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State warns Immokalee farm but finds no serious violations during
pesticide exposure investigation
By TRACY X. MIGUEL
IMMOKALEE
— The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services has issued
and sent a warning letter to Johnson Plants after investigating claims
of pesticide exposure and other violations at the farm.
The state found no confirmation that anyone was exposed to pesticide at
the Immokalee farm, said Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer
Service environmental administrator Craig Bryant.
Yet, the state found one instance of a worker protection standard
violation.
During the investigation, the state found that Johnson Plants did not
properly display specific pesticide application information regarding
the use of a pesticide called Hormodin 2, according to the warning
letter. Employers are required to display specific information about a
pesticide, including when the pesticide was applied and how long before
re-entering, Bryant said.
The label for Hormodin 2 cautions that the substance causes moderate eye
injury and is harmful if inhaled or absorbed through the skin.
The investigation follows a anonymous claim by two pregnant female
workers, who say they were hospitalized in April after they were exposed
to pesticides at Johnson Plants, 2303 Johnson Road, according to Adan
Labra, an organizer for the Farmworker Association of Florida. One of
the women lost her baby due to an ectopic pregnancy, which occurs when a
fertilized egg settles and grows in any location other than the inner
lining of the uterus.
The anonymous report also indicated that workers were allowed to enter
an area treated with pesticides before a safe amount of time had passed.
The state agency regulates pesticide use in Florida. The state has
specific rules and regulations regarding farmworkers, including
requiring protective equipment and setting delays for re-entering a farm
after the use of pesticide.
Officials from Johnson Plants couldn’t be reached for comment on Monday.
The warning letter was placed in the state’s mail on May 7.
Officials at Johnson Plants have 21 days after receiving the letter to
dispute the warning.
The state will consider the matter concluded and place a copy of the
warning letter in Johnson Plants’ file, according to the warning letter.
Bryant said it was what the state considers a “technical type
violation.”
According to Labra, both women, whose names weren’t released, suffered
flu-like symptoms, headaches and nosebleeds.
The initial anonymous reported was that two women had miscarriages.
However, one of the woman delivered twins prematurely.
According to the warning letter, “after a complete review of the case
file regarding this investigation, the allegations that workers were
exposed to pesticides, consequently suffering respiratory distress, skin
irritation and two miscarriages, and that the workers were allowed to
enter areas treated with pesticide prior to the expiration of the
restricted-entry interval, were not sustained.”
Labra questioned if the pregnant woman, who lost her child, was
interviewed during the investigation or if her husband was interviewed
while working at Johnson Plants.
Bryant confirmed that Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer
Services staff didn’t interview the woman and interviewed her husband at
the farm.
The state investigated the farm’s spray records, whether required
protective equipment was used, if proper training was done and conducted
on-site interviews with other workers.
Labra said he didn’t know if a lawsuit would be filed.
“We need to continue to improve the state law to favor the workers,”
Labra said.
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