Rural women are at high risk of pesticide poisoning and other health damage, a new survey shows.
The Research Centre for Gender, Family and Environment in Development, CGFED, estimates from the results of the survey that as many as 20 million people, mostly women aged between 30-39, are regularly exposed to pesticides.
Its survey of more than 100 households in Bac Son, Pho Yen Commune in northern Thai Nguyen Province, where mostly tea is grown, revealed that women are exposed to an average of more than 400 pesticide canisters each year.
CGFED managing director Pham Kim Ngoc says the town's women now work the crops because their men are away working in cities.
They mix these chemical pesticides, spray it on the crops and clean the canisters after harvest.
About 90 per cent of them do so while up to three months pregnant.
Ha Noi University of Social Sciences and Humanities representative Hoang Ba Thinh says women are directly exposed to the chemicals for 2-3 hours daily, triple that of a man.
"Each household sprays the chemical at different times of the year, so rural women face a high risk of poisoning during the entire 12 months," he says.
Chemical poisoning
The Health Ministry's Environment and Preventive Medicine Department statistics show that almost 70 per cent of those exposed to pesticides display symptoms typical of chemical poisoning.
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Women Farmers Face High Pesticide Risks
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Vietnam News, May 26, 2009
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