EPA considering pesticide protections for farmworkers

Share
farmworkers; Florida agriculture; farmworkers, coalition of Immokalee workers, ciw
Farmworkers and allies march for justice. By Lenka Davis / WMNF News. March 2013.

A 23-year-old law, the Agriculture Worker Protection Standard (WPS), is being updated to enhance protections for people exposed to toxic agricultural pesticides; the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is also proposing a ban on the neurotoxic pesticide chlorpyrifos for use in agricultural fields.

On MidPoint we talked about pesticides and these protections that could benefit farmworkers with guest Lisa Garcia. She’s Vice President of Litigation for Health at EarthJustice and used to be senior adviser to the administrator for Environmental Justice at the EPA.

Listen to the full show here:

https://soundcloud.com/wmnf/epa-considering-pesticide-protections-for-farmworkers-wmnf-news

The updated WPS includes provisions for personal protective equipment; routine washing and emergency decontamination. Children under 18 are now banned from handling pesticides in fields. Farmworkers will have the same whistleblower protections as other workers from the Department of Labor. There will be annual training as well as information available on pesticides. But Garcia says it is still missing certain safety measures.

In addition, the EPA is proposing a ban on the pesticide chlorpyrifos for use in agricultural fields. Fifteen years ago it was banned for residential and urban use. It had been used in products like rugs and pet flea collars. The public comment period closes Tuesday. Chlorpyrifos is an organophosphate pesticide which can cause brain damage in kids. It’s also known by the product names Dursban or Lorsban. The pesticide industry is trying to weaken the ban.

Earthjustice had to bring two court cases against the EPA to spur the protections. In it’s decision, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals called the EPA’s delay egregious. EPA is now reviewing all organophosphate pesticides.

 

Leave a Reply

  • (will not be published)

XHTML: You can use these tags: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>

You may also like

City of Tampa reopens facilities faced with costly hurricane damages

The City of Tampa is still reeling from the impacts...

The Scoop: Mon. March 17, 2025, Tampa Bay and Florida headlines by WMNF

WMNF The Scoop headlines and gun age law, kids off...

guns gun
An appeals court upholds Florida’s gun age law

By Dara Kam ©2025 The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE...

kids social media
A court refuses to halt Florida’s law prohibiting kids from some social media platforms

Tech groups sued, contending that the Florida social media law...

Ways to listen

WMNF is listener-supported. That means we don't advertise like a commercial station, and we're not part of a university.

Ways to support

WMNF volunteers have fun providing a variety of needed services to keep your community radio station alive and kickin'.

Excellent Zest
Excellent Zest