$56,000 fine issued over pesticide exposure in Santa Cruz County
UPDATE 06/15/18 5:35PM Fines and violations have been issued over a pesticide exposure in Santa Cruz County that sickened more than a dozen farm workers last year.
According to county officials, a pesticide application by an unlicensed contractor drifted onto an adjacent farm on June 29, 2017. About 15 of 24 farm worker employees experienced physical symptoms of pesticide exposure, said county spokesman, Jason Hoppin.
“The investigation found several violations under the Food and Agricultural Code and Title 3 of the California Code of Regulations, including but not limited to failing to perform pest control in a careful and effective manner and operating a pest control business without a license,” said Hoppin.
A $56,000 fine was issued against Watsonville-based Los Amigos Harvesting. County officials said this is the largest fine ever issued by the Santa Cruz County Agricultural Commissioner.
Agricultural Commissioner Juan Hidalgo tells KION, “in this case if the operation had that proper state license, maybe we wouldn’t be having this conversation, but you know the fact that they didn’t have a state license and were operating as a pest control business and they didn’t have a
qualified individual to oversee that operation I believe had a huge impact that led to exposure to those field workers.”
Hidalgo also says, “This was a complex investigation involving dozens of interviews, medical and regulatory records and environmental testing. Protecting the health and safety of farmworkers is paramount. The actions taken by the pesticide applicator that led to individuals becoming ill were careless and negligent. The fines announced today reflect how seriously we take these cases and accentuate the importance of complying with agricultural laws and regulations to protect farmworkers.”
Los Amigos Harvesting did release a statement to KION in response to the fine. They said:
“When we first learned one year ago that several workers were hospitalized in Watsonville due to a suspected pesticide exposure in a field adjacent to where we were working, we were immediately concerned about their well-being. Everyone at Los Amigos Harvesting was thankful to learn that each worker fully recovered almost immediately after that suspected incident.
However, we are disappointed to learn that based upon its investigation of this incident, the Santa Cruz County Agricultural Commissioner finds Los Amigos Harvesting is in violation of state laws related to the application of pesticides.
We diligently follow all federal and state laws pertaining to the use of pesticides in farming activities. Los Amigos Harvesting will be disputing the findings outlined in the Commissioner’s report. As part of the investigation process, we are requesting a hearing to review these findings further and present what we believe to be accurate information.”
In addition to the fines against Los Amigos, the contracter the farmers were working under was also fined. GMF reportedly failed to take immediate action when some of the workers expressed they were feeling ill. Their fine will be $1,250.
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Fines and violations have been issued over a pesticide exposure in Santa Cruz County that sickened more than a dozen farm workers last year.
According to county officials, a pesticide application by an unlicensed contractor drifted onto an adjacent farm on June 29, 2017. About 15 of 24 farm worker employees experienced physical symptoms of pesticide exposure, said county spokesman, Jason Hoppin.
“The investigation found several violations under the Food and Agricultural Code and Title 3 of the California Code of Regulations, including but not limited to failing to perform pest control in a careful and effective manner and operating a pest control business without a license,” said Hoppin.
A $56,000 fine was issued against Watsonville-based Los Amigos Harvesting. County officials said this is the largest fine ever issued by the Santa Cruz County Agricultural Commissioner.
“This was a complex investigation involving dozens of interviews, medical and regulatory records and environmental testing,” Agricultural Commissioner Juan Hidalgo said. “Protecting the health and safety of farmworkers is paramount. The actions taken by the pesticide applicator that led to individuals becoming ill were careless and negligent. The fines announced today reflect how seriously we take these cases and accentuate the importance of complying with agricultural laws and regulations to protect farmworkers.”
