Most of us spend nearly one-third of our days at our workplaces, and experience different safety and health issues according to the type of job we do and the work environment we work within. Although the International Labour Organization (ILO) Constitution states that workers should be protected from sickness and injury arising from their employment, the reality is very different. Around two million people die annually from work-related accidents and diseases, and there are nearly 160 million people suffering from work-related diseases. In response, the ILO has adopted a global strategy to improve Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) during the past decade, setting tens of OSH standards, instruments, and codes of practices.
Personal Protective Equipment
PPE are the most basic line of defense against hazardous conditions in agricultural production. However, it should never be considered an adequate substitute for other control measures. Popular PPE includes helmets for workers exposed to the risk of head injury, face shields, eye protectors, and respirators used to protect against flying particles, fumes, dust, and chemical hazards. They also include gloves to protect hands, safety footwear with slip-resistance properties, knee protectors when tasks involve kneeling. Hearing protection devices such as muffs or earplugs are designed to attenuate noise and allow safety signals to be heard. Last but not least, adequate washing and hygiene facilities should be available at the worksites.
Farmers should be fully informed of the significance of using PPE, and given adequate training on how to use and maintain them. Each set of equipment should be personal to one wearer, unless properly cleaned and sanitized after each use. Generally, equipment should be handled according to the nature of hazard and the instructions given by the manufacturer.
Exposure to Dusts and Particulate Matter
Agriculture involves the generation of a variety of dusts and other particulate matter that are potentially hazardous to the health of farmers.
Some dusts are generated during the production processes of various grains, legumes, and other field crops; this involves preparing seeds for planting, harvesting, primary processing, bagging, and transporting crops to markets. Such dusts may include components such as straw, bagasse, husks of grain, fungal and bacterial residues, pesticide residues, and particles of silica.
Other forms of dusts are related to animal production, and may include particles of straw and grain, animal wastes, bacteria, toxins, fungi, animal hair, feathers and pollen. Exposure can cause various lung diseases, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, Organic Dust Toxic Syndrome, and extrinsic allergic alveolitis also known as Farmer’s Lung.
Total elimination of exposure to such harmful dusts is practically impossible, particularly in outdoor environments; hence, the use of PPE is particularly vital in this concern. Farm owners should employ bio-filtration and ventilation technologies in closed facilities to minimize the hazards. Construction of animal confinement houses should ensure adequate space per animal and reasonable ceiling heights to minimize the concentration of dusts. Last but not least, regular adequate cleaning of the workplace equipment aimed at reducing exposures should be performed.
Handling Animals
Animal and bird production operations involve different hazards, including exposures to animal wastes, with risks of exposures to ammonia, methane, bacteria, and zoonoses—any disease or infection that is naturally transmissible from vertebrate animals to humans.
Ammonia is emitted in high levels from livestock and poultry wastes; exposure to it during indoor operations results in watering of the eyes and breathing irritation. Methane is produced in manure systems and it can result in death from asphyxiation. Bacterial infection, on the other hand, may happen due to secondary contamination of groundwater with E. coli and other coliforms. It can result in severe gastrointestinal diseases, such as diarrhea and severe kidney infection and other problems.
As for zoonotic diseases, workers can develop symptoms of them after handling an infected animal or animal by-products. Humans are the ultimate hosts to zoonoses, such as anthrax, which causes skin lesions; brucellosis, which causes fevers; psittacosis, which causes pneumonia; and avian influenza.
To control animal-related hazards, some protective measures should be taken. Animal confinement facilities should be adequately ventilated to protect the workers from high levels of unsafe gases. Similarly, farmers should not step into them without the use of appropriate PPE, including gloves, masks, eye protectors, as well as appropriate gowns, aprons, and boots.
Farm owners should consider regular vaccination of animals and workers to reduce the risk of zoonoses. Specialized trainings should be held for workers who perform procedures involving the skin of an animal being broken and in contact with animal’s body fluids. These trainings are meant to keep them safe from infections.
It is also important to maintain sustainable safe water supplies in the farm, safe practices of waste disposal, regular cleaning and disinfection of contaminated sites, and prompt treatment or proper disposal of infected animals.
Chemical Hazards
Agrochemicals are widely used in agriculture worldwide, posing serious health risks to farmers and the general public. Although most fertilizers are non-toxic, some are hazardous; for example, the gaseous forms of anhydrous ammonia can cause skin irritation and potentially serious respiratory effects.
Other sources of chemical hazards are exhaust gases from fuel-powered equipment and toxic gases formed during crop storage. Pesticides and similar products such as fungicides, herbicides, insecticides, and rodenticides are the most commonly used agrochemicals, and are of greatest concern in regard to health and safety in agriculture.
Hazardous chemicals find their way into the human body through what is known as routes of exposure. The main route of exposure is absorption through the skin, which can occur during spraying the chemical. Intensity of skin exposure depends on the frequency of activity, the concentration of the chemical, or the pesticide active ingredient, and whether application and protective equipment are used correctly. Women and children—who are heavily employed in agriculture in the developing world—are particularly vulnerable to absorption through the skin.
Another major route of exposure is inhalation, where gases and vapors are absorbed in the respiratory tract. Inhalation is common when working with volatile compounds or in enclosed spaces such as greenhouses.
Exposure to some agrochemicals such as Organophosphorus and carbamate insecticides can result in local or systemic acute health effects, causing symptoms of poisoning to occur within very short periods. The symptoms can range from headaches, excess salivation, and nausea, to respiratory distress and death.
Other agrochemicals can cause chronic health effects; lung cancers and leukemia have been associated with occupational exposures to pesticides. However, chemicals with clear evidence of carcinogenicity are banned and no longer registered in most countries. Other chronic diseases include neurotoxicity, liver and thyroid diseases, and allergic dermatitis.
To protect farmers from such chemical hazards, governments must abide by and enforce international standards and legislations concerning the use of hazardous chemicals in agriculture. By doing this, most other risks can be avoided through following Safe Work Procedures (SWPs), and consulting the pesticides labels and other health and safety materials. These materials provide critical information and advice on the safe handling of the chemicals, proper mixing, loading, and application procedures. They also carry information on potential health effects and mitigation measures.
Other administrative issues can further control chemical hazards. Examples include reducing the period of exposure of workers, regular cleaning of contaminated equipment, immediate clean-up of any accidental spills or leaks, applying safe storage and disposal practices, and using appropriate PPE.
Use of Machinery
Among the most commonly used agricultural machinery are tractors. Hazards associated with tractors are instability resulting in rollovers, crushing injuries from unintended rolling, slips and falls when climbing on or off tractors, as well as organic injuries caused by noise and vibration.
To minimize these hazards, owners and operators of tractors must follow SWPs; they must be physically fit to drive and control the tractor. They should be familiar with the operating instructions and aware of the associated risks and the means to prevent them.
The tractors should be equipped with ladders or steps and handrails to enable operators to mount and dismount them safely; furthermore, operators must always fasten the seat belt and abide by the “one seat–one rider” rule.
Last but not least, there must be a strict maintenance system to the machine itself. The owner has to ensure that the brakes, lights, and other safety devices are regularly maintained and kept in safe working condition to minimize potential risks.
There are several other hazards and risks that threaten workers in agriculture such as thermal exposure, noise, vibration, potential fires, and more. Most of the required measures may read luxuries and unrealistic to you, especially in developing countries such as Egypt where most agricultural activities go unsystematically. However, all these hazards must be seriously addressed to protect around billion workers worldwide. Otherwise, more than one-third of the world’s labor force involved in agriculture, as well as the world’s food supply, will remain in danger.
References
Draft code of practice on safety and health in agriculture. (2010). Geneva: ILO.
http://www.who.int
http://www.ilo.org
This article was first published in print in SCIplanet, Autumn 2015.
Cover image: Image by freepik