Several weeks ago, I argued in this blogspace that the best reason for consumers to buy organic vegetables is to protect farmworkers and their families from pesticides. A new report from Farmworker Justice highlights how pesticides are poisoning farmworkers and what can be done about it.
I have a farmworker client, Marcelo, who exemplifies the problems mentioned in the report. He applied pesticides, many of them quite toxic to humans. He was trained by his employer in the most perfunctory fashion. Marcelo was supposedly trained to handle, mix and apply ninety-six different pesticides, each with very different properties and requirements. The training lasted one hour. Or about thirty-seven seconds for each pesticide, some of which have tongue-twister names that would be difficult to pronounce in the allotted time, such as 1,3-dichloropropene, or chlorpyrifos-methyl.
Marcelo was told that he needed to change the filters in his respirator when he could smell or taste the pesticides he was applying. Only two problems with that. First, by the time a worker can smell or taste pesticides through a respirator, it is too late. The worker is already improperly exposed to toxins. And second, Marcelo’s employer never provided him with replacement filters. Instead, he was fired for complaining about the lack of filters and other pesticide violations.
While Marcelo’s employer paid dearly for its mistreatment of him, many more farmworkers are exposed and ignored. Fortunately, recent news coverage is bringing this problem to the attention of the public, and the Environmental Protection Agency is developing more stringent regulations that should offer greater protections to farmworkers and their families.
About Michael Marsh
Michael Marsh is Directing Attorney of the Salinas office of California Rural Legal Assistance, Inc. His practice focuses on working with farmworkers to improve the quality of their working lives.