PANUPS: Pesticide Drift Bill Should Become Law

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> PANUPS <panups

> PANUPS: Pesticide Drift Bill Should Become

> Law

> Tue, 07 Sep 2004 16:49:05 -0700

>

> ===========================================

> P A N U P S

> Pesticide Action Network Updates Service

> ===========================================

>

> Pesticide Drift Bill Should Become Law

> September 7, 2004

>

> A California bill that could provide relief to

> victims of pesticide drift is awaiting signature by

> Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. The Pesticide Drift

> Exposure Response Act, SB 391 (Florez), will provide

> for improved response to pesticide drift incidents

> and pay the medical bills of victims of exposure.

> Call, write or email the Governor today and urge him

> to sign SB391.

>

> In recent years California has seen an increase in

> acute poisonings resulting from pesticide drift.

> Frequently the communities most affected by

> pesticide drift are low income communities with

> limited access to medical care.

>

> Last year Lamont, in the San Joaquin Valley, endured

> two consecutive nights of pesticide poisoning. On

> Friday, October 3, 2003, 24 residents complained of

> burning eyes, headaches, nausea and vomiting after a

> nearby field was treated with the fumigant

> chloropicrin, which drifted from the field and into

> the town. Police on the scene told residents to air

> out their homes and call 911 again if they felt

> sick, but there was no investigation to determine

> the cause of the symptoms. The next evening

> chloropicrin was again applied to the other side of

> the same field and 144 people experienced similar

> symptoms. Had there been an adequate response and

> investigation on the first night, the second

> exposure could have been avoided.

>

> Two weeks after the Lamont incident California State

> Senator Dean Florez, who represents much of the San

> Joaquin Valley, began a series of hearings with

> residents of Lamont and other communities impacted

> by major drift incidents. The hearings revealed the

> need for an improved protocol for responding to

> drift incidents and the need for compensation of

> medical costs for victims.

>

> The Pesticide Drift Exposure Response Act, SB 391,

> would address these two deficiencies. Under the

> bill, the responsible pesticide applicator would

> shoulder the cost of immediate, uncompensated

> medical costs incurred by the victims of pesticide

> drift. SB 391 will also provide for improved

> emergency response by expanding existing emergency

> management plans for hazardous materials to include

> protocols for pesticide drift incidents.

>

> This summer SB 391 met strong opposition from the

> agro-chemical industry. The version passed by the

> state legislature did not include an important pilot

> project to allow online access to information about

> especially hazardous and restricted use pesticides

> (RUPs) that growers are planning to apply. This

> system would have allowed first responders (as well

> as the general public) immediate access to

> information that growers are already required to

> file on RUPs in a given area. The bill also would

> have set up programs to train emergency and medical

> personnel to appropriately respond to drift

> incidents.

>

> Even in its current form, the Pesticide Drift

> Exposure Act is an important step in the right

> direction, providing compensation for victims and

> raising the profile of this serious risk to public

> health in the Central Valley and other agricultural

> areas.

>

> Please contact Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and

> urge him to sign SB 391 (Florez), the Pesticide

> Drift Exposure Response Act! (Sample message below.)

>

> Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger:

> Phone: (916) 445-2841

> Fax: (916) 445-4633

> To send an email, visit: http://www.govmail.ca.gov

>

> I'm calling/writing in support of SB 391, the

> Pesticide Drift Exposure Response Act, and to ask

> Governor Schwarzenegger to sign SB 391. This bill

> intends to ensure that victims of pesticide drift

> receive appropriate information, response and

> respect. Thank you.

>

> Sources: PANUPS, Pesticide Drift Sickens Residents,

> Jan. 16, 2004; PANUPS, Pesticide Drift Poisons in

> Central Valley, May 14, 2004.

> Contact: Californians for Pesticide Reform, (415)

> 981-3939 ext 5, email andrea.

>

> PANUPS is a weekly email news service providing

> resource guides and reporting on pesticide issues

> that don't always get coverage by the mainstream

> media. It's produced by Pesticide Action Network

> North America, a non-profit and non-governmental

> organization working to advance sustainable

> alternatives to pesticides worldwide.

>

> You can join our efforts! We gladly accept donations

> for our work and all contributions are tax

> deductible in the United States. Visit

> http://www.panna.org/donate.

>

>

> ===========================================

> Back issues of PANUPS are available online at:

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>

> Please note: responses to this message will not be

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> To comment, send an email to:

> panna

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> To , send a blank email to:

> PANUPS-

>

> Pesticide Action Network North America (PANNA)

> 49 Powell St., Suite 500, San Francisco, CA 94102

> USA

> Phone: (415) 981-1771

> Fax: (415) 981-1991

> Email: panna

> Web: http://www.panna.org

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