On June 8, 1981, Monterey County Agricultural Commissioner, Richard W. Nutter, filed and adopted a local emergency regulation requiring posting of areas treated with a pesticide that had a safety interval, now known as a restricted entry interval, of 24 hours or longer. Prior to the emergency regulation, Monterey County followed the states regulation which required posting of areas treated with a pesticide that had a safety interval greater than 7 days. The Agricultural Commissioner determined the states requirements did not adequately protect the health and safety of workers while working in treated fields in Monterey County. The decision was made in part, due to continued incidents which occurred when workers entered treated fields while they were still under a safety interval leading to multiple workers experiencing pesticide exposures. At that time, Phosdrin, a widely used pesticide with a safety interval of less than 7 days, had been involved in a number of major and minor incidents due to its application in close proximity to harvesting. The emergency posting regulation was put in place to protect worker’s health and safety because it was highly likely a number of these applications would be taking place over the next 120 days from its adoption date during the harvesting season.
Click here to view the original June 8, 1981, Monterey County Emergency Posting Regulation
The Emergency Posting Regulation would stay in effect for four months. Due to the success of the emergency regulation in protecting worker health and safety, on October 1, 1981, Agricultural Commissioner Nutter adopted a permanent Monterey County Posting Regulation. The posting regulation mirrored the emergency regulation and would only have minor changes. It took effect on October 6, 1981 and would remain in effect until rescinded.
Click here to view the original October 1, 1981, Monterey County Posting Regulation
On May 5, 1983, Agricultural Commissioner Nutter revised the Monterey County Posting Regulation to provide more clarity on applications requiring posting, how to post, and outlined some exemptions to the posting regulation. This was the first step in a series of revisions that would ultimately lead to the current Monterey County Posting Regulation.
Click here to view the revised May 5, 1983, Monterey County Posting Regulation
In or around 1997, the Monterey County Posting Regulation underwent a major revision to address changes in state regulations as a result of the adoption of the Federal Worker Protection Standard. This included the addition of new California Code of Regulation numbers and updated language.
Click here to view the revised 1997, Monterey County Posting Regulation
Monterey County has had a posting regulation in effect, continuously, since June 15, 1981, the day the Emergency Posting Regulation went into effect. The last revision to the posting regulation occurred when Henry Gonzales became Agricultural Commissioner in 2018. While there is no way of knowing exactly how many workers have been protected due to the local regulation, the Agricultural Commissioner’s Office is dedicated to continue protecting the health and safety of Monterey County workers that work in treated fields.
