M7.8 Blog about your topic of interest

Blog about your topic of interest

Consider your topic of interest for your literature review.

The topic of interest: What are the health risks that may be incurred from pesticide drift to those living, working or attending school near farms which employ elevated spraying equipment or crop duster planes to apply chemicals to crops and fields? 

What agencies at the local, state, federal, and/or international level provide information, regulatory oversight, or are otherwise implicated in addressing that topic?

Local: The Yolo County/General Government Departments/Agriculture & Cooperative Extension/Agriculture Weights & Measures/Pesticide Use Enforcement 

Regulation of pesticide use at the County level is mandated by the California Food and Agriculture Code. In Yolo County this is performed by the Pesticide Use Enforcement program (Program). The objective Program is to protect the public, pesticide applicators, field workers, the environment and agricultural crops from the adverse effects of pesticides resulting from misuse or improper handling. This is accomplished through the regulation of activities of professional pest control operators, advisors, dealers, private applicators (growers) and other pesticide users County-wide. Additionally, the Agricultural Commissioner (Commissioner) of Yolo County is under the direction and supervision of the Director of the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (CDPR) for the enforcement of State laws and regulations pertaining to pesticide use within the State. The Commissioner has statutory authority to levy administrative fines for violations of agricultural and structural pesticide use. 

State: CDPR

CDPR monitors the use of pesticides from farm fields to grocery shelves to assure the safety of workers and the public. Regulatory activities are conducted by CDPR’s seven pesticide program division branches: Pesticide Registration, Human Health Assessment, Worker Health and Safety, Enforcement, Environmental Monitoring, Product Compliance, and Pest Management and Licensing. Additionally, CDPR works closely with California’s county agricultural commissioners, who serve as the primary enforcement agents for State pesticide laws and regulations.

Federal: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 

In the United States, the EPA regulates pesticides at the national level. Congress gives the EPA this authority through several federal laws, including the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act. EPA sets minimum pesticide use standards and delegates pesticide enforcement regulatory authority to the states. 

International: The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) Technical Working Group

The NAFTA Technical Working Group on Pesticides is a collaboration among the pesticides regulatory government agencies of the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Established in 1997 to streamline pesticide shipments between Canada, Mexico, and the United States, the primary objective of the of the NAFTA Technical Working Group is to develop more efficient and less expensive pesticide regulation and trade among the three countries and meet the environmental, ecological and human health objectives of NAFTA. 

References: 

·    Yolo County/General Government Departments/Agriculture & Cooperative Extension/Agriculture Weights & Measures/Pesticide Use Enforcement. Retrieved from: http://www.yolocounty.org/general-government/general-government-departments/agriculture-cooperative-extension/agriculture-and-weights-measures/pesticide-use-enforcement

·    California Environmental Protection Agency/California Department of Pesticide Regulation. Retrieved from: http://www.cdpr.ca.gov/

·    Environmental Protection Agency. Retrieved from: https://www.epa.gov/pesticides

·    International Activities Related to Pesticides. Retrieved from: https://www.epa.gov/pesticides/international-activities-related-pesticides