Dear John,
Last year, the EPA announced plans to gut worker protection standards -- the regulations that help protect farmworkers from toxic pesticides. This dangerous plan could soon be a reality. Farmworkers will be in even more danger from toxic pesticides.
The rule change would allow pesticide applicators to continue spraying pesticides despite workers being present. People could be doused in poisonous pesticides.
Increased use of pesticides is already poisoning people and our environment. We need to strengthen regulations on these poisons, not weaken them. Now, we need you with us to convince the EPA to abandon its terrible plan.
Stop the EPA from putting farmworkers and their families in danger!
Farmworkers and their families are already being exposed to Big Ag’s poisons every day. The EPA should not make a bad situation worse by taking away these important protections.
According to the Worker Protection Standards, pesticides can’t be sprayed if another person is within 25-100 feet. The proposed EPA rule change would make an exception if the person within that buffer is on a different property.
No invisible property line is going to keep pesticides from poisoning farmworkers. Pesticides often end up where they don’t belong. They drift and contaminate nearby plants, water, air, and our food.
The EPA must uphold the most basic protections for farmworkers and their families. And we need your help to send that message loud and clear!
Protect farmworkers from toxic pesticides: Tell the EPA to uphold strong Worker Protection Standards!
This rollback is the result of an EPA run by pesticide industry cronies like Andrew Wheeler. The rule change will make it easier to spray toxic pesticides like chlorpyrifos, Monsanto’s Roundup®, and bee-killing neonics.
Some farmworkers and their families live very close to agricultural fields. If the EPA rolls back current protections, the homes of workers and their communities could see increased contamination and increased health risk from poisonous pesticides.
Together we can protect farmworkers and their families from further pesticide poisoning. But we need you with us, John. And we must act fast!
Tell the EPA: Protect farmworkers and their kids from Big Ag’s poisons!
Standing with you,
Jason Davidson,
Food and agriculture campaigner,
Friends of the Earth
