Implementing the Pesticide Registration Improvement Act - Fiscal Year 2018 Fifteenth Annual Report ------- Table 1 PRIA Funded Pesticide Safety Education and Pesticide Worker Protection Activities in FY 2018 Worker Protection Cooperative Agreement Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs (AFOP) National Farmworker Training Program $350,000 PRIA funds support pesticide safety education to agricultural workers and their families. The characteristics of these communities are: high risk, low literacy, non-English speakers, low income, high mobility, and children at risk from take-home exposure. AFOP's Health & Safety Training Program has a network of 230 trainers located in 23 participating sites. Trainers from community-based organizations deliver training on worker protection standard (WPS) pesticide safety and heat stress prevention. In 2018, AFOP trained 46,458 farmworkers and delivered 11 Train-the-Trainer courses for new WPS pesticide safety trainers. Limiting Exposure Around Families (LEAF) is a curriculum that increases awareness of take-home exposure risks to families through training and educational materials. All training and materials are in a bilingual, low-literacy format that offers advice on how to reduce or even eliminate the possibility of exposing their children to pesticide residues. Worker Protection Cooperative Agreement Pesticide Educational Resources Collaborative (PERC) University of California Davis & Oregon State University $575,000 PERC's goal is to develop and facilitate the availability of pesticide safety educational materials and resources to implement the Worker Protection Standard and Certification of Pesticide Applicators regulations. PERC's advisory board (AB) selects the projects to be developed each year. The AB has representatives of pesticide State Lead Agencies, State Cooperative Extension Services, farm worker advocacy groups, the tribal community, and a pesticide applicator/business owner. In 2018 PERC completed: WPS Compliance Assistance Library A menu-driven online library on how to comply with the WPS based on role (e.g., agricultural employer), situation and agricultural activities. WPS Pesticide Safety Training Videos for Workers and Handlers in English and Spanish EPA-approved videos with WPS-required content for annual pesticide safety training of workers and handlers. WPS Train-the-Trainer course online EPA-approved online course to qualify as a WPS pesticide safety trainer. WPS Train-the-Trainer manual in Spanish Manual for WPS pesticide safety trainers on training requirements. WPS Handbook for Agricultural Employers A resource for agricultural employers on basic WPS requirements. Pesticide Applicator Certification Seed Treatment manual and exam bank A manual for pesticide applicators to prepare for certification in the seed treatment category. Exam questions for use by pesticide State Lead Agencies in seed treatment category certification exams. All resources are reviewed by EPA and are available or accessible on PERC's website at httD://Desticideresources.org Page 2 of 3 ------- Worker Protection Cooperative Agreement PERC-med $75,000 The Pesticide Educational Resources Collaborative for medical professionals (PERC-med) aims to educate the medical community on how to prevent, recognize, and treat pesticide- related health conditions. PERC-med has an advisory board of medical professionals, toxicologists, occupational health officials, and university professors to achieve that goal. PRIA funds support continuing education, training, technical assistance and outreach activities. PERC-Med and PERC-Med advisory board members have attended conferences and had a poster presentation accepted. Additionally, PERC-Med is continually updating existing and/or developing new materials and resources, advertising pesticide-related webinars and conferences, and developing networks and partnership to enhance the knowledge of medical professionals and spread more awareness about how to prevent, recognize, and treat pesticide-related illness and injuries. Pesticide Safety Education Programs Cooperative Agreement Powered Up extension Foundation $500,000 The extension (eX) Foundation is a member based 501(C)(3) non-profit virtual network of more than 15,000 extension educators. eX distributes PRIA funds to Pesticide Safety Education Programs (PSEPs) for pesticide applicator training activities. In 2018, eX funded the 46 of 57 PSEPs that applied. Each funds recipient commits to develop a pesticide safety training resource for regional or national use by PSEPs. eX facilitates and encourages collaboration among coordinators working on the same topic. In 2018, PSEPs developed resources (e.g., manuals, fact sheets, presentations, posters) on topics such as personal protective equipment, nozzle selection, drift minimization (including Dicamba), and label comprehension. Page 3 of 3 ------- |