From BAUMGARTNER.DONALD@EPAMAIL.EPA.GOV Tue Jul 2 11:14:46 1996 Received: from merlin.rtpnc.epa.gov (merlin.rtpnc.epa.gov [134.67.208.148]) by are.Berkeley.EDU (8.7.5/8.7.3) with SMTP id LAA11947 for ; Tue, 2 Jul 1996 11:14:41 -0700 (PDT) Received: from ARTHUR.RTPTOK.EPA.GOV by merlin.rtpnc.epa.gov (8.6.9/1.34) id OAA23824; Tue, 2 Jul 1996 14:13:58 -0400 Received: from RTPMAINHUB-Message_Server by ARTHUR.RTPTOK.EPA.GOV with Novell_GroupWise; Tue, 02 Jul 1996 14:13:30 -0400 Message-Id: X-Mailer: Novell GroupWise 4.1 Date: Tue, 02 Jul 1996 13:07:50 -0400 From: DONALD BAUMGARTNER To: wps-forum@are.berkeley.edu Subject: Midwest WPS Public Meeting Posted below is the announcement for the WPS Public Meeting to be held within U.S. EPA Region 5 in Tipton, Indiana on August 21, 1996. ******************************************** June 21, 1996 ANNOUNCEMENT WORKER PROTECTION STANDARD PUBLIC MEETING IN TIPTON, INDIANA The U.S. EPA will hold a public meeting in Tipton, Indiana on August 21, 1996 to obtain input from workers, growers, handlers and others on the Worker Protection Standard (WPS) for agricultural pesticides. EPA wishes to assess the first full year of implementation of these new regulations which are designed to protect the health of more than 3.5 million agricultural workers who are exposed to pesticides on the job. The WPS specifies minimum pesticide safety training, information exchange and other safeguards for workers who mix, handle or use pesticides, or who may come into contact with pesticides while working on farms or in forests, nurseries and greenhouses. This public meeting will provide an opportunity for both workers and employers in Indiana and neighboring states to relay actual experiences and #lessons learned# within the past year in the course of WPS implementation. EPA is interested in hearing public comment on: # understanding of WPS requirements # successes or difficulties in implementation # usefulness of available assistance from state agencies # suggestions for improvement EPA believes that agricultural workers, handlers, and growers are best able to provide unique insights on the effects of the WPS requirements, and EPA is interested in hearing about these effects. The information will be used by EPA and cooperating state officials and organizations to evaluate and improve the impact and performance of the WPS program. AGRICULTURE IS IMPORTANT By holding a meeting in central Indiana, EPA hopes to gain information and feedback from the Midwest, a very important agricultural region. In the EPA Region 5 states (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin) there are approximately 470,000 farms supporting 800,000 agricultural workers, and approximately 5,500 nurseries and greenhouses. In five of these states, agriculture constitutes the largest economic sector, and in Michigan, agriculture is the second most important economic activity. -2- MEETING LOCATION The Indiana meeting will be held at the Tipton County 4-H and Community Building in Tipton, Indiana on Wednesday evening, August 21, 1996. The building is located on State Road 19 approximately one mile south of downtown Tipton. A small number of hotel rooms are on reserve at the Easy Street Inn (317/675-7505) in Tipton (room block held until Aug. 5), the Signature Inn (800/822-5252) in Kokomo (held until July 21), and the Embassy Suites (317/872-7700) in Indianapolis (block until July 18) on a first-come, first-serve basis. VOICE YOUR OPINIONS Participation from workers, growers, and others from surrounding states, as well as the local area, are welcome. Persons who wish to speak at the meeting may register on site beginning at 5:00 PM. The meeting will commence at 7:00 PM, permitting those who registered to present their comments within a 5 minute time limit in the order registered. Speakers are encouraged to submit written comments as well to ensure that their position is accurately received. People unable to attend may submit written comments or a short videotape for presentation on their behalf by August 1. Limited funds are available through the Midwest Migrant Health Consortium to cover travel expenses for migrant/seasonal workers to provide testimony (contact Suzy Richards of Community Health Partnership at 312/663-1522 ext. 252). Disabled attendees requiring special accommodations should notify EPA at least 3 weeks prior to the meeting. Persons who cannot attend the public meeting but wish to comment without presentation at the meeting may do so by submitting written comments to: Jeanne Heying, Office of Pesticides Programs (7505C), U.S. EPA, 401 M Street, SW, Washington, D.C. 20460. Telephone: 703-305-7164; fax 703-308-2962. MORE INFORMATION Questions about this Indiana public meeting may be directed to Edward Master (ph. 312/353-5830) or Donald Baumgartner (ph. 312/886-7835) at the U.S. EPA Region 5, Pesticides Program Section (DRT-14J), 77 West Jackson Blvd., Chicago Illinois 60604. From howardr@are.Berkeley.EDU Thu Jul 11 18:28:00 1996 Received: from [128.32.251.101] (gia5mac21.Berkeley.EDU [128.32.251.101]) by are.Berkeley.EDU (8.7.5/8.7.3) with SMTP id SAA23007 for ; Thu, 11 Jul 1996 18:27:57 -0700 (PDT) Message-Id: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" X-mailer: Eudora Pro 2.1.3 Date: Thu, 11 Jul 1996 18:29:23 -0700 To: wps-forum@are.berkeley.edu From: howardr@are.Berkeley.EDU (Howard R. Rosenberg) Subject: list of products with 4-hr REIs Recently announced was a WPS rule change reducing from 30 to 7 days the length of time during which decontamination supplies are required following the expiration of restricted-entry intervals for "low-toxicity" pesticides, those with REIs of 4 hours or less. Judy Smith of EPA has provided a file of information on the 108 products that have such REIs as of June 19, 1996, and Gordon Rowe and Noreen Wong have turned it into archivable form (ASCII). The file presents in tabular form the active ingredient, manufacturer, registration number, and trade name of each low toxicity product. It is now available in the WPS-Forum archive as "lowtox-1.lst" (size is 16k bytes). --Howard From aftgoul@gatekeeper.ddp.state.me.us Fri Jul 12 08:38:27 1996 Received: from gatekeeper.ddp.state.me.us (gatekeeper.ddp.state.me.us [141.114.130.70]) by are.Berkeley.EDU (8.7.5/8.7.3) with ESMTP id IAA29225 for ; Fri, 12 Jul 1996 08:38:24 -0700 (PDT) Received: from gatekeeper ([141.114.164.231]) by gatekeeper.ddp.state.me.us (8.7.4/8.6.12) with SMTP id LAA06308 for ; Fri, 12 Jul 1996 11:37:37 -0400 (EDT) Date: Fri, 12 Jul 1996 11:37:37 -0400 (EDT) Message-Id: <199607121537.LAA06308@gatekeeper.ddp.state.me.us> X-Sender: aftgoul@gatekeeper.ddp.state.me.us X-Mailer: Windows Eudora Version 1.4.3 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" To: wps-forum@are.Berkeley.EDU From: aftgoul@gatekeeper.ddp.state.me.us (Tammy Gould) Subject: Cambodian Training Materials Does anyone have any type of WPS Training Materials in Cambodian? We have some Cambodian workers picking strawberries in Maine and we're at a real impass right now. Thanks -- Tammy From yams@midway.uchicago.edu Mon Jul 15 05:57:44 1996 Received: from haven.uchicago.edu (root@haven.uchicago.edu [128.135.12.3]) by are.Berkeley.EDU (8.7.5/8.7.3) with ESMTP id FAA03397 for ; Mon, 15 Jul 1996 05:57:42 -0700 (PDT) Received: from midway.uchicago.edu (root@midway.uchicago.edu [128.135.12.12]) by haven.uchicago.edu (8.7.5/8.7.3) with ESMTP id HAA06979 for ; Mon, 15 Jul 1996 07:56:56 -0500 (CDT) Received: from [128.135.83.70] ([128.135.83.70]) by midway.uchicago.edu (8.7.3/8.7.2) with SMTP id HAA17504 for ; Mon, 15 Jul 1996 07:57:32 -0500 (CDT) Message-Id: <199607151257.HAA17504@midway.uchicago.edu> Date: Mon, 15 Jul 1996 08:03:35 -0500 To: wps-forum@are.berkeley.edu From: yams@midway.uchicago.edu (Susan Yamins) X-Sender: yams@ucpopmail.uchicago.edu Subject: low tox pesticides Hello, Can anyone tell me if there are plans or action to have the insecticidal soaps, such as MPede and Safer's, put on the 4 hour REI pesticide list? These products have potassium salts of fatty acids as their active ingredients. I did not see these names in the low tox archive list, and I think they now require a 12 hour REI. Also, Naturalis-O, whose active ingredient is the fungus Beauveria bassiana, does have a 4 hour REI as specified on its label and should be added to the list. Thanks for any information you can provide. Sue =============================== Susan Yamins The University of Chicago Greenhouse BSLC - 924 East 57th Street Chicago, IL 60637 312/702-4824 or 312/702-8294 312/702-3197 (FAX) email: yams@midway.uchicago.edu From howardr@are.Berkeley.EDU Tue Jul 16 16:41:41 1996 Received: from [128.32.251.83] (gia5mac3.Berkeley.EDU [128.32.251.83]) by are.Berkeley.EDU (8.7.5/8.7.3) with SMTP id QAA05556 for ; Tue, 16 Jul 1996 16:41:39 -0700 (PDT) Message-Id: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" X-mailer: Eudora Pro 2.1.3 Date: Tue, 16 Jul 1996 16:43:15 -0700 To: wps-forum@are.berkeley.edu From: howardr@are.Berkeley.EDU (Howard R. Rosenberg) Subject: Melanie Zavala reply to post on insecticidal soaps [forwarding message that got hung up in listproc] Reply to: RE>low tox pesticides It is up to the manufacturer to request an exemption from EPA for the 12 hour mimimum REI. You should probably get in touch with some of the companies that make the products you are interested in, and ask them if they have requested and been granted an exemption to allow for 4 hr. REI. --Melanie Zavala >Can anyone tell me if there are plans or action to have the insecticidal >soaps, such as MPede and Safer's, put on the 4 hour REI pesticide list? >These products have potassium salts of fatty acids as their active >ingredients. I did not see these names in the low tox archive list, and I >think they now require a 12 hour REI. > >Also, Naturalis-O, whose active ingredient is the fungus Beauveria >bassiana, does have a 4 hour REI as specified on its label and should be >added to the list. > >Thanks for any information you can provide. > >Susan Yamins >The University of Chicago Greenhouse From SMITH.JUDY@EPAMAIL.EPA.GOV Wed Jul 17 06:26:23 1996 Received: from merlin.rtpnc.epa.gov (merlin.rtpnc.epa.gov [134.67.208.148]) by are.Berkeley.EDU (8.7.5/8.7.3) with SMTP id GAA13897 for ; Wed, 17 Jul 1996 06:26:22 -0700 (PDT) From: SMITH.JUDY@EPAMAIL.EPA.GOV Received: from lancelot.rtptok.epa.gov by merlin.rtpnc.epa.gov (8.6.9/1.34) id JAA03223; Wed, 17 Jul 1996 09:25:38 -0400 Received: from cc:Mail by lancelot.rtptok.epa.gov id AA837620732; Wed, 17 Jul 96 09:14:28 EST Date: Wed, 17 Jul 96 09:14:28 EST Message-Id: <9606178376.AA837620732@lancelot.rtptok.epa.gov> To: wps-forum@are.Berkeley.EDU Subject: Re: 4 hr REI for Potassium salts of Fatty Acids Sue & others: The Agency considered potassium salts of fatty acids as a potential candidate for the reduced (4 hr) WPS REI. The eye irritation studies for the active ingredient was determined to be toxicity category 2. In order to qualify for the 4 hr REI, the toxicity categories for all the acute toxicity tests for both the active ingredient and the end use product must be toxicity category 3 or 4. (Also check the WPS-Forum archives to get a copy of the Pesticide Regulatory Notice or fact sheet for PR Notice 95-3; the specific requirements for qualifying for the 4 hour REI are described). Due to the eye irritation results, the Agency did not put this active ingredient on the Candidate List for Reduced WPS REIs. Judy Smith EPA/Washington 703-305-7666 Hello, Can anyone tell me if there are plans or action to have the insecticidal soaps, such as MPede and Safer's, put on the 4 hour REI pesticide list? These products have potassium salts of fatty acids as their active ingredients. I did not see these names in the low tox archive list, and I think they now require a 12 hour REI. Also, Naturalis-O, whose active ingredient is the fungus Beauveria bassiana, does have a 4 hour REI as specified on its label and should be added to the list. Thanks for any information you can provide. Sue =============================== Susan Yamins The University of Chicago Greenhouse BSLC - 924 East 57th Street Chicago, IL 60637 312/702-4824 or 312/702-8294 312/702-3197 (FAX) email: yams@midway.uchicago.edu From SIESNET.SIES1.ALFRENCH@SIES.WSC.AG.GOV Fri Jul 19 10:24:56 1996 Received: from SIES.WSC.AG.GOV (sies.wsc.ag.gov [199.128.64.4]) by are.Berkeley.EDU (8.7.5/8.7.3) with SMTP id KAA07466; Fri, 19 Jul 1996 10:24:49 -0700 (PDT) Received: from USDAHQ-Message_Server by SIES.WSC.AG.GOV with Novell_GroupWise; Fri, 19 Jul 1996 13:43:38 -0500 Message-Id: X-Mailer: Novell GroupWise 4.1 Date: Fri, 19 Jul 1996 13:28:17 -0500 From: Al French To: afn07263@afn.org, NCAE@AOL.COM, SJBUTLER@AOL.COM, howardr@are.berkeley.edu, wps-forum@are.berkeley.edu, 102722.1152@compuserve.com, bert_mason@csufresno.edu, JRUNYAN@econ.ag.gov, bryanl@fb.com, USDAHQ.GW.Craig_Osteen-ARS@SIES.WSC.AG.GOV Subject: Evacuation as Worker Protection Evacuation as Worker Protection Yesterday the Deputy Immigration Commissioner brought in some Orthene (available in garden centers) to treat the plants in her office. The result: 1900 INS employees were evacuated and sent home while the General Services Administration ventilated the building. According to the Washington Post, a GSA spokesperson said: "The product is normally an outside product. It's a safe product when used outside. They just happened to use it inside, well, to spray the plants." The article did not report any injuries. Is a pesticide label restriction for office use needed? Al French USDA Coordinator for Agricultural Labor Affairs alfrench@usda.gov http://www.usda.gov/oce/oce/labor-affairs/affairs.htm From 73507.555@CompuServe.COM Fri Jul 26 19:01:09 1996 Received: from arl-img-4.compuserve.com (arl-img-4.compuserve.com [149.174.217.134]) by are.Berkeley.EDU (8.7.5/8.7.3) with SMTP id TAA08421 for ; Fri, 26 Jul 1996 19:01:07 -0700 (PDT) Received: by arl-img-4.compuserve.com (8.6.10/5.950515) id WAA28528; Fri, 26 Jul 1996 22:00:35 -0400 Date: 26 Jul 96 21:59:02 EDT From: Bob Roach <73507.555@CompuServe.COM> To: "'WPS-Forum'" Subject: WPS Meeting in Salinas Message-ID: <960727015901_73507.555_HHB49-2@CompuServe.COM> The U.S. EPA came to Salinas, California on July 25 for the public meeting. They had some time to get out in the "field" and talk to people, besides attending the evening meeting. They were exposed to many different points of view and will certainly have a lot to digest after this. The meeting was well attended, 85 people registered and 18 people offered comments. I really did not expect so many to attend but I was pleasantly surprised to see them there. There was also a fairly good mix of people commenting, from farm workers to growers. Many representatives of the nursery industry were present, concerned about their ability to harvest their crop. besides that, predominate issues of growers were the 1/4 mile notice and display of application-specific information requirements. I have a work of advice for the U.S. EPA regarding translations. They had a translator present and earphones to hear the Spanish translation. The English speakers needed to be instructed to speak more slowly. It takes a little longer to say it in Spanish. The translator would fall behind and be forced to leave something out. When the Spanish speakers talked, they needed to be told to pause to allow the translator to present the English. They were speaking over each other and this made it difficult to follow sometimes. How about a report from Fresno or other perspectives on the Salinas meeting? Bob Roach From 73507.555@CompuServe.COM Sat Jul 27 09:17:32 1996 Received: from arl-img-5.compuserve.com (arl-img-5.compuserve.com [149.174.217.135]) by are.Berkeley.EDU (8.7.5/8.7.3) with SMTP id JAA12239 for ; Sat, 27 Jul 1996 09:17:30 -0700 (PDT) Received: by arl-img-5.compuserve.com (8.6.10/5.950515) id MAA25417; Sat, 27 Jul 1996 12:16:59 -0400 Date: 27 Jul 96 12:15:47 EDT From: Bob Roach <73507.555@CompuServe.COM> To: "'WPS-Forum'" Subject: Latino Health in the U.S. Message-ID: <960727161547_73507.555_HHB71-1@CompuServe.COM> At the recent WPS hearings in Salinas I know there was testimony from a number of farm workers about their health concerns regarding the use of pesticides. Today in the Salinas Californian, a Monterey county paper, there is a story about a conference on Latino health sponsored by Latinos Unidos Alcohol and Drug Abuse Services of Monterey County. The story was titled, "Latino Community in Fine Fettle." This is the assessment of Dr. David Hayes Bautista. Bautista is a professor of medicine at the UCLA Medical School. He said that Latinos have lower incidences of heart disease, cancer, infant mortality and live and work longer than whites in the U.S. Bautista said no one can explain this paradox and the paradox becomes more paradoxical when you consider that when the Latino population was separated into first, second and third generation residents, the rates of disease increased with the time spent in the U.S. The conference also focused on culturally effective ways to educate Latinos about the law, health practices and treatment programs. The study drew on data from the U.S. Census bureau, the state Employment development Department, the U.S. Finance Department and the Immigration and Naturalization Service. Bautista said he found similar profiles of Latinos for the U.S., California and Los Angeles County, which has a significant population of Latino residents. I will send a copy of the article to the U.S. EPA. Perhaps they will wish to contact Dr. Bautista and receive a copy of this study. Bob Roach From craig.harris@ssc.msu.edu Sun Jul 28 08:47:51 1996 Received: from ssc.msu.edu (ssc.msu.edu [35.8.65.2]) by are.Berkeley.EDU (8.7.5/8.7.3) with SMTP id IAA19230 for ; Sun, 28 Jul 1996 08:47:48 -0700 (PDT) From: craig.harris@ssc.msu.edu Received: by ssc.msu.edu; Sun, 28 Jul 96 11:48:45 EDT Date: Sun, 28 Jul 96 11:48:57 EDT Message-ID: X-Priority: 3 (Normal) To: wps-forum@are.Berkeley.EDU Cc: 73507.555@CompuServe.COM, 21757rir@msu.edu, rumbaut@pilot.msu.edu, amillard@msu.edu, pbautist@pathology.medsch.ucla.edu, ruben.rumbaut@ssc.msu.edu Subject: re: Latino Health in the U.S. bob, a couple of things struck me about your message . . . first, i'm not entirely clear what is the paradox to which dr. bautista and you refer . . . if it is that many farm workers in the salinas area have health concerns about pesticides, and at the same time the latino population as a whole has lower incidences of certain diseases than the white population, i don't see that as a paradox . . . the latino population as a whole has the rates of heart disease, cancer, and infant mortality, and the life expectancy, it has because of the combinations of lifestyles, occupational exposures, and genetic predispositions present in the population . . . current farm workers in the salinas area have the concerns regarding the use of pesticides they have because of the specific situations in which they work . . . thus, i find it very difficult to see a relationship between the two, much less to see a paradox . . . for example, only a small percentage of the latinos in los angeles county would be farm workers the fact that in the u.s. latino/as as a whole have lower rates than whites of the diseases mentioned above has been well recognized for a long time, and considerable research is underway to identify the components of lilfestyle, occupational conditions, residential conditions, and genetic predisposition which might contribute to these differentials . . . while some of this work can be done at the aggregate (population or sub-population) level, much of the measurement of exposure and presence (e.g., actual presence of a toxic substance in tissue or serum) must be done at the individual level . . . thus these studies are both expensive and time-consuming if one wanted to explore the question of the impacts of pesticides on farm worker health in the salinas area, one would need to identify a farmworker group and a comparable control group, one would need to identify the pesticides to which the farm workers might be exposed, one would have to assay tissues and body fluids for the presence of those pesticides, their by-products and their inert ingredients, one would have to assess short-term impacts (e.g., skin rashes, neurological disruption), and one would have to track the health of those persons to look for long-term impacts . . . each active ingredient, its by-products and the inert ingredients with which it is formulated have fairly specific kinds of health impacts (e.g., skin reactions, endocrine disruption) that would not be detected in the general measures of heart disease, cancer, and infant mortality mentioned by bautista cheers, craig | Date: 27 Jul 96 12:15:47 EDT | From: Bob Roach <73507.555@CompuServe.COM> | To: "'WPS-Forum'" | Subject: Latino Health in the U.S. | At the recent WPS hearings in Salinas I know there was testimony from a number of farm workers about their health concerns regarding the use of pesticides. Today in the Salinas Californian, a Monterey county paper, there is a story about a conference on Latino health sponsored by Latinos Unidos Alcohol and Drug Abuse Services of Monterey County. The story was titled, "Latino Community in Fine Fettle." This is the assessment of Dr. David Hayes Bautista. Bautista is a professor of medicine at the UCLA Medical School. He said that Latinos have lower incidences of heart disease, cancer, infant mortality and live and work longer than whites in the U.S. Bautista said no one can explain this paradox and the paradox becomes more paradoxical when you consider that when the Latino population was separated into first, second and third generation residents, the rates of disease increased with the time spent in the U.S. | The conference also focused on culturally effective ways to educate Latinos about the law, health practices and treatment programs. The study drew on data from the U.S. Census bureau, the state Employment development Department, the U.S. Finance Department and the Immigration and Naturalization Service. Bautista said he found similar profiles of Latinos for the U.S., California and Los Angeles County, which has a significant population of Latino residents. I will send a copy of the article to the U.S. EPA. Perhaps they will wish to contact Dr. Bautista and receive a copy of this study. | Bob Roach craig k harris dept of sociology michigan state university east lansing michigan 48824-1111 tel: 517-355-5048 fax: 517-432-2856 From PHASPOWELL@aol.com Mon Jul 29 05:20:05 1996 Received: from emout13.mail.aol.com (emout13.mx.aol.com [198.81.11.39]) by are.Berkeley.EDU (8.7.5/8.7.3) with SMTP id FAA26095 for ; Mon, 29 Jul 1996 05:20:01 -0700 (PDT) From: PHASPOWELL@aol.com Received: by emout13.mail.aol.com (8.6.12/8.6.12) id IAA23522 for wps-forum@are.berkeley.edu; Mon, 29 Jul 1996 08:19:11 -0400 Date: Mon, 29 Jul 1996 08:19:11 -0400 Message-ID: <960729081910_444309407@emout13.mail.aol.com> To: wps-forum@are.berkeley.edu Subject: Re: re: Latino Health in the U.S. Interesting dialog going on between Craig and Bob. Two things to add...I suspect Latinos have gotten more than their fair share of public health assistance, esp. in CA. Public health assistance does help, esp. in infant mortality. Second...Craig, are you assuming that long term exposure studies on pesticide exposure have not been done? Perhaps not with Latinos, but certainly with others. Reference the extensive EBDC studies done in the late 1970's. All for now, Chuck. From cefresno@ucdavis.edu Mon Jul 29 13:00:54 1996 Received: from franc.ucdavis.edu (root@franc.ucdavis.edu [128.120.8.183]) by are.Berkeley.EDU (8.7.5/8.7.3) with ESMTP id NAA02375 for ; Mon, 29 Jul 1996 13:00:52 -0700 (PDT) From: cefresno@ucdavis.edu Received: from dialupAcorn.ucdavis.edu by franc.ucdavis.edu (8.7.5/UCD3.5.8) id NAA28008; Mon, 29 Jul 1996 13:00:42 -0700 (PDT) Date: Mon, 29 Jul 1996 13:00:42 -0700 (PDT) Message-Id: <199607292000.NAA28008@franc.ucdavis.edu> To: wps-forum@are.Berkeley.EDU Subject: news from fresno Cc: cefresno@ucdavis.edu This is Steve Sutter ... U.S. EPA also came to Fresno. The evening meeting was poorly attended, with fewer attendees/commentors than in Salinas. I didn't see any employers. Ten officials did, however, get a chance to chat with 7 employers in a roundtable I hosted that afternoon. One farm labor contractor traveled from Santa Maria for the opportunity. A grower advised EPA that complex regulations from a multitude of agencies simply hasten small employers "out of existence." A farm labor contractor agreed. A shortage of "certified" fieldworker trainers was mentioned. As a cooperative extension farm advisor, I spoke of my difficulty in getting training materials "U.S. EPA approved." No one seemed to hear. ... "Fresno Clear." From howardr@are.Berkeley.EDU Mon Jul 29 16:44:36 1996 Received: from [128.32.251.84] (gia5mac4.Berkeley.EDU [128.32.251.84]) by are.Berkeley.EDU (8.7.5/8.7.3) with SMTP id QAA07949 for ; Mon, 29 Jul 1996 16:44:33 -0700 (PDT) Message-Id: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" X-mailer: Eudora Pro 2.1.3 Date: Mon, 29 Jul 1996 16:46:37 -0700 To: wps-forum@are.berkeley.edu From: howardr@are.Berkeley.EDU (Howard R. Rosenberg) Subject: more on the EPA Fresno meetings Last Tuesday, 7/23/96, I attended two of the Fresno area meetings in which EPA staff heard about WPS implementation from people directly affected by the rule. At both meetings the main topic of discussion was worker training. An afternoon session at the Fresno County office of UC Cooperative Extension was particularly oriented to farm labor contractors and growers. As Steve says, it was in "roundtable" style, and the proceeding had lots of give and take. I missed hearing a few of the self introductions but counted 25 people in attendance -- roughly 7 of them ag employers/managers, 8 EPA staff from D.C., 3 EPA staff from San Francisco, 2 staff of Cal DPR, and 5 other. Among comments (most lightly edited) from the employers/managers: * I believe in the idea of the program and think it's important. * Seasonal employment and turnover of workers makes for a continuous need to train. It will be very difficult to live with a zero-day grace period, as it could result in having to provide training every day that a new field worker is hired. * There has been a problem getting in-house foremen and supervisors authorized to train field workers. Turnover of foremen increases the need for training of trainers ("T-2"), and availability of T-2 programs has been limited. Looking forward to when Ag Commissioners add to the supply of T2 programs. * It is a mistake, and not fair, to allow private applicators to train workers without themselves going through the instruction in how to train that the T-2 provides. * Because issuance of blue (training verification) cards is optional, there is more duplicative training than should be necessary. * Already workers appear to be more dealing more safely with used pesticide containers. * We require all employees to bring our company ID card to work every day and don't want to complicate things with another card. Only one grower in the Santa Maria area is known to issue blue cards after training workers. * The effect of the WPS, like many other regulations, is not size neutral. It is more burdensome to the smaller employers, who manage everything themselves and can't afford to hire staff safety specialists or consultants. They may just throw up their hands and not listen anymore. Or be driven out of business. * Can't the requirements be simplified? How about a single videotape, produced by EPA, that can be used by all to satisfy the worker training? And maybe a standardized quiz that a foreman can give to the worker to ensure comprehension? * We have used this non-WPS video (an educational video produced by a chemical company), along with our live presentation with flip chart, in our company training program, and we like it better than the approved tapes. * The increased activity in enforcing farm labor laws has probably reduced the number of fly-by-night labor contractors. --------------------------- The public meeting scheduled for 7:00 to 10:00 PM in Easton (10 mi. south of Fresno) was called to order at 7:10. Jim Wells, Director of California DPR, gave a brief welcome before turning the session over to Bill Jordan of EPA, who then introduced several DPR and EPA staff members, explained how the comments to be presented would be used, and thanked attendees for coming. I counted a total of 58 people in the hall and estimated (no self-introductions) that 18 of them were from government agencies. Fourteen people had registered to speak, and their comments were to be limited to 5 minutes, not counting translation from Spanish to English. By 8:15, all 14 were heard from, so those who had spoken were invited to add to their comments, and any other attendees to address the meeting. Four of the original 14 speakers took the offer to continue, and another 4 spoke up. When all were finished, about 8:45, Bill Jordan again expressed his appreciation and formally adjourned the session. Many people remained for informal conversation. Of the 18 people who spoke from the floor, 9 were trainers of field workers (all or nearly all affiliated with the AmeriCorp program), 4 agricultural workers, 4 worker advocates or community organizers, and 1 a physician. Among their comments: * Workers have gotten very sick from exposure to pesticides, and rules intended to provide for their safety and health are not well enforced. In some cases, workers have complained about their injuries but were not provided any medical attention. A county investigative report let a large grower off the hook for a major exposure that was clearly his responsibility. * The skin on my feet has deteriorated from pesticides in 16 years of farm work. I have never seen anyone from the agencies that are supposed to protect us do anything. No government agency really cares and helps. * Success of farm worker training has been greatest in areas where there has been active support for the WPS from Agricultural Commissioners and Cooperative Extension Farm Advisors. * Many workers say that they have been injured by pesticides but have never complained about it for fear of reprisals. As a field worker in previous years, I saw injuries that would not have occurred if workers had been trained in a language they understand by qualified people who cared. * The WPS is essential in raising the awareness of workers about pesticide dangers and safety. * Some trainers run through the training for field workers in 20 minutes, which is way too fast. I think it takes about an hour to do it well. * Many workers can't follow the information as fast as it is given to them. It is important to slow down and keep people engaged, not to simply get their heads nodding. * Some training sessions have up to 200 workers with only a single trainer. How can that be effective? * Trainers from our program have learned to effectively reach workers. I strongly believe in a live personal presentation rather than relying on a video. * We call growers to see if they would like us to train their workers. Some times, even though they say they have already done it, I have checked and found that only handlers have been trained, not field workers. * There are not enough legal personnel to enforce the regulations. Enforcement should be stronger, and penalties for violators must be costly for the rules to work. * I am concerned about the recent exceptions to the WPS requirement for washing facilities in fields where certain pesticides are used. Even if they are of lower toxicity, these chemicals can have subacute effects. * What is missing most in all this is good faith. You can't enforce this regulation because of the bad faith out there. I was severely injured in an incident where my employer did not meet his responsibility to inform and protect me. He still denies responsibility, has accused me of making mistakes that caused my own injury, and won't even respond to phone calls and letters. Farm workers with no career alternatives have my deepest sympathy. Be prepared to lose your job if you complain. * In an informal survey, I found that only 37 of 115 workers had received the required pesticide training. More coordination is needed among enforcement agencies. * I think I am being exposed to asbestos in my job. Can you give me information about how dangerous this is and what to do about it? -------------------------------- A final word from our sponsor: All the above is presented as a fair rendering of what I saw and heard at the meetings, NOT as an indication of my agreement with any of the views expressed. Don't kill the messenger. --Howard Rosenberg From michelle.worosz@ssc.msu.edu Tue Jul 30 04:33:13 1996 Received: from ssc.msu.edu (ssc.msu.edu [35.8.65.2]) by are.Berkeley.EDU (8.7.5/8.7.3) with SMTP id EAA13674 for ; Tue, 30 Jul 1996 04:33:11 -0700 (PDT) From: michelle.worosz@ssc.msu.edu Received: by ssc.msu.edu; Tue, 30 Jul 96 7:32:47 EDT Date: Tue, 30 Jul 96 7:32:50 EDT Message-ID: X-Priority: 3 (Normal) To: wps-forum@are.Berkeley.EDU Subject: re: Latino Health in the U.S. chuck, i am not from ca, but do i have a vague understanding of the health system available to farm workers. what do you mean by saying that they have "more than their fair share" of public health assistance?? how are you measuring this quantity of health care and what does it include? in regard to your second question, lets not forget that migrant farm workers do the majority of non-mechanized labor and are thus the most at risk of pesticide exposure. in addition, farm workers as a group primarily consist of hispanic/latinos, therefore, epidemiological research on pesticides must include this population. i am interested in the ebdc studies you mentioned. please send a cite or two. thanks, michelle woroszmi@pilot.msu.edu PHASPOWELL@aol.com Wrote: | | Interesting dialog going on between Craig and Bob. Two | things to add...I | suspect Latinos have gotten more than their fair share of | public health | assistance, esp. in CA. Public health assistance does | help, esp. in infant | mortality. Second...Craig, are you assuming that long term | exposure studies | on pesticide exposure have not been done? Perhaps not | with Latinos, but | certainly with others. Reference the extensive EBDC | studies done in the late | 1970's. | All for now, Chuck. | From pacsun@pnn.com Tue Jul 30 09:52:08 1996 Received: from pnn.com (root@pnn.com [204.188.46.225]) by are.Berkeley.EDU (8.7.5/8.7.3) with SMTP id JAA02422 for ; Tue, 30 Jul 1996 09:52:06 -0700 (PDT) Received: from [204.188.46.37] (p05.t1.pnn.com [204.188.46.37]) by pnn.com (8.6.10/8.6.10) with SMTP id JAA08085 for ; Tue, 30 Jul 1996 09:52:01 -0700 Message-Id: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Date: Tue, 30 Jul 1996 09:56:37 -0800 To: Wps-forum@are.Berkeley.EDU From: pacsun@pnn.com (Vicki Farris) Subject: HELP - Train the Trainer Interesting dialogue going on in CA. I'm from Oregon and need help locating a basic Train the Trainer video in Spanish. If you can assist me with locating one I would greatly appreciate it. Thank V. Farris From PHASPOWELL@aol.com Wed Jul 31 10:12:18 1996 Received: from emout18.mail.aol.com (emout18.mx.aol.com [198.81.11.44]) by are.Berkeley.EDU (8.7.5/8.7.3) with SMTP id KAA21191 for ; Wed, 31 Jul 1996 10:12:16 -0700 (PDT) From: PHASPOWELL@aol.com Received: by emout18.mail.aol.com (8.6.12/8.6.12) id NAA29080 for wps-forum@are.berkeley.edu; Wed, 31 Jul 1996 13:10:49 -0400 Date: Wed, 31 Jul 1996 13:10:49 -0400 Message-ID: <960731131049_168634219@emout18.mail.aol.com> To: wps-forum@are.berkeley.edu Subject: Re: re: Latino Health in the U.S. to michelle: Latinos probably live longer in the States because they get better health care here. contact Rohm and Haas about EBDC studies. They were worldwide in scope, but did not single out Latinos. EBDC fungicides have been manufactured for the last 30 years or so in many factories all over the world. The health studies centered on factory workers, who were subjected to high exposures for years and years. There were also farm worker studies done I believe, but cannot be sure.