Background
Pesticides are chemicals used predominantly in
agriculture and also urban environments to kill or
control pests, such as weeds, diseases, insect pests
and other animal pests. The pesticide application
rate on California cropland is about 4.5 times the
national average.2 Exposure to pesticides is linked to
acute poisoning and chronic diseases, such as cancer,
respiratory disease and developmental disorders in
children.3
There are significant racial disparities in exposure to pesticides and associated health impacts. Research by the California Environmental Protection Agency found that
pesticides are one of the top two pollutants in California whose impacts are most correlated with race and
ethnicity.4 Farmworkers and their families in particular experience high rates of exposure to pesticides because of working and living near pesticide applications, lack of protection at work, low quality housing, and lack of access to supplies needed to clean work clothes.5
In California, more than 90% of farmworkers are from
Mexico6 and about 75% are undocumented.7 According
to DPR, the top counties in terms of overall volume
of pesticides applied are the Central V alley counties of Fresno, Kern and T ulare. All three counties are majority Latinx.8
Problem
DPR rarely addresses the concerns of environmental
justice communities in their regulations and
activities, often adopting the agricultural industry’s
recommendations instead.
February 2023
AB 652: Establishing an Environmental
Justice Advisory Committee at the
Department of Pesticide Regulation
By Assemblymember Alex Lee
Summary
The California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) is tasked with protecting ecosystem and human health by regulating the sale and application of pesticides and “fostering reduced-risk pest management.”1 However, the Department’s decision-making often functions counter to its health-protective mission.
Despite the known environmental injustices of pesticide exposure in California, DPR is not publicly accountable to the communities most affected by its decisions. The establishment of an Environmental Justice Advisory Committee would increase transparency and accountability to these communities.
For more information, please contact Asha Sharma at [email protected] or Jane Sellen at [email protected].
Pesticide Action Network • 2029 University Ave #200, Berkeley, CA 94704 • Tel (510) 788-9020 • www.panna.org 1 California Department of Pesticide Regulation. (2023). https://www. cdpr.ca.gov/index.htm.
2 Ferguson, R., Dahl, K., & DeLonge, M. (2019). Farmworkers at Risk:
The Growing Dangers of Pesticides and Heat. Union of Concerned Scientists. https://www.ucsusa.org/resources/farmworkers-at-risk. 3 Ha, S. & Cisneros, R. (2023). Environmental influences on agricultural worker health. UC Merced. https://clc.ucmerced.edu/sites/clc. ucmerced.edu/files/page/documents/environmental_influences_on_ agricultural_worker_health.pdf.
4 Cushing, L., Faust, J., August, L. M., Cendak, R., Wieland, W., & Alexeeff, G. (2015). Racial/ethnic disparities in cumulative environmental health impacts in California: evidence from a statewide environmental justice screening tool (CalEnviroScreen 1.1). American journal of public health, 105(11), 2341-2348.
5 McCauley, L. A., Lasarev, M. R., Higgins, G., Rothlein, J., Muniz, J., Ebbert, C., & Phillips, J. (2001). W ork characteristics and pesticide exposures among migrant agricultural families: a community-based research approach. Environmental health perspectives, 109(5), 533-538. 6 Aguirre International. (2005). The California Farm Labor Force Overview and T rends from the National Agricultural W orkers Survey. https://www.alrb.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/196/2018/05/ CalifFarmLaborForceNA WS.pdf.
7 UC Merced. (2023). Farmworker Health Study. https://clc.ucmerced. edu.672elmp01.blackmesh.com/farmworker-health-study.
8 U .S. Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/ tularecountycalifornia,kerncountycalifornia,fresnocountycalifornia/ PST045219.
9 Donohue, A & Y eung, B. (2014). California’s pesticide chiefs: Where are they now? Center for Investigative Reporting. https://revealnews. org/article-legacy/californias-pesticide-chiefs-where-are-they-now/. 10 Chase, S. & Wyanta, S. (2021). Syngenta taps Dolcini to lead North American Sustainability, Environmental Affairs. Agripulse. https:// www.agri-pulse.com/articles/16187-dolcini-joins-syngentas- washington-office.
A recent example includes DPR’s proposed regulation
on the fumigant pesticide 1,3-D, the third most-used
pesticide in California and a known carcinogen that has been banned in 34 countries. DPR recently proposed
an exposure limit supported by Dow Chemical, the
manufacturer of 1,3-D, ignoring the level recommended
by state scientists at the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA), which is 14 times lower.
At a recent hearing on the proposed regulation, more
than 100 farmworkers and community members urged
DPR to adopt OEHHA’s recommendation rather than
Dow’s, yet DPR continues to defend their proposed
regulation.
There also is a continuous, revolving door between DPR
leadership and the chemical and agribusiness industry,
with many past DPR directors and deputy-directors
leaving their roles to accept jobs with industry.9 For
instance, the last director is now employed by pesticide giant Syngenta.10
Solution: AB 652
There is currently no formalized, public, or consistent way for environmental justice communities to provide
feedback or recommendations to DPR, despite the
fact that they bear the brunt of pesticide-related health impacts. This bill seeks to create an Environmental
Justice Advisory Committee at DPR that would create
more transparency and accountability to environmental
justice communities.
Similar committees exist at other state agencies and
departments, including the California Air Resources
Board’s Environmental Justice Advisory Committee,
the California Department of Food and Agriculture’s
BIPOC Farmer Advisory Committee, and the Strategic
Growth Council’s Agricultural Land Equity T ask
Force. At the federal level, the National Environmental Justice Advisory Council was established to provide
advice and recommendations to the U .S. Environmental
Protection Agency on how to integrate environmental
justice considerations into Agency programs, policies
and activities. There is a critical need for DPR to have a similar body given pesticides’ links to environmental injustice.
The committee would be composed of members from
communities experiencing high pesticide exposure,
tasked with guiding and monitoring the activities
of the Department. Members would be selected
from environmental justice organizations, socially
disadvantaged farmers and ranchers, Native American
and tribal groups, and farmworker advocates. DPR
would conduct formalized reporting to the committee
and would be required to abide by its recommendations.
This would be an important first step in centering
environmental justice in the Department’s activities and decisions.
Notes