NATIONAL PESTICIDE SAFETY TRAINER HANDBOOK DEVELOPED BY PROGRAM STAKEHOLDERS NOW ON THE NASDA WEBSITE

       The NASDA Research Foundation has been working closely with the U.S. EPA's Office of Pesticide Programs (EPA) to develop a comprehensive handbook for those providing required federal Worker Protection Standard (WPS) training to agricultural workers on farms, forests, nurseries, and greenhouses as cited in 40 CFR Part 170.  "The National Worker Safety Trainer Handbook: Pesticide Safety for Agricultural Workers" details basic pesticide information and regulations, the WPS regulation, the WPS regulation's required training content, suggested preparations for training, recommended training techniques, examples of interactive training methods, and other information for conducting the training.  The handbook is suitable for use in train-the-trainer courses, and by trainers delivering pesticide safety training directly to agricultural workers.  The publication is being distributed to state departments of agriculture, tribes, cooperative extension service offices, worker safety training organizations, and advocacy groups in the spirit of sharing resources and information.
       The NASDA Research Foundation recognizes that a significant percentage of the agricultural workforce is Spanish-speaking and may have limited English language proficiency.  In an effort to meet the needs of Spanish-speaking trainers, those training workers in Spanish, and Spanish-speaking workers themselves, the NASDA Research Foundation plans to translate the pesticide safety trainer handbook into Spanish during the current year.  A Spanish-speaking workgroup charged with translating the handbook has been assembled and has begun work.  As a quality assurance and quality control measure, the Spanish handbook will undergo peer review before being finalized.  Estimated distribution for the Spanish language publication is December 2008. 
       The NASDA Research Foundation gratefully acknowledges the many contributions made by the regulatory and adult education experts involved in this project since its inception.  Special thanks go to Jennifer Weber of the Arizona Department of Agriculture, Luis Urias of the Idaho Department of Agriculture, Mario Saavedra of the Texas Department of Agriculture, and Karen Lewis of Washington State University Cooperative Extension Service for their work in refining the handbook during the past eighteen months.  The NASDA Research Foundation would also like to thank Dr. Patrick O'Connor-Marer formerly of the University of California at Davis, the Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs, and all those involved with the 2000-2003 National Assessment of the Worker Protection Program Train-the-Trainer Pilot Project for their efforts in establishing a solid collaborative foundation, which made this publication possible.  The handbook is posted on the NASDA website and to view or download the English version of the pesticide safety trainer handbook please visit http://www.nasda.org/workersafety/.  (Contact: Dick Herrett)