Source: GAO, 1/15/21

Greetings,

Based on your organization’s articles or reports about agriculture and related issues in the past, I wanted to make sure you are aware of a new GAO report published today, which can be accessed here: https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-21-63. This report discusses the designated representative provision of EPA’s Agricultural Worker Protection Standard. This provision allows farmworkers to designate a representative to find out which pesticides are used where they work. This information can help farmworkers with pesticide exposure illnesses get faster diagnoses and better treatment.

Farmers have raised concerns that other farmers could be misusing pesticide information for competitive advantage. The EPA, state officials, and others told us they didn't know of any instances of misused information. But EPA guidance doesn't outline how pesticide information should be used.

If you have any questions or would like to conduct an interview regarding this work, please feel free to contact me at (202) 512-3841 or morriss@gao.gov, or GAO's Office of Public Affairs at 202-512-4800.

Sincerely,

Steve Morris
Director, Natural Resources and Environment