ABSTRACT
California has always been known as a leader in environmental regulation, and the pesticides area is no exception. The state has a larger pesticide bureaucracy than the US Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's). California's system is important even to those who don't work under its rules because it is the standard against which other states compare their pesticide programs. Eventually, many observers say, all states will have rules as stringent as those in California. California's Department of Pesticide Regulation within Cal-EPA compiles the information from this reporting system in a number of ways to evaluate potential risks from pesticides in food, investigate potential misuses and farmworker illnesses; and develop exposure assessments for sensitive sites. Pesticide applicators in California must also keep records of the training they have done of their workers. That form is also included.
