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.
