"Hundreds of thousands of times each year in California, farmers and their contractors spray pesticides on fields and orchards in the state's agricultural heartlands. Farmworkers young and old can be exposed to dangerous concentrations of toxic chemicals if they are not properly trained, left uninformed about when they can safely enter sprayed fields or exposed to pesticide applications - because of factors such as wind drift or operator error."
"Enforcement of pesticide safety rules is splintered among dozens of county agriculture commissioners, resulting in piecemeal citations. Companies that operate in multiple counties were not fined for hundreds of violations - many of them pertaining to worker safety. County inspections to enforce pesticide safety are minimal in the state's farm belt. In 2023, there was one inspection for every 146 times that pesticides were applied in eight of California's top 11 producing counties, according to data provided by those counties."
Farmers and contractors apply pesticides hundreds of thousands of times annually across California's agricultural regions. Farmworkers of all ages can face dangerous chemical exposures when they are not properly trained, left uninformed about reentry intervals, or exposed through wind drift and operator error. Pesticide safety enforcement is fragmented among many county agriculture commissioners, producing piecemeal citations and allowing multi-county operators to avoid fines for numerous violations. County inspections are scarce, with one inspection per 146 applications in key counties in 2023. Underage workers report illness and symptoms, and pesticide-related illnesses are likely underreported due to fear of employer retaliation.
Read at Truthout
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