“Tatami mat” made of rush is one of the most important farm products in Japan. The process, consisted of planting (4 week in November-December), cultivating (January-June), harvesting (3-4 week in June-July) and weaving (8-10 months in August-April), . is domestic labor and carried at all seasons. From the health point of view rush labor has brought about several problems, referred to hard physical work, heat stress and dust inhalation etc.
To determine the work load on the rush farmers, case studies on work and environmental conditions of the process were conducted, and the mesures of the health control for the farmers were scrutinized. In the present report, seasonal variation in the framework of daily life was analyzed. In harvesting process, the average time spent a day for gaining income (farm work) was estimated to be 806±43min. for males (N=9), 776±56min. for females (N=8), being longer than other process such as planting, 742±75min. for males (N=3), 661±20min. for females (N=3) and weaving, 589±68min. for males (N=3), 673±91min. for females (N=3). The working time for weaving was seemed to have a tendency of being longer for females than males. The average time for houshold duties was estimated to be 108-139min. longer for females at all seasons.
On the contrary, the average time for physical reproduction and sleeping hours was 74-6 min. It was longer for males than females. The time spent for social, and cultural activities was equal in both sexes, males and females.

Rush labor contains different types of physical works, and each work load, when classified in accordance with Christensen's criteria, was mainly classified as being moderately heavy or heavy in the planting process, and being moderately he. avy or very heavy in the harvesting process and light in the weaving process.
The average value of relative metabolic rate for working time was estimated to be 3.0±0.2 (4.74 kcal/65kg/min) for males, 2.9±0.1 (3.63 kcal/55kg/min) for females at planting. And 3.6±0.2 (5.43 kcal/65kg/min) for males, 3.8±0.1 (4.43kcal/55kg/min) for females at harvesting, 1.6±0.4 (3.12 kcal/65 kg/min) for males, 1.2±0.1 (2.11kcal/55 kg/min) for females at weaving.
The average value of energy expenditure a day was calculated to be 3619±313 kcal for males and 3023±277 kcal for females at planting, 4346±228 kcal (115% of caloric intake) for males, 3803±235 kcal (158%) for females at hervesting, 2560±221 kcal for males, 2178±86 kcal for females at weaving.

Seasonal variation of thermal conditions was investigated and it's heat stress to workers was discussed as follows.
At rush harvesting process, workers were exposed to scorching heat of the sun. In the process, the average value of WBGT-index for working hours was estimated to be 27.6°C (25.1°C-30.0°C), globe thermometer readings, 34.0°C (24.5°C-41.5°C) and Heat Stress Index, 58.7 (3.3-114.8) for males and 61.3 (-1.8-129.8) for females.
The amount of sweat in working hours was measured to be 4829±874 g for males, 4295±748g for females. And the rise in the concentration of serum protein, hemoglobin and hematocrit level was found after the work. This suggested that, although no case of heat stroke could be found, physiological functions of rush workers might be affected by hard physical work and heat stress through the process.
The workers were engaged in weaving in hot environment of 25-30°C dry-bulb thermometer from August to September in the working room. And at planting, they were in cold weather of 7-10°C in the paddy fields.

As above-mentioned, the rush cultivating process has been traditionally manual hard work. But, since 1970 progress has been made in mechanization of work procedure such as rush cutting, smearing and driing.
Comparative study on each work load with manual and machinery process was conducted four times from 1968 to 1978. The results were as follows.
The lightening of physical load was apparently seen in the some procedures. For example, from 6.7-10.0 kcal/65 kg/min in manual cutting process to 2.4-8.1 kcal/65 kg/min mechannized process. And, average value of relative metabolic rate a working day was lowered 3.6 to 3.4 for males, 3.8 to 3.5 for females.
Shortening of working hours in a day and decrease of energy expenditure was seen for both sexes. But this tendency was not so impressive in females as in males, because these machines were mainly operated by males and so other additional works, not yet mechanized such as rush bundling and transportation, was likely taken by females.
Hours of work per 10 a was decreased by 34% during 10 years, 1968-1978. But yet, personal work load and/or per household were not rather decreased by such mechanization.

A questionnaire survey was conducted to clarify the actual states of pesticide poisoning (disorders) and its related factors amang 178 male and 232 female farmers.
The results were as follows.
1) Of the subjects 30.7% complained of some health disturbance from pesticides, without significant difference in prevalence between males and females.
2) The most comman symptom was skin hazard (39.7%), followed by nausea (34.9%) and headache (32.5%).
3) Captafol (21.4%) and methomyl (12.7%), which are contained in common pesticides, were recognized as the cause of poisoning.
4) The highest prevalence of health disturbance from pesticides were seen in [orange only] growers (72.7%) among mixed crop groups, followed by [rice+ orange] producers (71.4%), and [rice+ sugar cane +sweet potato] cultivators (55.9%). These higher prevalence groups were also estimated to be the users of the higher amount of pesticide.
5) Significant coefficient correlations were seen between the prevalence of health disturbance from pesticides and the duration and yearly times of pesticide spraying and daily spraying hours.
6) A relatively larger proportion of farmers has a knowledge about pesticide poisonig. However a few of them take effective protective measures at pesticide handling.
The reverse correlation was seen between the prevalence of health disturbance from pesticides and the degree of reliance on effectiveness of pesticides.
The present study indicates that more effective education for safty use of pesticides to both producers and users, and development of non-pesticide use agriculture are essential to protect agricultural workers from health distubance from pesticides.

In order to clarify the actual conditions and mechanism of contact dermatitis from pesticides, a field survey including patch testing with 11 pesticides and formaldehyde was carried out on 111 subjects who engaged in farming in the plastic greenhouse mainly. The relationship between skin sensitization due to pesticides and conditions of pesticide exposure was also studied. The results were as follows;
1) About half of subjects (52%) have been suffered from health hazards due to pesticides. Among the symptoms complained, dermatitis was most frequent (32%) as compared with acute poisoning such as headache (12%), general fatigue (9 %) and so on. The causative pesticides of those dermatitis were mainly Difolatan (72%), Daconil (8 %), and Gramoxone (8%).
2) Relatively higher rates of positive reaction of patch testing were observed in Difolatan (43%) in male, and Difolatan (25%), Topsin M (24%), Rovral (24%) in female. A positive reaction with more than one substance tested were seen in 31 males (55%) and 31 females (55%).
3) Among 11 kinds of pesticides tested, positive correlations between the skin reaction of patch testing and the use of corresponding pesticides were found only in Orthocide (r = 0.233) and Daconil (0.203).
4) From the Cluster Analysis, 16 kinds of using pesticides were classified into 3 clusters with similarity to patch test reactions. It was also suggested from the Dendrogram that there might be cross reactions among patch testing pesticides.
5) By Multiple Regression Analysis, no factor which contributed remarkably to skin sensitization was clarified. And, it was suggested that many kinds of factor were complicatedly related to skin sensitization.

The residue levels of three kinds of organochlorines, BHC, DDT and PCB, in the serum were determined in farmers (40-59 years old, n=211), non-farmars (40-59 years old, n =27) and high school students (15-18 years old, n=56) to clarify the factors that contributed to the accumulation of those three compounds in the blood of farmers and rural inhabitants. The average values of those compounds were found to be 9.1±5.0 ppb for B-BHC, 9.2±6.3 ppb for pp'-DDE and 7.1 ±5.7 ppb for PCB. There was marked difference in the value between districts in which the subjects live. The subjects could be divided into the lower concentration group and higher concentration group, showing high discrimination ratio (72-83%) by Hayashi's quantification theory II. Statistical analysis showed that the factors contributing to the accumnlation of those compounds in the present subjects are related with digestion of chicken and fish, Hb concentration, serum cholinesterase activity, liver function and serum trigliceride and cholesterol levels, and use of organochlorines and other pesticides, duration and the mumber of days of pesticide spraying, experience of pesticide poisoing, cultivation of specific crops. Those results, in greater part, supported the general recognition that organochlorine residues in human body might be regulated by changning eating patterns and avoiding those food items containing those chemical compounds. On the other hand, attention should be focused on the exposure of those compounds through the use of specific pesticides including those compounds. And further investigation is necessary for clarifying the contributing factors to the accumulation of those compounds in human body especially in the higher residue group discriminated in the present study.

In order to observe the actual work types and the work load of female farmers in various kinds of agriculture that have gradually become a large part of agriculture in Japan as a result of changes in the structure of agricultural production, the authors performed a questionnaire and interview with a large number of female farmers (2, 113) and women in non-agricultural households.
Greenhouse farming was the most common work type for female farmers, followed by tobacco cultivation. The jobs conventionally undertaken by men, that have required a large dynamic work load, have been progressively mechanized, while auxiliary work before and after machinary work remain as manual labor by women. Some clear differences in the work type between full-time farming and part-time farming of female farmers were observed. On the other hand, it does not seem to be easy to estimate the work strain due to the work loads as mentioned above.

An epidemiological survey on allergic conditions of 58 male (aged 38.6±11.8yrs) and 47 female (aged 42.2 ± 9.6yrs) farmers engaged in growing chrysanthemums.
Among the subjects, 47% of males and 62% of females had complaints of at least one of inquired allergic symptoms associated with the work. The immediate type of allergic reaction on nasal and/ or upper respiratory system raised in the process of sorting flowers in the working room and delayed ype of contact dermatitis in pinching the lateral bud of chrysanthemums or spraying agricultural chemicals in the field were the main complaints of those farmers.
Incidence of positive reaction for patch testing to six kinds of chrysanthemums was 5% for males and 17% for females and that of eight kinds at agricultural chemicals was 34% and 45% for each sex. And relatively high incidence was also observed in those subjects from other immunological tests such as determination of serum immunoglobulin, prick testing and calculation of eosinophil in blood and rhinorrhoea.
There were 39 (67%) males and 36 (77%) females who had at least one of the abnormal finding of those test items above mentioned. However, not the particular kind of Chrysanthemum cultivated in that area was found to be strong causative allergen for the observed allergic conditions.
From these results, it is indicated that relatively high incidence of allergic disorders may be found in the chrysanthemum growers due to inhalation and/or contact of some kinds of allergens introduced from the process of growing to forwarding, such allergen as Chrysanthemum itself, agricultural chemicals and other elements.

The physical work load of farmers and dust conditions in the harvesting process of chrysanthemums were investigated for two households (seven workers for A and three for B household, respectively) at mid March in 1984.
The total working hours a day of each household were 3225 min (460 min as average per a worker) for A and 1954 min (652 min) for B, being allotted more times to males than females. However, all of the house keeping hours were carried out only by females.
The intensity of each working load of farmers was not so heavy, as “light” and “moderately heavy” by Christesen's criteria and energy expenditure a day was calculated 2895-3604 kcal for males and 2155-2295 kcal for females.
In this working process farmers were enforced to keep careful handling with chrysanthemums and fixed body posture for 4 to 6 hours a day. Particulary, the working posture of sorting and bundling chrysanthemums may cause over strained load to the muscle and joint of the lower back and legs.
The dust concentrations of the sorting room were not so high. However, the farmers were exposed a large quantity of cilia of chrysanthemum leaves, calculated 37-259 pieces/cm² on the slide grass a day. The numbers of cilia varied with amounts of handling chrysathemums.
It was suggested that the cilia of chrysanthemums may be the most important allergen to the immediate type of allergy of the chrysanthemum growers.