Farm fined $125K for exposing workers to pesticides, DA office says
By Ricardo Tovar
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SALINAS, California (KSBW) — The Monterey County District Attorney’s Office announced that a farm must pay more than $100,000 in penalties for allegedly exposing employees to pesticides.
The Environmental Protection Unit of the District Attorney’s Office resolved the case against The Growers Company, Inc. (“Growers”) for allegedly violating pesticide-related laws.
In one instance, on Oct. 9, 2023, a Growers supervisor ignored pesticide warning signs in a lettuce field and ordered a crew of 93 field workers into a field that had been treated with various pesticides less than 24 hours earlier, per the district attorney’s office.
One of the pesticides allegedly used, Sivanto Prime, has a 24-hour restricted-entry interval, and no one is allowed to enter during that period.
The District Attorney’s Office claims that 66 of the field workers developed symptoms consistent with exposure to pesticides, such as nausea, dizziness, headache, and irritation of the throat, nose, eyes, and skin.
“Moreover, despite legal requirements to take all exposed employees to a physician for medical care, Growers took only 34 of the exposed employees to a physician for evaluation,” per the District Attorney’s Office.
The ruling requires Growers to pay $125,194 in civil penalties and costs and includes injunctive terms to prevent further violations.
A felony criminal charge was also filed against a Growers supervisor, who has since died.
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