Three years ago, Hawaii’s Department of Agriculture put in place voluntary pesticide-use guidelines on Kauai. The Agricultural Good Neighbor Program was rolled out as a compromise of sorts amid a raucous Kauai County battle over proposed mandatory disclosures pertaining to large-scale pesticide use and farming of genetically modified crops.

For the sake of ongoing public health concerns, it’s reassuring to see the department now poised to go statewide with the program, which aims to inform nearby residents before spraying an area. Of particular concern is the use of restricted-use pesticides that biotech firms use for commercial agricultural operations.

This week the state Agriculture Department and the Department of Health announced new initiatives to improve transparency. Among them: new worker protection standards as well as increased monitoring and data collection. If effectively executed, the initiatives have the potential to allay worries.

The need for an overhaul in worker protections is spotlighted in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s recent move to sue Syngenta Seeds, LLC, for failing to adequately protect workers during a Jan. 20 pesticide-related incident in a Kauai cornfield.

In that case, 10 workers were taken to a hospital for treatment related to exposure to the insecticide chlorpyrifos. Small amounts can cause nausea and headache while very high exposure can cause respiratory paralysis. Nineteen workers entered the field about 20 hours after it was sprayed with chlorpyrifos. The wait time to reenter the field is 24 hours.

When a supervisor realized the error, the workers were pulled, according to a Syngenta spokesman, who said no worker sustained injury, although three stayed at the hospital overnight for observation.

It’s unnerving to imagine what could have happened had the supervisor not noted the reentry error. Mistakes occur. The state’s worker protection initiatives should include double-checks for managers and provide workers with adequate pesticide-related education and operations information. Such an incident could be avoided if workers are also keeping an eye on chemicals being sprayed and reentry schedules.

The state’s initiatives come in response to the Kauai Joint Fact- Finding Report, which called on state regulators to step up vigilance. Commissioned in early 2015 by the Agriculture Department and Kauai County, the report, released earlier this year, was the work of a team of nine Kauai residents with science backgrounds.

The team found no substantial evidence that pesticides harm plants, animals or humans. However, it did find 11 of some 20 known health conditions associated with pesticide exposures in the Kauai population and detailed five — developmental delay, ADHD, renal disease, diabetes and obesity — in the report.

While supporters of more stringent pesticide rules say the report validates their health-related concerns, agribusinesses’ backers say it serves as proof that practices are safe in that there was no pinpointing of serious environmental or human health concerns.

Both sides accepting the report’s findings clears the way for speedy implementation of the state’s initiatives.

Among other tasks, the Health Department will enforce required monthly reporting of pesticide usage and post it for public viewing on state websites. It also will provide annual training and medical testing for those who apply pesticides.

Another good move is a $500,000 study for the U.S. Geological Survey to test surface water on Oahu and Kauai for pesticides. The state Health Department will provide technical and scientific assistance in the state-funded project, with initial results expected to be released after the first year.

Plus, the state, to its credit, is carving out a funding source for initiatives. For example, it will triple the cost of registering pesticides, with the extra money slated to fund new monitoring efforts.

After years of pesticides controversy, these actions by the state should help create a needed layer of public-health assurance.