title: Occupational health and safety for agricultural workers in Thailand: gaps and recommendations, with a focus on pesticide use.
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.
authors: Department of Occupational Safety and Health, Faculty of Public Health, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand orawan.kae@mahidol.ac.th.
authors: Orawan
authors: O
authors: Kaewboonchoo
authors: Department of Occupational Safety and Health, Faculty of Public Health, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand.
authors: Pornpimol
authors: P
authors: Kongtip
authors: Department of Work Environment, College of Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts Lowell, Lowell, MA, USA.
authors: Susan
authors: S
authors: Woskie
mesh_terms: D000062:Accidents, Occupational / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000382:Agricultural Workers' Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D000067565:Farmers; D006801:Humans; D007318:Inservice Training / Q000458:organization & administration; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000517:prevention & control*; D016272:Occupational Health; D060051:Occupational Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D010573:Pesticide Residues; D010575:Pesticides / Q000009:adverse effects*; D011481:Protective Clothing; D011632:Public Assistance / Q000458:organization & administration; D012449:Safety; D012944:Social Support; D013222:State Medicine / Q000458:organization & administration; D013785:Thailand
chemical_list: D010573:Pesticide Residues; D010575:Pesticides
keywords: Thailand; agricultural health and safety; informal work; occupational health; pesticides