Protecting Farm Workers and Pesticide Handlers from Pesticide Exposure

October 6, 2016

Updates on the federal Worker Protection Standard (WPS)

For those who raise agricultural crops on farms, nurseries, forests or greenhouses, and employ farm workers or pesticide handlers, following the requirements of the federal Worker Protection Standard can help protect those workers and handlers from the risks of pesticides used to grow those crops.

Beginning on January 2, 2017, many changes to the federal regulation will take effect. While the Environmental Protection Agency has provided information nationwide and I’ve been doing presentations to various commodity group in Wisconsin this past year, there is still much to be shared. At the same time, manuals, videos, fact sheets and recordkeeping forms are still being developed by EPA and their partners.

These emails are another option for me to provide important WPS-related information to you. I created this email list from various resources. If you aren’t interested in these information, you can unsubscribe. At the end of this message, find the link "Manage Your Preferences" under the heading Subscriber Services. If you know others who would benefit from regular updates on worker protection, please share this email with them.

My intent is to use each email to cover one or more rule revisions in more detail, to share new resources or fact sheets or provide reminders about new requirements.

In this Issue:

• Changes to Worker Protection
• New How to Comply Manual Available
• Find Other WPS Resources Through PERC
• New Worker Training Video
• Training Workers and Handlers and Qualified Trainers

Changes to Worker Protection

EPA published the changes to worker protection in November 2015 but the majority of the revisions don’t take effect until January 2, 2017. The remaining changes will become effective in January 2018. For a quick overview of the revisions made to the federal regulation, check out this comparison chart. The column heading “New 2015 Provision” provides the details on the upcoming revisions.

Some key changes to note:

• Workers must receive pesticide safety training every year rather than every five years. If a worker or handler was trained in 2016, they will need WPS training within one year of the 2016 training. For example, a worker trained on April 14, 2016 will need to be retrained prior to April 14, 2017.
• The definition of immediate family has expanded to include grandparents, grandchildren, in-laws, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and first cousins. Immediate family are exempt from many WPS requirements.
• Pesticide applicators, mixers/loaders, those that repair application equipment or those that handle open pesticide containers must be at least 18 years of age. (Immediate family members do not have to follow this.)
• Pesticides that require the use of a respirator means that applicators must have a medical evaluation, perform respirator fit testing, receive training on respirator use and records of these activities must be maintained.
• Pesticide application information is still posted for 30 days past the expiration of the restricted entry interval (REI) but that information must be captured and maintained for two years.

NEW How to Comply Manual

The EPA has created a new How to Comply manual that is available on-line.

 

Find Other WPS Resources Through PERC

Get up to date training materials and other WPS-related information from the Pesticide Educational Resources Collaborative or PERC. This group was formed between EPA’s Office of Pesticide Programs and the University of California Davis Extension in collaboration with Oregon State University. PERC will develop pesticide-related education resources including material for worker protection. Visit the PERC website then select “WPS Inventory of Training Materials.” You can also sign-up for emails so when something new is placed on the PERC website, you’ll be notified.

 

NEW Worker Training Video

One key item to look for is a new training video that replaces “Chasing the Sun.” The video is available to download from the PERC website and it is also available on You Tube. The training video is available in English and Spanish, with and without subtitles. Remember you must be a qualified trainer to train your workers. See next topic area.

 

Training Workers and Handlers & Qualified Trainers

Training workers in pesticide safety must be done by a qualified trainer. That means a trainer must be a currently certified pesticide applicator or have taken an EPA-approved Train the Trainer course. Unfortunately, if you have already taken the on-line Train the Trainer course through Iowa State University, you must retake the course as it is being updated and will be designated as an EPA-approved training course. http://www.extension.iastate.edu/psep/workerprotect.html. The revised course is not yet available. Check the ISU website and I will send out information through this email when I learn more.

Pesticide handlers who are currently certified pesticide applicators do not need annual training. Handler training material for uncertified handlers is being developed.

For more information on worker protection, contact Jane Larson, worker protection specialist, jane.larson@wisconsin.gov, 608-224-4545, or visit the worker protection webpage.

 

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