Migrant Clinicians Network welcomes news that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will soon propose revisions to the Worker Protection Standard (WPS), which provides workplace protections for farmworkers exposed to pesticides. MCN has long urged the EPA to include stronger protections for farmworkers in the WPS.
It has been more than 20 years since these rules have been updated and the current standards are inadequate. MCN calls for a strong worker protection rule to include improved safety training requirements, safety precautions limiting farmworkers’ contact with pesticides, and mechanisms to improve enforcement of workplace protections. Worker protection should also include a national incident reporting system, medical monitoring for pesticide handlers and a robust and active surveillance system.
An estimated 1.1 billion pounds of pesticides are applied to crops annually in the United States with our nation’s 1–2 million farmworkers facing the highest threat from the health impacts of these chemicals. The federal government estimates that there are 10,000–20,000 acute pesticide poisonings among workers in the agricultural industry each year . Short-term effects of pesticide exposures include stinging eyes, rashes, blisters, nausea, headaches, respiratory problems, and even death. Cumulative long-term exposures can increase the risk of serious chronic health problems such birth defects, neurological impairments, cancer, and Parkinson’s disease.
For more information about the WPS, join MCN on March 5, 2014 for a national conversation via webinar. Learn more about the revised rule and how to voice your support to strengthen protections for farmworkers. Register Now [1]
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Contact: Amy Liebman at aliebman@migrantclinician.org [2]