serious and tried to protect and take care of themselves as best they could. However, both safety measures and treatments taken were clearly inadequate, seemingly because of several interacting factors: inadequate knowledge and awareness, lack of bargaining power, difficult local conditions, use of highly hazardous pesticides, and inadequate medical monitoring and treatment capabilities. Remedial actions are suggested.