Research Triangle Park, NC - Tobacco growers are getting ready to prepare their fields for planting, and this year that means getting themselves ready with fittings for respirators. The EPA has released new guidance regarding respiratory protection for farmers using specific fumigants on their crops.  Agriculture is one of the largest business segments in the State of North Carolina and the new guidance from the EPA places an increased burden on farms, large and small, across the United States. 

EI has partnered with the NC AgroMedicine Institute to support North Carolina’s farmers as they seek to comply with these new regulations.  The NC Tobacco Trust Fund provided grant money to the NC AgroMedicine Institute for this endeavor and EI has been involved in multiple onsite testing days to provide the growers with the safety products and fit testing they require. 

George Elderbaum has served as EI’s project lead and was recently quoted in the Daily Reflector for his work on this project.  Other states will look to North Carolina as the model of how to support growers seeking safety compliance with their fumigant usage.

About The EI Group, Inc. - The EI Group was founded in 1988 as an environmental, health and safety consulting firm dedicated to providing quality, cost-effective consulting, training and engineering services to the public and private sectors nationwide.  EI, a privately owned company, employs approximately one hundred (100) professionals and is headquartered in Morrisville, North Carolina, with branch offices in Charlotte and Wilmington, North Carolina; Richmond and Roanoke, Virginia; Greenville, South Carolina; Louisville, Kentucky; and Dallas, Texas.

For more information on The EI Group and its service offerings, please contact Adam Underwood, at aunderwood@ei1.com or 919.459.5264.

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