EPA (finally) updates (antediluvian) standards to protect farm workers from pesticides
Seeing as the the USDA's worker-training about pesticide safety still (very necessarily) includes the above image and instructions, we couldn't welcome these development more.
The new revisions to EPA standards "give farmworkers health protections under the law similar to those already afforded to workers in other industries." You can read the full list of revisions on the EPA fact sheet, some highlights include:
- children under 18 are no longer allowed to handle pesticides
- mandatory yearly training for farm workers about pesticides (as opposed to every five years)
- equirement to provide more than one way for farmworkers and their representatives to gain access to pesticide application information and safety data sheets – centrally-posted, or by requesting records
- mandatory record-keeping of pesticide application
Great! But if news of the revisions leaves you feeling... I don't know... a little angry about what they imply about conditions for workers on industrial farms, The United Farmworkers have a number of ongoing actions and campaigns to improve health, life, immigration, and economic conditions for workers on American farms.
Their reaction to the updated standards? "Is it ever too late to do the right thing? It’s been a long time coming, but it has come today."