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. 2015 May;25(1):102-20.
doi: 10.1177/1048291115569028. Epub 2015 Mar 16.

Occupational health and safety for agricultural workers in Thailand: gaps and recommendations, with a focus on pesticide use

Orawan Kaewboonchoo  1 , Pornpimol Kongtip  2 , Susan Woskie  3
Affiliations

Occupational health and safety for agricultural workers in Thailand: gaps and recommendations, with a focus on pesticide use

Orawan Kaewboonchoo et al. New Solut. 2015 May.

Abstract

Over 16.7 million workers in Thailand (42 percent of the working population) are engaged in agriculture, disproportionately from the lower socioeconomic strata of Thai society. Most agricultural workers (over 93 percent) work in the informal sector without the protections of regulations or enforcement of labor or health and safety laws or enrollment in a social security system. Although Thailand's use of herbicides, fungicides, and insecticides is growing, there is little regulation of the sale, use, or application of these potentially toxic chemicals. This paper summarizes the research to date on occupational health and safety for Thai agricultural workers, identifies gaps in pesticide regulations and the current systems for occupational health and safety and social support for Thai agricultural workers, and makes recommendations for future policy and research initiatives to fill the identified gaps.

Keywords: Thailand; agricultural health and safety; informal work; occupational health; pesticides.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Pesticide imports into Thailand. Source: Ministry of Agricultural and Cooperatives Office of Agricultural Economics.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Backpack pesticide sprayer in Thailand.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Rice field sprayers in Thailand.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Boat pesticide sprayer (liquid insecticide sits in bottom of open boat).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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References

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