Health Risk Assessment of Para-rubber Farmers in Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand

Abstract

This research aimed to study the factors affecting the health of the para-rubber farmers. It was conducted by interviewing 257 samples from nine districts in Ubon Ratchathani. The results indicated that there were four factors affecting the farmers’ health when the farmers’ health was considered at the highest risk. In the biology factor, the highest risk was in the stage of trapping with 92.95% of the risk from mosquitoes. In the
ergonomics factor, the highest risk was in the stage of trapping with 85.52% of the risk from using wrists to work repeatedly and 78.76% of the risk from working with inappropriate actions during producing the rubber sheets. In the physical factor, the highest risk was in the stage of growing the rubber trees with 85.20% of the risk from the solar heat and 59.80% of the risk from putting the rubber sheets in the machines. In the chemical factor, the highest risk was 72.20% of the risk from using herbicide and 68.25% of the risk from the formic acids/milk latex. According to the four factors, the biological risk was caused from mosquitoes with 5.6 times of the risk. The ergonomics risk happening in the stage of trapping milk latex, considering from fve working stages: growing the rubber trees, putting herbicide for the rubber trees, applying fertilizer for the rubber trees, trapping milk latex, squeezing rubber sheets, and producing rubber sheets, was resulted from using hands and wrists working repeatedly with 9.6 times of the risk. The ergonomics risk was also occurred from the stage of producing the rubber sheets from bending down and looking up with 2.5 times of the risk. The physical risk was happened from squeezing the rubber sheets with 2.8 times of the risk. Finally, the chemical risk was caused from using herbicide with 2.5 times of the risk. The four factors affected the para-rubber farmers’  health, caused accidents and sickness, and could possible develop diseases from working.