Guest guest Posted April 29, 2003 Report Share Posted April 29, 2003 Cholinesterase monitoring will soon be coming to the pesticide handlers of Washington State. The requirement that pesticide handlers receive such protection was ordered by the Washington State Supreme Court in a case called Rios v. Department of Labor & Industries. Efforts to enact such a rule appeared to be in jeopardy when the growers went to the state legislature and asked for a 3 year delay. The legislature has rejected that call for delay. Instead, the growers and workers reached and agreement that will cause cholinesterase monitoring to begin in January 2004. The worker/grower agreement proposes that farm workers who handle covered pesticides (Category 1 and 2 organophosphates and carbamates) for 50 or more hours in a 30-day period will receive monitoring beginning 1/15/04; and workers who handle those pesticides for 30 or more hours in a 30-day period will receive monitoring beginning 1/15/05, unless the 2004 data clearly indicates that the threshhold for coverage should be higher or lower. The agreement also has provisions for 1) protection against employers discouraging workers from participating in the program, 2) income and seniority guarantees for workers who are removed from handling activities due to overexposure, and 3) recordkeeping of hours handling covered pesticides. The legislature is likely to fund part of the costs of monitoring for the first 2 years of the program. After that, it will be the sole responsibility of the growers. Jeff of the Washington State Labor Council, Guadelupe Gamboa of the United Farm Workers, and Dan Ford of Columbia Legal Services represented the workers in the negotiations. Griselda Vega of Columbia, Matt Geyman of the Heller Ehrman Law Firm, and Grant Cope and Todd True of Earthjustice Legal Defense also represented the workers. This is an important victory for farmworkers. Congratulations are due to Dan Ford of Columbia Legal Services, Lupe Gamboa of the United Farm Workers of America and all who worked on this agreement. Farmworker Justice Fund Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 30, 2003 Report Share Posted April 30, 2003 Yes, the agreement provides for pre-exposure baseline testing of workers who will get 50 or more hours of exposure in a 30-day period during 2004 (30 or more hours beginning 2005, unless the data clearly demonstrates that the threshold should be higher or lower). Dan Ford Columbia Legal Services 101 Yesler Way, Suite 600 Seattle, WA 98104 ph: 206.464.1122 ext. 213 fax: 206.626.5366 dan.ford@... -----Original Message----- From: Rust [mailto:rustg@...] Sent: Tuesday, April 29, 2003 12:55 PM Subject: Re: [ ] cholinesterase monitoring Congratulations! This is a great step forward. I wonder if the issue of baseline measurements before exposure was addressed? If workers only start getting tested after they've accumulated 50 hours of exposure, then their baseline levels will already be lower than their personal normal would be, and it will be harder to demonstrate the level of decline in cholinesterase levels that would show an unsafe level of exposure. Keep up the good work. Rust, MD, MPH Deputy Director, National Center for Primary Care at Morehouse School of Medicine 720 Westview Drive, SW Atlanta, GA 30310 Voice: 404-756-5740 Fax: 404-756-5767 >>> sdavis@... 04/29/03 11:30AM >>> Cholinesterase monitoring will soon be coming to the pesticide handlers of Washington State. The requirement that pesticide handlers receive such protection was ordered by the Washington State Supreme Court in a case called Rios v. Department of Labor & Industries. Efforts to enact such a rule appeared to be in jeopardy when the growers went to the state legislature and asked for a 3 year delay. The legislature has rejected that call for delay. Instead, the growers and workers reached and agreement that will cause cholinesterase monitoring to begin in January 2004. The worker/grower agreement proposes that farm workers who handle covered pesticides (Category 1 and 2 organophosphates and carbamates) for 50 or more hours in a 30-day period will receive monitoring beginning 1/15/04; and workers who handle those pesticides for 30 or more hours in a 30-day period will receive monitoring beginning 1/15/05, unless the 2004 data clearly indicates that the threshhold for coverage should be higher or lower. The agreement also has provisions for 1) protection against employers discouraging workers from participating in the program, 2) income and seniority guarantees for workers who are removed from handling activities due to overexposure, and 3) recordkeeping of hours handling covered pesticides. The legislature is likely to fund part of the costs of monitoring for the first 2 years of the program. After that, it will be the sole responsibility of the growers. Jeff of the Washington State Labor Council, Guadelupe Gamboa of the United Farm Workers, and Dan Ford of Columbia Legal Services represented the workers in the negotiations. Griselda Vega of Columbia, Matt Geyman of the Heller Ehrman Law Firm, and Grant Cope and Todd True of Earthjustice Legal Defense also represented the workers. This is an important victory for farmworkers. Congratulations are due to Dan Ford of Columbia Legal Services, Lupe Gamboa of the United Farm Workers of America and all who worked on this agreement. Farmworker Justice Fund ESD CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This transmission may contain confidential information protected by state or federal law. The information is intended only for use consistent with the state business discussed in this transmission. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any disclosure, copying, distribution, or the taking of any action in reliance on the contents is strictly prohibited. If you have received this transmission in error, please notify the sender immediately to arrange for return, destruction or deletion of the transmission. Your cooperation is appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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