Safety and health in the use of agrochemicals

86 Pages·2005·2.81 MB·English

Safety and health in the
use of agrochemicals:
A guide
An ILO contribution to the International Programme
on Chemical Safety (a collaborative programme of the
United Nations Environment Programme, the
International Labour Organisation, and the World
Health Organization)
International Labour Office Geneva
The International Programme for the Improvement of Working
Conditions and Environment (PIACT) was launched by the
International Labour Organisation in 1976 at the request of the
International Labour Conference and after extensive consultations with
member States.
PIACT is designed to promote or support action by member States to set
and attain definite objectives aiming at “making work more human”.
The Programme is thus concerned with improving the quality of
working life in all its aspects for example, the prevention of
occupational accidents and diseases, a wider application of the
principles of ergonomics, the arrangement of working time, the
improvement of the content and organisation of work and of conditions
of work in general, a greater concern for the human element in the
transfer of technology. To achieve these aims, PIACT makes use of and
co-ordinates the traditional means of ILO action, including:
– the preparation and revision of international labour standards;
– operational activities, including the dispatch of multidisciplinary
teams to assist member States on request;
– tripartite meetings between representatives of governments,
employers and workers, including industrial committees to study the
problems facing major industries, regional meetings and meetings of
experts;
– action-oriented studies and research; and
– clearing-house activities, especially through the International
Occupational Safety and Health Information Centre (CIS) and the
Clearing-house for the Dissemination of Information on Conditions
of Work.
This publication is the outcome of a PIACT project.
Safety and health
in the use of agrochemicals

A guide

Safety and health
in the use of
agrochemicals

A guide

An ILO contribution to the
International Programme on Chemical Safety
(a collaborative programme of the United Nations Environment Programme,
the International Labour Organisation and the World Health Organization)

International Labour Office Geneva
Copyright © International Labour Organisation 1991
First published 1991

Publications of the International Labour Office enjoy copyright
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(Rights and Permissions). International Labour Office, CH-1211
Geneva 22. Switzerland. The International Labour Office welcomes
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ILO

Safety and health in the use of agrochemicals: A guide
Geneva, International Labour Office, 1991

/Guide/, /Occupational safety/, /Occupational health/, /Chemicals/, /Agricultural worker/s
13 04.2
ISBN 92-2-107281-9

ILO Cataloguing in Publication Data

The designations employed in ILO publications, which are in
conformity with United Nations practice, and the presentation of
material therein do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever
on the part of the International Labour Office concerning the
delimitation of its frontiers.
The responsibility for opinions expressed in signed articles, studies
and other contributions rests solely with their authors, and publication
does not constitute an endorsement by the International Labour Office
of the opinions expressed in them
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does not imply their endorsement by the International Labour Office,
and any failure to mention a particular firm, commercial product or
process is not a sign of disapproval
The ILO will not be responsible for the use that might be made of
the advice given in this manual.

ILO publications can be obtained through major booksellers or ILO
local offices in many countries, or direct from ILO Publications,
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Printed in Switzerland ROT
Preface

In 1990, with a view to reducing the incidence of agencies that contribute to safe working conditions in
chemically induced illnesses and injuries at work, the agriculture such as the World Health Organization
International Labour Conference adopted the Safety in (WHO), the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the
the Use of Chemicals at Work Convention (No. 170), United Nations (FAO) and the United Nations
and Recommendation (No. 177). As one of its actions to Environment Programme (UNEP).
promote the implementation of ILO standards on safety
in the use of chemicals – including agrochemicals – at The ILO appreciates the technical assistance given by
national level, the International Labour Office is Mr. John Summerscales, Deputy Chief Agricultural
preparing a training manual on the safe use of chemicals Inspector of the Health and Safety Executive, United
at the workplace. It has also embarked upon the task of Kingdom, in the preparation of the guide. Thanks are also
providing basic guidelines on safety and health in the due to Noha Karanuh, who drew the illustrations.
use of agrochemicals – in the recognition that
agrochemicals will continue to be used in large
quantities world-wide in the years to come and that an
estimated 2 million people annually are poisoned by
pesticides, of whom some 40,000 die. This book is the
outcome of that project.

During the past two and a half decades, the ILO has
undertaken a series of actions at international level to
improve the safety and health of many millions of
workers engaged in agriculture; in 1965 it published a
code of practice on Safety and health in agricultural
work,1 followed by a Guide to safety in agriculture in
1969. While the code provided a set of rules for the
guidance of those with responsibilities for safety and
health in agriculture, the guide gave further details on
prevention but dealt only in summary fashion with
matters of health and hygiene. Safe use of pesticides,
published in 1977, laid down general principles and
safety requirements for various application techniques as
well as medical measures of prevention. The subject of
safe transport of pesticides was also treated adequately
in this publication. A Guide to health and hygiene it
agricultural work, published in 1979, was intended to
protect agricultural workers from accidents and diseases
at work. It dealt extensively with the physiology and
toxicology of pesticides and with medical surveillance.

It is hoped that the information in the present guide
will be of value to those directly engaged in the handling
and use of agrochemicals. Emphasis has been laid
extensively on safe handling and use, and on practical
measures to be taken to avoid undue consequences. The
guide is intended for use as a training aid in ILO
technical co-operation projects to encourage action at
national level. Training activities within technical co-
operation programmes are carried out through existing
national infrastructures – government authorities,
employers and workers and their organisations – to
ensure tripartite involvement in promoting safety and
health in agriculture. Thus the guide will be
complementary to the activities of other international

1 Out of print, but may be consulted in libraries.
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Scope

There is a wealth of literature about agrochemicals and each chapter and of several sections of Chapter 2. It is
the information base is spreading as a result of their hoped that trainers will find these useful, particularly in
wide use. This pertains to agricultural economics; the group training exercises. Individual users will find them
technology of manufacture; standards on transport, equally valuable for self-evaluation.
distribution, sale and application; and a variety of other
aspects including harmful effects on workers who use
agrochemicals, as well as their impact on the general
environment. Despite this, both confirmed and
unconfirmed reports have revealed that many workers,
particularly in developing countries, continue to be
poisoned or killed mainly on account of unsafe practices
in the use of agrochemicals. In spite of the existing
information, including that dealing with safety and
health aspects, the evidence points to the difficulty of
providing safe working conditions for persons handling
agrochemicals. Safety and health concerns deserve
closer attention because agricultural production is
increasing in most parts of the world. Food supplies will
have to be more than doubled in the next 30 years to
meet even the minimum requirements of the world
population. The use of agrochemicals will also
necessarily increase.

One main obstacle in achieving safe working
conditions is the wide geographical distribution of
agricultural workers, who are often self-employed.
Simple “ready-to-use” information on safety in the use
of agrochemicals must in some way reach the target
group. Realistically, one cannot expect many farmers to
have the potential or the motivation for
self-education in safety and health. Hence the present
guide is primarily aimed at community leaders such as
agricultural extension workers, farm managers who play
an active role in supervising agricultural workers,
schoolteachers, primary health-care workers, retail
salespeople, and workers' education leaders at
community centres. It is also hoped that employers' and
workers' organisations in the organised plantation sector
will find the guide a useful training aid.

Because of the target group, detailed accounts of
human physiology and toxicology, and treatment of
poisoning, have been purposely omitted from the text.
Practical guidance on safety precautions to be observed
in the use of agrochemicals has been given in simple and
understandable language.1 The reader will see that such
guidance is repeated in various sections of the chapters.
This is intentional. The reason is that these sections have
been structured in a manner to enable trainers to treat
individual units separately in their training activities.
Discussions and activities are suggested at the end of

1 A glossary of the technical terms used in this book is
given in Annex A.

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