The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced three new funding opportunities aimed at supporting pesticide safety education for agricultural workers, training healthcare providers to better address pesticide-related illnesses, and providing technical assistance to manage these grants. A total of nearly $10 million will be awarded to at least four beneficiaries over five years.
More than two million agricultural workers help cultivate and harvest the food that feeds the nation. These workers and their families are at high risk of pesticide exposure due to their work in areas where pesticides are used. Additionally, pesticide-related illnesses are often misdiagnosed and underreported because healthcare providers receive limited training on occupational and environmental health. This population largely consists of people of color and immigrants with limited English proficiency, low incomes, and limited access to healthcare, making the health and safety of agricultural worker communities an environmental justice issue.
“These programs are a crucial step in the EPA’s commitment to environmental justice,” explained Michal Freedhoff, Deputy Assistant Administrator for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention. “Agricultural workers are at greater risk of developing pesticide-related illnesses, which are often misdiagnosed and improperly treated. It is vital that we invest in improving pesticide safety, education, and healthcare for agricultural worker communities.”
Details on each funding opportunity are provided below.
**Pesticide Safety Education Training Program**
The EPA is calling for applications from nonprofit community organizations experienced in training agricultural workers or pesticide handlers or developing educational materials. The program aims to support training, material development, and outreach on pesticide safety within agricultural worker communities. The goal is also to help them understand their rights under the Worker Protection Standard (WPS), a regulation aimed at limiting occupational exposure to pesticides. The new program builds on previous efforts while including measures tailored to meet the needs and culture of agricultural worker communities in their native languages. The EPA expects to award two cooperative agreements totaling up to $6.3 million over five years starting in 2025.
For more information about this agreement, eligibility criteria, and how to apply, visit our Pesticide Safety Education Training Program website.
**Pesticide Healthcare Initiative**
The EPA is seeking applications from nonprofit organizations with experience in training healthcare providers who serve agricultural worker populations for a five-year cooperative agreement worth up to $2.1 million. This initiative aims to enhance healthcare providers' ability to prevent, recognize, treat, control, and report pesticide-related illnesses by strengthening consideration of non-medical factors influencing patients' health.
For more details about this agreement, eligibility criteria, and how to apply visit our Pesticide Healthcare Initiative website.
**Technical Assistance for Pesticide Safety Grants**
The EPA is inviting applications for a cooperative agreement worth up to $1.47 million designed to provide technical assistance with grant administration and compliance for beneficiaries of both the Pesticide Safety Education Training Program and the Pesticide Healthcare Initiative described above. This Technical Assistance Grant will ensure recipients have necessary support resources for managing EPA cooperation agreements effectively while creating resources aiding organizations through application processes for future cooperation agreements aimed at protecting workers from pesticides.
For additional information about this agreement's eligibility criteria and application process visit our Technical Assistance Grants website.
###
