Carol Dansereau Quotations

We're glad that the percentage is lower than the prior year. But our main feeling is that when you have one out of every 10 workers having these significant declines in cholinesterase, you've got a serious problem that needs to be addressed.

If the Department of Agriculture can't even take this baby step forward, what can they do to protect health?

The proposed rule is a far cry from what is needed to protect farmers, workers, and children from pesticide drift. It makes no sense to give notice only to select property owners when the whole community should be notified. Also, the notification zone is too small. We would like to see all property owners within one mile of farms given advance notice of pesticide application.

We would like to see steps taken to prevent drift from happening at all. Drift is a major exposure route for farmers and their families. Currently, lack of enforcement of existing pesticide drift laws is a major problem. The proposed rule is important because a crucial part of enforcement is being able to have notice so as to document violations. Notice goes hand in hand with the ability to enforce.