{"id":11299,"date":"2013-07-24T07:34:46","date_gmt":"2013-07-24T11:34:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/?p=11299"},"modified":"2013-07-24T10:01:09","modified_gmt":"2013-07-24T14:01:09","slug":"new-epa-administrator-urged-to-take-action-on-bees-farmworker-issues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2013\/07\/new-epa-administrator-urged-to-take-action-on-bees-farmworker-issues\/","title":{"rendered":"New EPA Administrator Urged to Protect Farmworkers and Bees"},"content":{"rendered":"

(Beyond Pesticides, July 24, 2013<\/i>) Gina McCarthy, a veteran environmental regulator and President Obama\u2019s pick to run the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), \u00a0finally had her appointment confirmed by the U.S. Senate after an almost five month delay imposed by Senate Republicans. Ms. McCarthy’s appointment got caught up with other cabinet appointments that Republicans were blocking. News of her confirmation was applauded by environmental groups who urge her to focus of several key environmental issues before the agency including climate change, farmworker justice, and pollinator protection.<\/p>\n

Last Friday the Senate confirmed Gina McCarthy to lead EPA, ending the agency’s longest period without a permanent administrator and closing the door on a contentious dispute over votes on executive nominees. Ms. McCarthy, who currently heads the agency’s Air and Radiation Office, was confirmed on a 59-40 vote. Ms. McCarthy will succeed Lisa Jackson, who stepped down in February, and replaces acting Administrator Bob Perciasepe. The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee cleared Ms. McCarthy’s nomination in May.\"MccarthyObama\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Environment and Public Works Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) said ahead of the vote that the Senate could “not have a more qualified, more bipartisan nominee,” noting that Ms. McCarthy had worked for Republican governors in Massachusetts and Connecticut. Senator Boxer also slammed Republicans for holding up the nomination because of problems they have with the agency, not with the candidate. Environmental organizations see her as a key ally in efforts to limit greenhouse gas emissions from power plants over the next few years, but she has also won praise from business officials who view her as open to compromise.<\/p>\n

Administrator McCarthy now has a tough job ahead of her. She will oversee the effort President Obama announced in a recent speech on climate change to develop regulations designed to cut carbon dioxide emissions from existing power plants.<\/p>\n

Action Needed For Pollinators<\/b><\/p>\n

Environmental organizations are calling on her, as they did with her predecessor, \u00a0to focus resources on addressing the pollinator crisis, specifically the negative environmental and economic impacts of outdoor uses of the EPA-approved neonicotinoid insecticides: imidacloprid<\/a>, clothianidin \u00a0<\/b><\/a>, thiamethoxam, dinetofuran and acetamiprid, which have been linked to bee declines across the globe.<\/p>\n

Earlier this month, environmental and advocacy organizations in a joint letter<\/a> urged President Obama to direct EPA \u00a0 to follow Europe\u2019s lead in suspending certain neonicotinoid pesticides uses, but requests even more protective measures, including a minimum two-year suspension for all <\/span><\/i>outdoor uses of neonicotinoid insecticides pending resolution of their hazards to bees and beneficial organisms. Highlighting the negative environmental and economic impacts of EPA-approved neonicotinoid insecticides, as well as a recognition that the initial risk assessments for these chemicals fail to adequately consider key risks to bee health, the letter to President Obama notes that it \u201cwould not be responsible to continue to allow these threatening compounds to be used so broadly.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to the groups, EPA has refused to exercise its regulatory power to address the major contribution of these insecticides to bee declines. Instead, EPA has pointed to dust coming off of planters used by farmers, pathogens, bee nutrition, and factors outside the agency\u2019s authority, \u00a0while \u00a0failing to adopt measures that could offer long-term sustainable \u00a0protection of \u00a0bee populations. The letter also cites emerging science that documents extensive surface water contamination and impacts on non-target organisms, such as aquatic invertebrates<\/a>, birds <\/a>and other pollinators.<\/p>\n

Action Needed for Farmworker Protections<\/b><\/p>\n

Urgent action is also needed to protect the health of farmworkers and their families. In February 2013, \u00a0a coalition<\/a> of environmental and farmworker organizations submitted a letter<\/a> to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), urging the agency implement long overdue revisions to the Worker Protection Standard (WPS) of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act <\/i>(FIFRA). An estimated 5.1 billion pounds of pesticides are applied to crops annually in the U.S., and farmworkers face the greatest threat from these chemicals than any other sector of society, with thousands of farmworkers each year experiencing pesticide poisoning. The federal government estimates that there are 10,000-20,000 acute pesticide poisonings among workers in the agricultural industry annually, a figure that likely understates the actual number of acute poisonings since many affected farmworkers may not seek care from a physician. As a result of cumulative long-term exposures, farmworkers and their children<\/a>, who often work on the farm or live nearby, are at risk of developing serious chronic health problems such as cancer, neurological impairments and Parkinson\u2019s disease.<\/p>\n

Farmworkers and advocates are calling for the following changes to the Worker Protection Standard:<\/p>\n