Posted March 21, 2014
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released a proposed rule to update and revise the Worker Protection Standard, increasing protections from pesticide exposure, according to an article by The Hill available here. The Federal Register notice is available here.
“EPA is proposing to strengthen the protections provided to agricultural workers and handlers under the worker protection standard by improving elements of existing regulation, such as training, notification, communication materials, use of personal protective equipment and decontamination supplies,” the agency writes.
The EPA announced the changes to the Worker Protection Standard in February. The proposed rule opens the 90 day comment period, which closes on June 17, 2014.
The proposed rule would increase mandatory training for agricultural workers from once every five years to annually to inform workers about specific protections. The rule would also expand mandatory posting of “no-entry” signs and buffer areas; improve states’ ability to enforce compliance; and make specific pesticide information available to farmer workers and medical personnel. In addition, the rule would prohibit children under age 16 from handling pesticides.
An exemption for small family farms applies.
“We can’t turn our backs on the people who feed the nation,” said Jim Jones, assistant administrator for the EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention. “They need to be protected.”
Statistics show that between 10,000 and 20,000 workers suffer from pesticide poisoning each year.
For more information on pesticides, please visit the National Agricultural Law Center’s website here.
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