20 years? That's too long, EPA.
- Details
- Published on Thursday, 29 January 2015 10:00
- Written by editor
... Time to protect farmworkers. Now.
20 years makes a huge difference.
But not for farmworkers. The rules protecting them have not been updated in 20 years. Urge EPA to act.
Dear Paov,
Do you remember 1995? What did cell phones even look like back then? And fax machines were everywhere, right?
A lot has changed in the last 20 years — but for farmworkers, not so much. It was May of 1995 that EPA put the “Worker Protection Standard for Agricultural Pesticides” (WPS) in place. And it hasn’t been updated since.
Finish up, EPA!! » Thanks to thousands of supporters like you, a new WPS is in sight. But EPA is moving in slow motion, and we think the agency would benefit from a deadline. Sign our petition to EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy letting her know we expect a strong, final WPS no later than August 18, 2015.
That deadline is exactly one year after 200,000 people sent her comments demanding stronger protections for farmworkers.
Recent news makes this need clearer than ever. Earlier this month, EPA acknowledged that the neurotoxic insecticide chlorpyrifos poses an especially high risk to farmworkers. And just last week, the Centers for Disease Control confirmed that pesticides were to blame for 20 farmworkers falling ill in Washington state, when a mixture of chemicals drifted off target from a nearby pear orchard.
Bottom line? It’s unacceptable that two million farmworkers are still not adequately protected from on-the-job exposures to harmful pesticides.
20 years is too long » These rules matter. The WPS is the only protection for farmworkers from pesticide harms on the job. So much more is known today about the dangers of chronic pesticide exposure — a stronger WPS is long overdue.
Thank you for holding our leaders accountable!
Pesticide Action Network North America1611 Telegraph Ave. Suite 1200, Oakland, CA 94612 USA
Phone: 510.788.9020 Email:This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Web:www.panna.org
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