Workers’ health as a human right in the face of the use of pesticides in productive processes
1
Coordenação Geral de Saúde do Trabalhador,, Brasília, Brazil
2
Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Popul. Med. 2026;8(Supplement Supplement 1):A1296
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
The use of pesticides is a serious public health problem, primarily affecting workers who, in their daily labor activities, are directly exposed to multiple toxic substances. This known and accepted exposure challenges several legal and policy instruments, including the National Policy on Workers’ Health. The list of work-related diseases published by the Ministry of Health through Ordinance GM/MS No. 1,999 of 2023, includes at least 34 conditions directly related to “pesticides in work activities,” among them various types of cancer. Nevertheless, these substances continue to be widely used, including in public health actions, while intended to protect the population from certain pathogens, result in increased intoxication and cause other harms, sometimes more severe.
METHODS:
Documentary analysis based on official publications in the field of workers’ health, as the National Policy on Workers’ Health; the Surveillance Guide for Populations Exposed to Pesticides; and the background documents of the 5th National Conference on Workers’ Health, combined with content analysis of reports from the media, organizations and social movements.
RESULTS:
The health sector has issued regulatory and guidance documents questioning the use of pesticides in productive processes and public health actions. Researchers from different fields have also examined the human, environmental, and economic costs of pesticide use. The 5th National Conference on Workers’ Health, held in 2025 under the theme “Workers’ Health as a Human Right,” addressed public policy, the precarization of labor relations, and workers’ participation, and advanced several proposals critically examining the use of pesticides.
CONCLUSIONS:
Framing workers' health as a human right implies control over potentially harmful productive processes. In this sense, the pesticide production chain, in its entirety, constitutes not only a serious public health problem but also a violation of workers’ human rights, as it prevents the guarantee of a healthy working environment
The use of pesticides is a serious public health problem, primarily affecting workers who, in their daily labor activities, are directly exposed to multiple toxic substances. This known and accepted exposure challenges several legal and policy instruments, including the National Policy on Workers’ Health. The list of work-related diseases published by the Ministry of Health through Ordinance GM/MS No. 1,999 of 2023, includes at least 34 conditions directly related to “pesticides in work activities,” among them various types of cancer. Nevertheless, these substances continue to be widely used, including in public health actions, while intended to protect the population from certain pathogens, result in increased intoxication and cause other harms, sometimes more severe.
METHODS:
Documentary analysis based on official publications in the field of workers’ health, as the National Policy on Workers’ Health; the Surveillance Guide for Populations Exposed to Pesticides; and the background documents of the 5th National Conference on Workers’ Health, combined with content analysis of reports from the media, organizations and social movements.
RESULTS:
The health sector has issued regulatory and guidance documents questioning the use of pesticides in productive processes and public health actions. Researchers from different fields have also examined the human, environmental, and economic costs of pesticide use. The 5th National Conference on Workers’ Health, held in 2025 under the theme “Workers’ Health as a Human Right,” addressed public policy, the precarization of labor relations, and workers’ participation, and advanced several proposals critically examining the use of pesticides.
CONCLUSIONS:
Framing workers' health as a human right implies control over potentially harmful productive processes. In this sense, the pesticide production chain, in its entirety, constitutes not only a serious public health problem but also a violation of workers’ human rights, as it prevents the guarantee of a healthy working environment
| eISSN: | 2654-1459 |
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