PESTICIDES-CHILDREN
April 14, 2000
The Associated Press
SHANNON McCAFFREY, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON -- A report released on Thursday by the U.S. Congress' General Accounting Office was cited as concluding the federal government is failing to protect children working in farm fields from exposure to potentially dangerous pesticides, and that children in farm fields "are especially vulnerable to the adverse effects of pesticides and are not adequately protected from pesticide exposure." The report added that the Environmental Protection Agency's Worker Protection Standard is not enforced consistently and treats children as adults, when they are far more vulnerable.

For instance, the report was cited as saying in the story, when the EPA measures the amount of time that should elapse before workers are allowed back into the fields after pesticides are sprayed, it uses a body weight of 154 pounds - well over the weight of a small child, the report found. The EPA did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment. But in a written response to the GAO, Marcia Mulkey, director of pesticide programs, was cited as writing EPA was reviewing its worker protection standards. She said, in concept the agency agreed with the report's conclusions.

Diane Mull, executive director of the Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs, was cited as calling the report's findings troubling, adding, "The Department of Labor has found children as young as six working in agriculture. We know that children far younger than that are accompanying their parents into the field," she said. "The health of hundreds of thousands of children is at great risk."

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