In an effort to tighten the standards for the handling and application of pesticides, the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed revisions to the Worker Protection Standard rule include increased and more frequent training, additional record keeping requirements and changes to the family farm exemption. Ensuring workers’ safety is top priority, but the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) says that rule may go too far for family farms and ranches.
“Farmers and ranchers are mindful of the fact that anyone working with hazardous chemicals must be careful and well-trained. We don’t want to put our workers in jeopardy. We just want to make sure that the standards EPA adopts are reasonable and on par with the risk involved,” said Paul Schlegel, AFBF crop protection specialist.
Proposed revisions to the Worker Protection Standard include prohibiting children under 16 from handling pesticides, establishing 25- to 100-foot no-entry buffer areas surrounding pesticide-treated fields and expanding mandatory posting of no-entry signs for certain hazardous pesticides. In addition, the proposed rule would require farm worker training every year—instead of every five years—on topics such as decontamination supplies and personal protective equipment, as well as reducing the “grace period” for new hires during which they do not have to be trained.
The current deadline for comments is June 17, but AFBF and others have requested the deadline be extended to Sept. 17, 2014.