New Worker Protection Rule By EPA Targets Pesticide Application Methods

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is revising its worker protection standard (WPS) to limit pesticide applicators' exposure to harmful chemicals, including adoption of a first-time certification requirement for use of widely used fumigant chemicals, which one source says marks the first time EPA will set standards based on chemicals' application methods rather than based on the pest that is being targeted. One source familiar with the issue says EPA's new approach marks "a major shift" for how the agency regulates the chemicals and is a move long called for by activists. However, one f