Was unable to find any reference to the article, however ocular toxicity from pesticides is a major concern eg this review from May 2006 Ocular toxicity from pesticide exposure: A recent review.
Toxic effects on eyes result from exposure to pesticides via inhalation, ingestion, dermal contact and ocular exposure. Exposure of unprotected eyes to pesticides results in the absorption in ocular tissue and potential ocular toxicity. Recent literature on the risks of ocular toxicity from pesticide exposure is limited. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2723220/

The internet is awash with pesticide poisoning horror stories and there are a lot of case studies for those interested, eg:
Illegal Pesticide Trade in The Mekong Countries: Case Studies from Cambodia and Lao PDR http://files.panap.net/resources/Illega ... mbodia.pdf

Current status of pesticide use among rice farmers in Cambodia
Knowledge about the current status of pesticide use in Cambodia is critical to attempts to establish an effective pest control system. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to clarify pesticide use by farmers, the number and timing of pesticide applications, and the active ingredients of the pesticides used during rainy season cropping in three study areas in the Takeo (TK), Prey Veng (PV), and Svay Rieng (SR) provinces.
https://www.researchgate.net/publicatio ... n_Cambodia

Although there are many isolated cases of pesticide toxicity the are reported the op article seems to infer that this is a large scale operation employing numerous workers not supplied by protective equipment, of course I cant be sure of this.