Pesticides as an Occupational Hazard

‘‘ Harvest Time in Korea (Background Photo). Here, on a field at the Central Forest Experimental Station in Suwon, workers gather sweet potatoes during harvest time, 1954’ [No exact date] - UN7659447, UN Photo

This project explores how the health risks of synthetic pesticide use were understood and addressed for farmers, peasants, and rural labourers in the decades after the Second World War.

Brochure issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, London and the Department of Agriculture for Scotland, early 1950s [non-dated] - ILO Historical Archives, Geneva - © ILO / Margaux Guigal

It looks at how UN experts responded to concerns about the short-term and long-term consequences of reported exposure of farmers, farm labourers, harvesters and sprayers handling the chemicals.

Science History Institute. FlyDed Sprayer. Photograph, 2018. Science History Institute. Philadelphia. https://digital.sciencehistory.org/works/bv73c133v.

The project examines how scientific knowledge about pesticide-related illnesses was produced, used, or dismissed in international settings, and it identifies concerns about specific chemical substances and their impact on rural populations.

Last but not least, the project seeks to uncover the voices and lived experiences of the affected workers and their families during this period.