FWPP Advocacy Documents
FWPP submits comments, petitions and other advocacy documents to government agencies and elected officials, encouraging policy reforms to better protect workers and their families from pesticides.
- Comments on Pesticide Drift to WSDA (September, 2003). In the summer of 2003, the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) solicited public input on its general pesticide rules. FWPP submitted detailed comments about the problem of pesticide drift and the need for stronger regulations to prevent it. Other groups and individuals also submitted comments on this topic.
- Letter Submitted to WSDA as Part of Drift Workgroup Participation (September 17, 2004). WSDAs primary response to the comments submitted by FWPP and others on pesticide drift in 2003 was that it would convene a workgroup to discuss drift issues. This letter is an example of the information FWPP provided to WSDA as part of that workgroup which was eventually convened in 2004.
- Letter to WSDA from FWPP and Allies objecting to WSDAs narrowing of drift rulemaking focus. FWPP and others representing those whose health is at stake on the drift workgroup WSDA convened in 2004 called for consideration of buffer zones, air monitoring and other measures. We sought informed discussions drawing on the wealth of data available regarding drift in our state and elsewhere and what has happened under current regulations. In February of 2005, however, WSDA announced that the options we had put on the table would not be considered. It had decided to consider only requirements that growers provide notice of pesticide use to certain neighbors. All five of the workgroup participants representing health-affected constituencies submitted this joint letter to WSDA objecting to the agency's stance and calling for consideration of more meaningful regulation against drift.
- Comments on Draft Notice Rule. WSDA provided workgroup members with draft notice provisions for comment. FWPP and WEA's Indoor Air Quality Committee submitted these comments to the agency. (WSDA will propose notice rules for public comment in late summer or early fall of 2005.)
Note: On June 15, 2005, WSDA finally sent an official response to the comments FWPP had submitted in 2003 regarding pesticide drift.
Advocacy Documents from Other Organizations
Other organizations also advocate reforms related to protecting farm workers from pesticides. Some of these documents will be posted here from time to time.
- Washington State Labor Council Letter to the State Auditor's Office. WSLC objected to the expenditure of state funds related to the secret submission of non-farm worker blood samples by the Farm Bureau and others to a state laboratory in 2004. The lab was processing samples for Washington States new medical monitoring program which was established to track changes in farm workers nervous systems after they handle organophosphate and carbamate pesticides.