The U.S. EPA plans to strengthen its assessment of pesticide health risks.
Change takes time, but the EPA has been slow to regulate and enforce green approaches to chemical use in the US. The chemical industry lobby is very strong, but EPA is finally approaching pesticide dangers as... well, dangers to "voters", not just profit and tax sources for big business.
First Comes Assessment...
The U.S. EPA plans to strengthen its assessment of pesticide health risks.
EPA's proposal would include a more thorough assessment of risks to workers, including farmworkers and farm children, as well as risks posed by pesticides that are not used on food.
"The agency is asking the public to comment on the new approach and how best to implement the improvements."
Agricultural pesticide applications doesn't just affect agricultural workers. With urban sprawl, many elementary schools are being build on the fringes of communities where land is available and "cheap". A patchwork quilt of agricultural land surrounds many of these suburban schools...and the wind carries pesticides right into the school buildings and playgrounds.
Parents and school staff members could play a valuable rule in assessing pesticide risks to school children, as well as the workers who grow their food.
EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson: "Better information and applying assessment tools will strengthen EPA's protections for farm workers exposed to these chemicals, and children living in and around the areas of highest possible exposure," said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. "It's essential we have the tools to keep everyone, especially vulnerable populations like children, safe from the serious health consequences of pesticide exposure."
Aggregate, Cumulative Effects of Pesticides
Under the policy, EPA risk assessments for children, farmworkers and others, would consider aggregate pesticide exposures from all sources in addition to the cumulative effects from multiple pesticides that have similar toxicity.
Protection from Incomplete Data
Maybe it's time that ALL chemicals be tested for toxicity and cumulative impact before they are authorized for market distribution. That would be a seismic change in the chemicals marketplace.
Chemical Impact on Children and Other Highly Vulnerable Populations
EPA could apply an additional safety factor to protect infants and children from the risks of pesticides where the available data are incomplete. Currently these analyses help assess risks of pesticides to the general public as required by the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.
Common Scientific Risk-assessment Techniques
EPA believes that pesticide exposure should be evaluated with common scientific risk-assessment techniques, whether from residues in food or drinking water, on lawns or in swimming pools, or in the workplace. The agency would routinely apply the techniques to workers exposed to pesticide exposures on the job.
By incorporating these risk-assessment tools into its pesticide evaluations, EPA would more thoroughly protect the most vulnerable populations, including farm workers and children taken into agricultural fields.
The proposed policy will be available for a 60-day public comment period after it is published in the Federal Register.
Citizen input is important to balance the influence of lobbying from the chemical and pesticide industries.
More information on the proposed rule
CONTACT:
For the Spanish translation
For general questions on pesticides and pesticide poisoning prevention, contact the National Pesticide Information Center (NPIC), toll free, at: 1-800-858-7378, by E-mail at npic@ace.orst.edu, or by visiting their website at: http://npic.orst.edu/
To report an environmental violation, visit EPA's website at http://www.epa.gov/compliance/complaints/index.html
For information about EPA's pesticide program, visit our homepage at: http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/
Change takes time, but the EPA has been slow to regulate and enforce green approaches to chemical use in the US. The chemical industry lobby is very strong, but EPA is finally approaching pesticide dangers as... well, dangers to "voters", not just profit and tax sources for big business.
First Comes Assessment...
The U.S. EPA plans to strengthen its assessment of pesticide health risks.
EPA's proposal would include a more thorough assessment of risks to workers, including farmworkers and farm children, as well as risks posed by pesticides that are not used on food.
"The agency is asking the public to comment on the new approach and how best to implement the improvements."
Agricultural pesticide applications doesn't just affect agricultural workers. With urban sprawl, many elementary schools are being build on the fringes of communities where land is available and "cheap". A patchwork quilt of agricultural land surrounds many of these suburban schools...and the wind carries pesticides right into the school buildings and playgrounds.
Parents and school staff members could play a valuable rule in assessing pesticide risks to school children, as well as the workers who grow their food.
EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson: "Better information and applying assessment tools will strengthen EPA's protections for farm workers exposed to these chemicals, and children living in and around the areas of highest possible exposure," said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. "It's essential we have the tools to keep everyone, especially vulnerable populations like children, safe from the serious health consequences of pesticide exposure."
Aggregate, Cumulative Effects of Pesticides
Under the policy, EPA risk assessments for children, farmworkers and others, would consider aggregate pesticide exposures from all sources in addition to the cumulative effects from multiple pesticides that have similar toxicity.
Protection from Incomplete Data
Maybe it's time that ALL chemicals be tested for toxicity and cumulative impact before they are authorized for market distribution. That would be a seismic change in the chemicals marketplace.
Chemical Impact on Children and Other Highly Vulnerable Populations
EPA could apply an additional safety factor to protect infants and children from the risks of pesticides where the available data are incomplete. Currently these analyses help assess risks of pesticides to the general public as required by the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.
Common Scientific Risk-assessment Techniques
EPA believes that pesticide exposure should be evaluated with common scientific risk-assessment techniques, whether from residues in food or drinking water, on lawns or in swimming pools, or in the workplace. The agency would routinely apply the techniques to workers exposed to pesticide exposures on the job.
By incorporating these risk-assessment tools into its pesticide evaluations, EPA would more thoroughly protect the most vulnerable populations, including farm workers and children taken into agricultural fields.
The proposed policy will be available for a 60-day public comment period after it is published in the Federal Register.
Citizen input is important to balance the influence of lobbying from the chemical and pesticide industries.
More information on the proposed rule
CONTACT:
For the Spanish translation
For general questions on pesticides and pesticide poisoning prevention, contact the National Pesticide Information Center (NPIC), toll free, at: 1-800-858-7378, by E-mail at npic@ace.orst.edu, or by visiting their website at: http://npic.orst.edu/
To report an environmental violation, visit EPA's website at http://www.epa.gov/compliance/complaints/index.html
For information about EPA's pesticide program, visit our homepage at: http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/
