Angel Garcia of Californians for Pesticide Reform addresses the crowd in Shafter. Courtesy photos.
Oxnard resident, a member of the Coalition Advocating for Pesticide Safety – Ventura County or CAPS 805, states more needs to be done regarding “Spray Days” to provide more accurate information.
SHAFTER, CA — For decades farmworker communities across California have demanded the right to know beforehand what, when, and where hazardous agricultural pesticides will be applied. They have wanted to be able to take safety precautions against exposure to pesticides drifting from fields. For years these communities have called for an online system that could warn of upcoming toxic pesticide applications.
(On March 24), that system has finally arrived. … The California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) launches the new online statewide pesticide notification system called “Spray Days”.
“This is a first-in-the-world pesticide notification system,” said Californians for Pesticide Reform (CPR) Co-Director Angel Garcia. “Since California uses more pesticides than any other state, including more than 130 pesticides that are not approved in the European Union, farmworker communities have demanded a ‘heads up’ in order to take measures to reduce the risk of exposure to our loved ones. We need far better protections from the State, but this is a giant step forward toward transparency about toxic pesticide use.”
Byanka Santoyo, an organizer with the Center on Race, Poverty & the Environment (CRPE) added: “Right here in Shafter, five years ago, our community called on the Ag Commissioner to give us advanced notice of cancer-causing fumigant applications, but he refused. We kept pushing and pushing at AB 617 meetings, at public hearings, at news conferences and protests. Now, not just Shafter, but the whole state will have access to upcoming pesticide information.”
The Spray Days system allows for anybody with Web access to search a map of California for notices of intended pesticide applications for the following day (for fumigants, the information will be provided 48 hours in advance). People can also signup to receive notices of pending pesticide use through text or email. The notices will be for restricted material pesticides only – the pesticides considered most hazardous by DPR. Some of these restricted pesticides can cause cancer and damage brains and lungs, among other health harms.
“We love the pesticide map-system and the opportunity to get text notices. With this information, for the first time, agricultural communities can take the proper health precautions by closing windows and doors, taking clothes off the line, and allowing the especially vulnerable – like pregnant or asthmatic individuals– to stay indoors at home, work, or school,” said Erika Alfaro, a public health nurse in Northern California and member of Safe Ag Safe Schools.
Irene Gomez, an Oxnard resident and member of the Coalition Advocating for Pesticide Safety – Ventura County or CAPS 805, raised a remaining concern: “When my community in Nyeland Acres had the pilot notification project, our biggest issue was that you couldn’t find out exactly where the pesticides would be applied – which farm? That’s still a problem with Spray Days. You can only know pesticides are being applied within a square mile, but not whether it’s coming from behind your house, across the street, or even a mile away.”
It is possible such concerns can be addressed through the Spray Days review process, which calls for an Environmental Justice Advisory Committee and the California Department of Food & Agriculture to make annual recommendations for changes, as well as a yearly public comment period.
Prior to the DPR’s presentation, The Center on Race, Poverty & the Environment; Californians for Pesticide Reform; and allies sponsored a celebratory news conference at Shafter Veterans Hall.
Gustavo Aguirre speaks to supporters of pesticide notification in Shafter.
The Center on Race, Poverty & the Environment, based in Delano, California, is a national environmental justice organization providing legal, organizing, and technical assistance to grassroots groups in low-income communities and communities of color. Our mission is to achieve environmental justice and healthy, sustainable communities through collective action and the law.
Californians for Pesticide Reform, is a diverse, statewide coalition of 200+ member groups working to strengthen pesticide policies in California to protect public health and the environment. Member groups include public and children’s health advocates, clean air and water groups, health practitioners, environmental justice groups, labor, education, farmers and sustainable agriculture advocates from across the state.