“What we agree about is the need for sound science,” Jim Halstrom, of the Washington State Horticultural Association, said in his testimony before the House Select Committee on Environmental Health during a recent hearing on House Bill 1810.

The bill would also require the Health Department to submit a report to the Legislature by April 1, 2009, on the findings of the pilot project as well as recommendations for public policies and program activities to protect human health from pesticide drift.

Pesticide drift is described in the bill as the off-target migration of pesticides during or after applications. The definition also includes migration of pesticides that occur through volatilization and wind-transported dust contaminated with pesticides.

Knowing what’s in the air can also help doctors provide better treatment to people exposed to pesticides.

Gregg Grunenfelder of the state’s Health Department told legislators that department officials know very little about the pesticides in the air.

“HB1810 would give us the opportunity to get the science needed to make rational decisions,” he said.