Implementation of EPA's worker protection standard training for agricultural laborers: An evaluation using North Carolina data

The US Environmental Protection Agency has promulgated a Worker Protection Standard which requires that farmworkers receive pesticide safety training. The implementation of these regulations has not been evaluated. Using data collected through personal interviews with 270 Hispanic farmworkers recrui ted from 35 labor sites in an eight-county area, the authors analyzed the e xtent to which farmworkers received pesticide safety training, characterist ics of the training, and variations in knowledge and safety behavior. Approximately a third of the farmworkers reported having ever received info rmation or training on pesticide safety, and 25.6% reported having received training in the year in which they were interviewed, Workers with H2A visa s were significantly more likely to have received training than workers wit hout these visas. The training received varied in location, duration, and l anguage. Most included the use of a video, as well as verbal presentation, and most included printed materials, However, few workers knew the ways in which they could be exposed to pesticides or reported using any method to p rotect themselves from pesticide exposure.