EPA takes action against Nevada Onion ($56,320 for charged misuse pesticides (no OSHA?)

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.rgj.com/article/20081212/MVN01/812120411/1305/BIZ01

December 12, 2008

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, on Dec. 4, fined a Yerington agricultural operation $56,320 for charged misuse pesticides and failing to comply with pesticide worker safety laws.

The EPA charged Nevada Onion, located on Bowman Lane in Mason Valley, misused the pesticides Lannate LV, Champ Dry Prill, Dithane DF, Thiosperse, Thiolux, and Diatec II during numerous applications throughout 2007, failing to comply with label directions that require the company to minimize the risk of exposure by notifying workers of recent pesticide applications on particular fields, and failing to have decontamination supplies available to workers in case of exposure.

"EPA takes seriously the protection of agricultural workers," said Katherine Taylor, associate director of the EPA's Communities and Ecosystems Division for the Pacific Southwest region. "And it's a serious violation of the law when employers don't provide their agricultural workers with information and protections that minimize the risk of potential exposure to pesticides."

The Nevada Department of Agriculture is said to have discovered the violations after it inspected the facility in August, 2007, following reports that field workers were seeking medical attention for injuries charged to be the result of pesticide exposure.

For more information on the federal regulation and enforcement of pesticides, visit http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/ and http//:www.epa.gov/compliance/civil/fifra/index.html. For further information on the Worker Protection Standard, visit http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/health/worker.htm.