| Vol. 2001, Issue 1 | January 2001 |
U.S. EPA Reports on Recent WPS Violations | |
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On the island of Hilo, Hawaii, the ginger grower Kap Dong Kim received civil and criminal citations in May 1999 by EPA’s Region 9 San Francisco office for 11 counts of violating pesticide use and safety requirements under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). Kim was charged with allowing an employee to come into contact with Nemacur, a highly toxic pesticide. The farm worker applying the pesticide was hospitalized for 3 days in intensive care. Kim was also charged with failing to provide protective equipment or training on pesticide safety and safe use of pesticideapplication equipment; use of restricted-use pesticides without certification; storing restricted-use pesticides illegally at a residence; and applying a restricted-use pesticide to a crop not listed on the label for that product. For the criminal violations, Kim received 4 months in a California federal prison and was ordered to pay a $5,000 fine and $6,113 restitution. For the civil counts, he was ordered to pay $9,800. In the Matter of Vern A. Stratton, Utah. In summer 1999, a young farm worker was found dead by the side of the road. Utah investigators found evidence at the farm of Vern A. Stratton that WPS training of workers did not occur; re-entry intervals (REI) were violated when no pesticide-application notification was given to workers and handlers; protective equipment was not provided to employees entering a spray area during the REI; the applicator was not monitored at appropriate intervals as required by WPS; a decontamination site was not provided for workers and handlers as required by WPS; and the required central location for posting of required information relating to pesticide application and safety was not provided. Although it was not possible to prove exposure to pesticides caused the young man’s death, Stratton was ordered to cease and desist operating in violation of Utah’s pesticide control act and its administrative rules. Utah ordered Stratton to pay a civil penalty of $10,000, serve a probationary period of 60 months, and provide the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food with a detailed written action plan for compliance with all Worker Protection Standards. Cantau Farms, California. In July 1998, farm workers for the Cantau Farms reported pesticide-related illnesses from work-related exposure to pesticides to the California Department of Pesticide Regulations (CDPR). After a 4-month investigation, the county Department of Agriculture and CDPR determined the Cantau Farms failed to notify the crew chief for the farm workers that an aerial application of carbofuran, mepiquat chloride, and abamectin (agriculture pesticides) had occurred earlier, at 4 a.m. that morning. Workers entered the field only 2 hours later—instead of the required re-entry interval (REI) of 48 hours—to perform weeding activities for the next four hours. CDPR assessed a total fine of $14,832 against Cantau Farms for misuse of pesticides—for failure to notify the labor contractor ($1,000), not posting warning signs ($1,000), and not preventing workers from re-entering the applied field before the REI (32 counts, totaling $12,832). CDPR also assessed a fine of $1,400 against G&M Labor Contracting Services, the farmlabor contractor, for failure to provide adequate training and decontamination supplies, such as drinking water and water for cleaning and towels. Work-related illnesses resulted when workers, while taking a break from weeding to eat, may have spread the carbofuran pesticide from hand to mouth. The results of the worker illnesses was reported in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). For more information about the Worker Protection Standard and how to comply, contact your nearest University of Illinois Extension office or visit the U of I Pesticide Safety Education Web site at http://www.aces.uiuc.edu/~pse/facts/facts.html. (Source: U.S. EPA report, January 2001.) | |
| Author: | Bruce Paulsrud |
For any questions about the Illinois Pesticide Review
send e-mail to: Bruce Paulsrud