1. Introduction

Investigations in rural areas of Viet Nam show that agricultural chemicals, many of them hazardous to humans, are improperly stored and improperly used. Indeed, they are often kept with the livestock or in villagers’ homes – sometimes even in kitchens. In some cases, women workers continue to spray agro-chemicals in the field even when they are pregnant or breast-feeding babies. Disposal of used agro-chemical containers, meanwhile, tends to be entirely careless.

For these reasons and others, accidents involving agro-chemical poisoning are increasingly common among the more than 80 per cent of the total population who live in rural areas.

Vietnamese women not only take part in agricultural production; they engage in housework, animal husbandry, and handicrafts – all of it in their home and around the commune. The amount of time they are exposed to agro-chemicals is therefore longer, in many cases, than it is among their male counterparts.

This project aims to enhance the awareness of farm workers concerning the use of agro-chemicals, thereby limiting deleterious affects on their health, especially among women workers. Measures include the following:

• informing workers about the danger of farm chemicals;
• instructing them in safe storage methods;
• instructing them in the use of appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE); and
• teaching them how to dispose of used chemical containers safely.

The project focused on Ngo Quyen commune, Tien Lu District, Hung Yen Province. The population of Ngo Quyen is 5,352. Working-age women number 1,070 and men number 903.

The project was implemented in collaboration with organizations such as the Women’s Association, the Association of Peasants, the Agricultural Encouragement Association, and the National Institute of Labour Protection (NILP).

The Association of Peasants and the Agricultural Encouragement Association helped to open new training courses in the rational use of agro-chemicals and the application of integrated preventive measures (IPM).

The Women’s Association mobilizes women farm workers to take part in training courses.

The NILP has educated workers regarding the risks of agro-chemicals, measures for storing these substances safely, the appropriate use of personal protective equipment (PPE) when in contact with them, and hygienic measures including safe disposal of used chemical containers.

After two years, direct interviews with 30 households in the commune showed that:

• Storage of agro-chemicals stored had improved markedly, with 10 per cent of households using safely locked storehouses, 3.3 per cent using storehouses without locks, and 26.7 per cent storing no chemicals. (New varieties of rice, as well as IPM and the proper use of appropriate chemicals, make chemicals less necessary).

Table 1. Storage of plant chemicals by 30 households

• Women no longer engaged in spraying chemicals in this commune. The men were now in charge of this work, and all involved in spraying used PPE such as gauze masks, gloves, and raincoats. They also bathed and changed their clothes after each spraying.
• Disposal of containers had improved as well, with 70 per cent of used agro-chemical bags collected, temporarily processed, and buried. The other 30 per cent were still left scattered in the field. The commune’s Women’s Association and Agricultural Encouragement Association have launched a campaign to collect, process, and bury these bags.
• Accidents involving chemical poisoning had been reduced to a minimum.

These results are encouraging. The project’s success may be attributed to the following factors:

• The project benefited from the participation of local social organizations, each of them with its own clearly defined responsibilities.
• The workers were now fully aware of the risks of contact with agro-chemicals, and the men of the community displayed a clear sense of responsibility for the health of the women and children in the commune.
• The majority of commune workers were primary or secondary school graduates. As such, they were better equipped than they would otherwise have been to appreciate the risks and to learn appropriate countermeasures.
• The mass media also contributed, helping commune workers to learn from the experiences of other communities dealing with storage and use of hazardous agro-chemicals. Media accounts of accidents involving chemicals played an especially educational role.
• The proposed countermeasures were simple and easily implemented.
• However, because Vietnamese farm workers remain poor, many households still cannot store their agro-chemicals in safe places (seven households were still storing them in their kitchens).

1. Studying and implementing collection procedures and treatment of pesticides contained in wastewater, N^o 12 (118). Hanoi, 1997.
2. Labour Protection Review T.8. Safe use of pesticides (Hanoi, 1998).
3. EPA USA. Proceedings of the international workshop on research into pesticide treatment/disposal/waste minimization (26-27 February 1991).
4. Encyclopaedia of occupational health and safety (ILO, 1999).

Updated by PAP/SUT/TRS. Approved by BKL. Last updated on 15 November 2000

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