Protecting Workers from Chemical Hazards Associated with Pesticides

The Environmental Protection Agency is requesting public comment on a proposed rule that would retain various pesticide application exclusion zone requirements amended but not implemented as part of a previous agency final rule currently under a court-ordered stay.

Unveiled Feb. 16, the proposal seeks to "improve and modernize" protections under the agency's 2015 standard on agricultural worker protection, an agency press release states. EPA classifies the application exclusion zone as "the area surrounding the application that must be free of all persons, other than appropriately trained and equipped handlers, during pesticide applications."

Under the proposal, EPA would reinstate provisions including:

• Applying the AEZ beyond an establishment's boundaries and when workers are within easements, such as for utility workers to access telephone lines.
• Establishing AEZ distances for ground-based spray applications of 25 feet for medium or larger sprays when sprayed from a height greater than 12 inches from the soil surface or planting medium, and 100 feet for fine sprays.

EPA issued a final rule in October 2020 revising the AEZ requirement. However, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York last year extended its stay of the rule, which initially was granted on Dec. 28, 2020