HONOLULU— The the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) filed a complaint last week against agrichemical giant Syngenta for putting the health and safety of farmworkers on Kauai at risk by violating several federal pesticide regulations. The agency says Syngenta failed to tell workers to avoid fields recently treated with restricted-use pesticides, resulting in the hospitalization of several workers. Restricted-use pesticides are so toxic that they are not available to the general public. According to EPA, Syngenta allegedly “allowed or directed workers to enter the treated field before the required waiting period had passed, and without proper personal protective equipment. After the workers’ exposure, Syngenta failed to provide adequate decontamination supplies onsite and failed to provide prompt transportation for emergency medical attention.”