Following Hydrogen Cyanide in the Valencian Country (1907-1933): Risk, Accidents and Standards in Fumigation
Author
Guillem-Llobat, XimoDate
2019Cita bibliográfica
Guillem-Llobat, X. (2019). Following Hydrogen Cyanide in the Valencian Country (1907-1933): Risk, Accidents and Standards in Fumigation. HoST - Journal of History of Science and Technology, 13(1), 51-75.Abstract
Pests had represented a major problem in agriculture for centuries, but the huge changes
in the food chain around the late nineteenth century intensified their effects in a totally
unprecedented way and many new chemical substances were introduced in the attempt
to control them. In this paper I will focus on the implementation of hydrogen cyanide, a
highly toxic pesticide which has not received particular consideration from researchers to
date.
I shall analyse the introduction of this pesticide in the Valencian Country and focus on the
attention given to the safety of workers and consumers. I aim to examine the role of the
poison in its different uses and analyse the impact of each of them on safety regulations.
Risks, accidents, and standards will be the main analytical categories I will use in my
exploration of hydrogen cyanide and the safety regulations implemented in each context.