EPA extends comment period for proposed pesticide-exposure rule

Washington – The Environmental Protection Agency has extended to Aug. 18 the comment period for revisions to a proposed rule aimed at protecting farmworkers from pesticide exposure.

EPA announced the 60-day extension on May 14 in response to stakeholder requests for additional time to provide input. Unveiled in February, the proposed rule would create minimum age requirements for handling pesticides, expand warning signage, increase frequency of training, and align personal protective equipment requirements with OSHA standards.

“Updating the 20-year-old regulation to provide more protection to the nation’s 2 million farmworkers and their families from pesticide exposure is a priority for EPA,” Jim Jones, the agency’s assistant administrator with the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, said in a press release.