A/HRC/20/15 conditions and health; dissemination of information to educate workers about work and health; and improvement of occupational and environmental conditions within the workplace, including the prevention and reduction of hazards in the workplace. 38. The right to a healthy workplace environment is an integral component of the right to health. It requires States to improve all aspects of environmental and industrial hygiene, including housing, sanitation, nutrition and access to safe water. For example, there are significant concerns regarding environmental and industrial hygiene in agricultural work. These concerns are exacerbated by fact that many agricultural workers, particularly migrant workers who are involved in agricultural work in large numbers, are socially and economically disadvantaged and often lack adequate resources to protect their own health. The improvement of environmental and industrial hygiene is therefore critical to achieving the full realization of the right to occupational health, especially for agricultural workers. In many instances, the work environment is indistinguishable from the home environment. As a result, many agricultural workers reside in crowded and substandard accommodation with poor sanitation and inadequate access to safe and potable water. 34 Many of them are also exposed to environmental hazards such as pesticides or other pollutants because of the proximity or overlap of their homes to their worksites. 35 These conditions significantly contribute to the increased rates of infectious diseases seen amongst these workers. 36 The right to health requires that States give particular attention to the needs of vulnerable and marginalized groups in the formulation and implementation of occupational health laws and policies. This includes an obligation to monitor and evaluate occupational health risks and diseases affecting vulnerable groups. 39. International migrant workers are especially vulnerable for two reasons: they may be undocumented and thus open to exploitation by employers; or they may be documented, but lack protection under the law equal to that of nationals. This situation is exacerbated by structural and institutional racism, as well as social, cultural and linguistic barriers that prevent migrant workers from knowing, demanding and enforcing the limited legal rights that they possess. 40. The right to health also requires States to address the prevention and reduction of the population‟s exposure to harmful substances, such as pesticides, and to assess their health impacts on workers. This is particularly important with respect to migrant workers because they may have limited access to health facilities, goods and services, and may lack access to the justice system. Where there is a real and confirmed hazard, the obligation to protect the right to occupational health requires States to prohibit production, sale and use of these substances. Where there is a reasonable potential for risk, States have a duty to take appropriate measures to reduce or prevent exposure, taking into consideration both the likelihood that harm will result and the extent of that harm. This includes requiring that pesticide labels are printed in all relevant languages, and agricultural workers are provided with adequate training and information regarding the use of pesticides. 34 35 36 Eric Hansen and Martin Donohoe, “Health issues of migrant and seasonal farmworkers,” Guest Editorial, Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, vol. 14, No. 2 (2003); United States Department of Labor, National Agricultural Workers Survey 2001-2002 (Washington, D.C., 2005); J. Early and others, “Housing characteristics of farmworker families in North Carolina,” Journal of Immigrant & Minority Health, vol. 8, No. 2 (2006), pp. 173-184. Jock McCulloch, “Asbestos mining in Southern Africa, 1893–2002,” International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health, vol. 9, No. 3 (2003), p. 232. Thomas A. Arcury, Sara A. Quandt, “Delivery of Health Services to Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers,” Annual Review of Public Health, vol. 28 (April 2007), p. 345-363; Gregory A. Bechtel, “Parasitic infections among migrant farm families,” Journal of Community Health Nursing, vol. 15, No. 1 (1998), pp. 1-7. 13