LookAtVietnam – Rural women are at high risk of pesticide poisoning and other health damage, a new survey shows.

A farmer in Vu Thu District in the northern province of Thai Binh sprays her rice with pesticide.

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.

Many women farmers in Bac Son suffer headaches, shortage of breath, exhaustion and vomiting or an allergy after using pesticides.

“Many kinds of pesticides can cause mental damage, malformed new-born infants, sterility and breast cancer among women,” says a department official.

But many women farmers lacked the knowledge necessary to protect themselves, despite the serious effects on reproductive health, the official says.

Bac Son resident Nguyen Thi Hoa says most farmers in her town wear protective clothing while spraying but never masks or gloves while mixing chemicals or cleaning tanks.

“It’s really inconvenient if we always have to wear gloves or masks,” she says.

The health of female farmers has been neglected as the number of women working in fields is rapidly increasing.

“The relevant authorities should focus on more programmes and training courses to educate farmers how to properly use pesticides and protect their health,” she says.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News