OXNARD -- The State Compensation Insurance Fund will sponsor seminars in English and Spanish addressing the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Worker Protection Standard (WPS) for Agricultural Pesticides. The Oxnard seminars are free to State Fund policyholders and will be held in English on November 15th and in Spanish on November 16th.

The EPA’s Worker Protection Standard for Agricultural Pesticides is a federal regulation designed to protect employees on farms, forests, nurseries, and greenhouses from occupational exposures to agricultural pesticides. The Standard requires that agricultural workers receive training in basic pesticide safety. These seminars are designed to assist policyholders in WPS employee training compliance.

The focus of the seminars will be on “training the trainer” for both California and U.S. EPA fieldworker requirements. Training requirements include pesticide safety training; notification of pesticide applications; use of personal protection equipment; restricted entry intervals following pesticide application; decontamination supplies, and emergency medical assistance.

Participants will receive a certificate of attendance and will be included on the California Department of Pesticide Regulation's list of qualified instructors.

The seminars are scheduled from 9:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on both days at State Fund’s Oxnard District Office, 2901 N. Ventura Road, 2nd Floor conference room.  To register, please call Alberto P. Aldana at (805) 988-5270 or Lorenzo A. Zwaal at (805) 988-5427.

The Oxnard seminar is part of a series of educational programs State Compensation Insurance Fund is holding throughout the state in order to help employers create safe workplaces. State Fund has the largest safety and health services program among California workers’ compensation insurance carriers.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Established by the California Legislature in 1914, San Francisco-based State Compensation Insurance Fund is a self-supporting, nonprofit, fairly competitive public enterprise that provides workers’ compensation insurance coverage at cost to California employers.