S tre e t R o o ts •
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OSH A, from page 10
effects of individual pesticides are known,
the effects of pesticide mixtures that are
often applied have not been adequately
researched.
In 2015, the Environmental Protection
Agency revised agricultural worker
protection standards around pesticides at
the federal level. It included in its
revisions a law requiring a 100-foot
exclusion zone around the pesticide
spraying equipment,
which people would
have to vacate during
application as the
To submit a public comment before the
equipment moved
Dec. 14 deadline:
across the field.
It’s up to each state
B Y M A IL
to decide which rules
Department of Consumer and Business
to fully adopt and
Services at Oregon OSHA
which rules to replace
350 Winter St. NE
with alternative rules.
Salem, OR 97301-3882
OSHA has proposed
that it adopt most
B Y E M A IL : tech.web@oregon.gov
as-is, but it has
B Y F A X ; 503-947-7461
proposed nine
alternative
To see a complete copy of the proposed
administrative rules,
rules, go to osha.oregon.gov. Click on
including the option
“Rules and laws.* t e n “Proposed rules.”
for workers to “shelter
in place” rather than
Or call 503-947-7449.
be forced to vacate
the premises every
time pesticides are sprayed. They would
need to stay inside only until the
pesticide-spraying equipment moved out
of their range.
Wood said the EPA rules don’t address
things like cooking and playground
equipment either.
“If drift occurs, if there is a problem,
and EPA only solves the immediate issue
of worker not standing there in the
immediate moment. Eighty to 90 percent
of concerns would not be solved by EPA
rules,” he told the task force.
But, he said, OSHA is in a unique
position because it’s one of only two
jurisdictions in the country that not only
oversees rules regarding pesticide
spraying, but also oversees worker
housing standards.
“I am not excited about our proposal,”
HOW TO COMMENT
P a g e 11
News
Wood said. “I’d be willing to look at
housing standards.”
However, housing standards were not
included in the final proposal, which is
now in the public comment phase, ending
Dec. 14. OSHA will likely adopt its new
rules shortly thereafter.
Oregon Law Center, again, addressed
the governor’s Environmental Justice
Task Force at its Dec. 2 meeting in Salem.
One of the law center’s attorneys, Julie
Samples, is also a member of the task
force. Nargess Shadbeh, who heads the
law center’s Farmworker Program, joined
her.
“We speak from what we hear from
farmworkers,” Shadbeh said at the
meeting, adding that she has been
working with these communities for
years.
“The health of these individuals at
these sites are directly affected,” she said,
warning the task force that once OSHA
adopts rules, they might not change again
for many years.
“The proposal, in short, is basically
codifying what has been happening for
decades in our state,” Shadbeh told the
task force, “and frankly, no more.”
But, she said, “at least we are
discussing it.”
She and Samples recommended the
task force ask OSHA and Gov. Kate
Brown to consider adopting EPA’s rule
related to exclusion zones, and then take
some more time to figure out a rule for
Oregon to adopt that would truly protect
workers. The task force agreed to follow
through on their recommendations before
the public comment period ends, but it’s
yet to be seen if its requests yield any
results.
“Those labor camps are occupied, to
some extent, year-round now, but the
height is from May to September,”
Shadbeh told the room. “We have time.”
One day earlier, at a Dec. 1 public
hearing for the proposed rules, the
Woodburn Grange was filled with farmers
and groups representing the interests of
farms, forestry and nurseries. There were
no migrant farmworkers at the hearing.
All 39 written comments submitted to
OSHA up to that point were in favor of
adopting the shelter-in-place rule, and
most were signed copies of a form letter
that originated on the website of
Oregonians for Food and Shelter, an
agricultural interest group.
OSHA’s Corvin said the agency does
not do any direct outreach to people living
in labor camps; it relies instead on groups
such as the Oregon Law Center to
represent them.
All who testified at the grange that day
were also in favor of the shelter-in-place
rule and criticized only the proposal that
trainers, who are typically already
certified in pesticide application, go
through an additional “train the trainer”
training.
Scott Dahlman, an Environmental
Justice Task Force member and policy
director at Oregonians for Food and
Shelter, told the task force, “We want to
protect workers as well, but want to make
sure it’s done in a way that’s workable for
farmers.”
Dahlman pointed out that the proposed
rules contain “really clear language”
related to pesticide spray drift that
indicates that applicators must ensure
that pesticides do not come into contact
with occupied housing structures.
“We do know that accidental drift
occurs,” Samples said in response.
“Organic farmers who want to be certified
have to present a plan to mitigate drift,
and there is nothing in these rules that
would require such a plan,” she told the
task force.
While housing conditions have been
improving in many of the registered
migrant worker camps across Oregon,
thanks to some tax incentive programs
and nonprofits focused on the issue, many
routinely fall behind housing standards set
by OSHA.
Since the start of the year, five farms
based in Portland’s tri-county area alone
have been cited for violations of labor
camp housing standards, according to
OSHA. They were cited for overcrowding,
poor maintenance, exposure to airborne
lead, faulty doors and various other
violations.
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