Fighting for Farmworkers & Our Environment: NHLA & Farmworker Justice Statements on EPA Nomination and Proposed Pesticide Applicator Rules
Latino Leaders Oppose the Confirmation of E. Scott Pruitt to the Position of Administrator of the EPA
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The National Hispanic Leadership Agenda, a coalition of 40 of the nation’s preeminent Latino advocacy organizations, unanimously adopted a motion, presented by the Hispanic Federation, opposing the nomination of Oklahoma Attorney General E. Scott Pruitt as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), citing his long record working to undermine the environmental protections and enforcement entrusted to this vital agency.
The mission of the EPA and its administrator is to protect public health and safeguard our environment. However, over the past five years, Oklahoma Attorney General Pruitt has used his position to repeatedly attack crucial clean air and clean water protections to the detriment of the health and well-being of millions of Americans.
As Latino leaders we have cause to be particularly troubled by this choice. Asthma and other respiratory diseases are more prevalent in Latinos living in inner cities near polluting power plants, truck routes, and factories. Latinos also make up a disproportionately large number of the workers in agricultural field occupations, where they are exposed to health hazards, bad air quality, and economic impacts of extreme weather. Meanwhile Latino children are more likely to die from asthma than non-Latino white children, and many states that are home to the country’s largest Latino communities are ground zero for the impacts of climate change, including extreme heat, drought, and sea level rise.
“Our communities strongly support efforts to reduce air, water, and climate pollution, and we support policies that cre ate good paying clean energy jobs,” said Hispanic Federation President, José Calderón. “With millions of Americans negatively impacted by air pollution, water pollution, and climate change, we simply can’t afford to have an administrator who doesn’t believe in the value of protecting our environment,” continued Calderón.
“EPA plays an important role in protecting agricultural workers and their families from exposure to pesticides and other toxins. We need an EPA administrator who will work hard to protect the health of the agricultural communities that are a vital part of the social and economic fabric of American rural communities,” said Bruce Goldstein, President of Farmworker Justice.
Nine in 10 Latinos want action on climate, while 97 percent of Latino voters agree we have a moral obligation to take care of our environment. We now look to the Senate to ensure that the next leader of EPA is someone one who will advance environmental and health protections for Latinos and for all Americans.
Farmworker Justice’s Statement on EPA’s Certification of Pesticide Applicators Rule
Farmworker Justice is pleased that the EPA has published important changes to regulations that govern the certification, training and supervision of individuals who apply high-risk pesticides. The Certification of Pesticide Applicators rule (40 CFR 171), which has not been updated in nearly 40 years, provides national competency standards for those who may purchase and apply ‘restricted use pesticides’ (RUPs). A pesticide is classified as restricted if it poses heightened risk to people or the environment.
The new rule imposes stricter standards to protect human health and the environment and reduce risk to those applying pesticides. Currently there is wide variance among state certification and training programs for pesticide applicators, and requirements for supervision of non-certified applicators. We are hopeful that the new national standards will provide greater consistency in the knowledge and competency of applicators across the nation. In addition, those who apply pesticides aerially or by fumigation will have to demonstrate competency to use these application methods which pose high risk to applicators, farmworkers and surrounding communities.
Many farmworkers applying RUPs are non-English speaking, non-certified applicators who are applying these chemicals “under the supervision” of certified applicators. These are the applicators that are the most vulnerable to occupational injury from pesticide exposure. The vast majority are unable to read the application instructions and safety information printed on the pesticide labels, which are almost entirely in English. Although we are disappointed that the EPA does not require pesticide labels to have bilingual content, the revised rule requires supervisors to provide to non-certified applicators the label information about safety precautions and detailed use instructions in a manner and language that the non-certified applicator can understand. The revised rule also includes improved standards for supervision, establishes a minimum age of 18 for applicators, and requires non-certified applicators to receive pesticide handler and safety training in a language they understand.
We hope that the improved regulation will result in greater awareness by pesticide applicators of the risks they face, stronger protections from exposure, and ultimately, fewer pesticide-related injuries, illnesses, and deaths among farmworkers and their family members.
Latino Leaders Oppose the Confirmation of E. Scott Pruitt to the Position of Administrator of the EPA
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The National Hispanic Leadership Agenda, a coalition of 40 of the nation’s preeminent Latino advocacy organizations, unanimously adopted a motion, presented by the Hispanic Federation, opposing the nomination of Oklahoma Attorney General E. Scott Pruitt as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), citing his long record working to undermine the environmental protections and enforcement entrusted to this vital agency.
The mission of the EPA and its administrator is to protect public health and safeguard our environment. However, over the past five years, Oklahoma Attorney General Pruitt has used his position to repeatedly attack crucial clean air and clean water protections to the detriment of the health and well-being of millions of Americans.
As Latino leaders we have cause to be particularly troubled by this choice. Asthma and other respiratory diseases are more prevalent in Latinos living in inner cities near polluting power plants, truck routes, and factories. Latinos also make up a disproportionately large number of the workers in agricultural field occupations, where they are exposed to health hazards, bad air quality, and economic impacts of extreme weather. Meanwhile Latino children are more likely to die from asthma than non-Latino white children, and many states that are home to the country’s largest Latino communities are ground zero for the impacts of climate change, including extreme heat, drought, and sea level rise.
“Our communities strongly support efforts to reduce air, water, and climate pollution, and we support policies that cre ate good paying clean energy jobs,” said Hispanic Federation President, José Calderón. “With millions of Americans negatively impacted by air pollution, water pollution, and climate change, we simply can’t afford to have an administrator who doesn’t believe in the value of protecting our environment,” continued Calderón.
“EPA plays an important role in protecting agricultural workers and their families from exposure to pesticides and other toxins. We need an EPA administrator who will work hard to protect the health of the agricultural communities that are a vital part of the social and economic fabric of American rural communities,” said Bruce Goldstein, President of Farmworker Justice.
Nine in 10 Latinos want action on climate, while 97 percent of Latino voters agree we have a moral obligation to take care of our environment. We now look to the Senate to ensure that the next leader of EPA is someone one who will advance environmental and health protections for Latinos and for all Americans.
Farmworker Justice’s Statement on EPA’s Certification of Pesticide Applicators Rule
Farmworker Justice is pleased that the EPA has published important changes to regulations that govern the certification, training and supervision of individuals who apply high-risk pesticides. The Certification of Pesticide Applicators rule (40 CFR 171), which has not been updated in nearly 40 years, provides national competency standards for those who may purchase and apply ‘restricted use pesticides’ (RUPs). A pesticide is classified as restricted if it poses heightened risk to people or the environment.
The new rule imposes stricter standards to protect human health and the environment and reduce risk to those applying pesticides. Currently there is wide variance among state certification and training programs for pesticide applicators, and requirements for supervision of non-certified applicators. We are hopeful that the new national standards will provide greater consistency in the knowledge and competency of applicators across the nation. In addition, those who apply pesticides aerially or by fumigation will have to demonstrate competency to use these application methods which pose high risk to applicators, farmworkers and surrounding communities.
Many farmworkers applying RUPs are non-English speaking, non-certified applicators who are applying these chemicals “under the supervision” of certified applicators. These are the applicators that are the most vulnerable to occupational injury from pesticide exposure. The vast majority are unable to read the application instructions and safety information printed on the pesticide labels, which are almost entirely in English. Although we are disappointed that the EPA does not require pesticide labels to have bilingual content, the revised rule requires supervisors to provide to non-certified applicators the label information about safety precautions and detailed use instructions in a manner and language that the non-certified applicator can understand. The revised rule also includes improved standards for supervision, establishes a minimum age of 18 for applicators, and requires non-certified applicators to receive pesticide handler and safety training in a language they understand.
We hope that the improved regulation will result in greater awareness by pesticide applicators of the risks they face, stronger protections from exposure, and ultimately, fewer pesticide-related injuries, illnesses, and deaths among farmworkers and their family members.