The Environmental Protection Agency adopts a new rule weakening guidelines that protected farmworkers from exposure to harmful pesticides.
In 2015, the EPA established the Application Exclusion Zone (AEZ), a legal perimeter around pesticide equipment. If any farmworkers or bystanders were within 100-feet of the equipment, pesticides could not be released into the environment.
The new EPA rule removes that restriction if the person near the equipment is not technically on the farm.
In December, five states sue the EPA, claiming the rule change violates federal law.
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Photo: Jed Owen
