Tell the EPA: Protect teenage farmworkers from toxic pesticides

The petition to the Environmental Protection Agency reads: "You have an obligation to protect the public – especially children – from exposure to dangerous chemicals. Don't roll back rules that protect teenagers and other minor farmworkers from toxic, brain-damaging pesticides." Add your name:

The Scott Pruitt–led EPA is planning to roll back critical rules that prevent minor farmworkers from handling dangerous, cancer-causing pesticides.1 The Obama administration put these important regulations into place to protect teenage farmworkers – some of whom are immigrants who speak limited English and cannot fully consent to handling dangerous chemicals – from life-debilitating exposure to harmful toxins. We must demand that the EPA keep these strong rules in place to ensure the health and safety of young farmworkers. Tell the EPA: Protect teenage farmworkers from toxic pesticides. Click here to sign the petition. It's estimated that there are approximately 500,000 child farmworkers in the United States.2 According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, roughly 20,000 agricultural workers are diagnosed with pesticide poisoning each year, but the number of farmworkers suffering illnesses from pesticide exposure could be as high as 300,000.3,4 Exposure to toxic pesticides can cause serious short- and long-term health problems. According to Earthjustice: The immediate aftermath of acute pesticide poisoning can result in rashes, vomiting, and even death. In the long-term, pesticide exposure has been associated with increased risk of cancers, infertility, neurological disorders, and respiratory conditions.5 And pesticide poisoning disproportionately affects immigrant communities and the poor. Most farmworkers are immigrants, and nearly 60 percent of farmworkers live in poverty.6 We must stand with these young farmworkers and pressure the EPA to drop this heartless plan that will surely poison more children if it's enacted. Tell the EPA: Protect teenage farmworkers from toxic pesticides. Click the link below to sign the petition: https://act.credoaction.com/sign/teenage_farmworkers?t=7&akid=27650%2E3130208%2EbQ4-wp - Josh Nelson, Co-Director, CREDO Action Add your name: References Dave Jamieson, "Trump’s EPA Could Allow Teenage Workers To Handle Dangerous Pesticides," HuffPost, Jan. 10, 2018. Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs, "Children in the Fields, An American Problem," 2007. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, "NIOSH Pesticide Poisoning Monitoring Program Protects Farmworkers," December 2011. U.S. Government Accountability Office, "Hired Farmworkers: Health and Well-Being at Risk," Feb. 14, 1992. Earthjustice, "What you should know about the federal standards that protect farmworkers and families from pesticides," Feb. 28, 2018. Farmworker Justice, "Exposed and Ignored: How pesticides are endangering our nation’s farmworkers," 2013.