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EPA Proposes Stricter Standards For Pesticide Applicators

Pieter Van Marion

The Environmental Protection Agency is proposing stricter regulations for pesticide applicators. Harvest Public Media’s Kristofor Husted reports the proposed rules impact farms of all sizes.

Workers who spray some of the most hazardous pesticides would need to be at least 18 years old, renew their certifications every three years and take specialized training for certain chemicals.

Margaret Reeves with the Pesticide Action Network says the proposed guidelines will guard public and environmental health, and will largely protect farmworkers tending to specialty crops.

“Improving the process for those who apply pesticides will have benefits not just for them, but to their coworkers, bystanders, families, etc.,” Reeves says.

The EPA estimates the new rules would save more than 80 million dollars through fewer pesticide-poisoning incidents. A 90-day public comment period will start once the proposal is published in the federal register.

Kristofor Husted is a senior reporter at KBIA in Columbia, Mo. Previously Husted reported for NPR’s Science Desk in Washington and Harvest Public Media. Husted was a 2013 fellow with the Institute for Journalism and Natural Resources and a 2015 fellow for the Institute for Journalism and Justice. He’s won regional and national Edward R. Murrow, PRNDI and Sigma Delta Chi awards. Husted also is an instructor at the Missouri School of Journalism. He received a B.S. in cell biology from UC Davis and an M.S. in journalism from Northwestern University.