EPA Seeks Public Comments to Ensure Information on Bilingual (Spanish) Pesticide Labels Reaches the Hands of America’s Farmworkers

This original announcement was published by the EPA on August 3, 2023. Click here for more information.

 

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is seeking public comments on how to make bilingual pesticide labeling accessible to farmworkers. As part of the Pesticide Registration Improvement Act of 2022, safety and health portions of pesticide product labels are required to be translated into Spanish. EPA wants input from stakeholders including labor groups, agricultural retailers, individual farmers and farmworkers and more on how to successfully set up an implementation plan that will ensure pesticide label information reaches America’s farmworkers to help prevent pesticide exposure and assist in addressing long-standing environmental justice issues.

Spanish is the primary language of communication for most American farmworkers. EPA is seeking the public’s input to create a strategy to share bilingual (Spanish) pesticide labels with farmworkers and account for communication challenges (such as lack of internet or cell service) in the nation’s farm fields. Specifically, EPA is seeking information on outreach and communication approaches, engagement methods, cultural perspectives, technology considerations, partnerships, and potential environmental justice matters.

Help EPA make pesticide product labels accessible to farmworkers by providing your feedback in public docket EPA–HQ–OPP–2023–0270, Pesticide Registration Improvement Act Bilingual Labeling Requirements: Making Bilingual Pesticide Labeling Accessible to Farmworkers on or before Monday, August 21, 2023. By improving access to bilingual (Spanish) pesticide labels, EPA hopes the implementation plan will increase knowledge, information sharing, and the safety of our nation’s farmworkers.

For general inquiries, email: OPPbilinguallabels@epa.gov.