WORDS TO LIVE BY 



EPA FACT SHEET 



Wor1{er Protection Standard for Agricultural Pesticides 



THE ENVIRONMENTAL Protection 

 Agency (EPA) is issuing final revi- 

 sions to Its regulations governing the 

 protection of workers from agncul- 

 tural pesticides. These revised regula- 

 tions expand the scope of the stan- 

 dard to include not only workers per- 

 forming hand labor operations in 

 fields treated with pesticides, but em- 

 ployees in forests, nursenes, and 

 greenhouses, and employees who 

 handle (mix, load, apply, etc.) pesti- 

 cides for use in these locations. The 

 regulations expand requirements for 

 warnings about applications, use of 

 personal protective equipment, and 

 restnctions on entry to treated areas, 

 and add new provisions for decon- 

 tamination, emergency assistance, 

 maintaining contact with handlers of 

 highly toxic pesticides, and pesticide 

 safety training. Pesticide registrants 

 are required to add appropnate label- 

 ing statements referencing these regu- 

 lations and specifying application re- 

 stnctions, restncted-entry intervals 

 (REI's) penonal protective equipment 

 (PPE), and notification to workers of 

 pesticide applications. EPA has deter- 

 mined that Its present regulations are 

 inadequate to protect agncultural 

 workers and pesticide handlers who 

 are occupationally exposed to pesti- 

 cides. The revised regulations are in- 

 tended to reduce the nsk of pesticide 

 poisonings and injuries among agn- 

 cultural workers and pesticide han- 

 dlers through implementation of ap- 

 propriate exposure reduction methods. 



The provisions in the revised 

 Worker Protection Standard are di- 

 rected toward the working conditions 

 of two types of employees: 

 pesticide handlers — those who 

 handle agncultural pesticides (mix, 

 load, apply, clean or repair equip- 

 ment, act as flaggers, etc.), and 



agricultural workers — those who per- 

 form tasks related to the cultivation 

 and harvesting of plants on farms or 

 in greenhouses, nurseries, or forests. 



There are three types of provisions 

 intended to: 



1. Eliminate or reduce exposure to 

 pesticides, 



2. Mitigate exposures that occur, 



FOR INFORMATION: 



UNITED STATES 



ENVIRONMENTAL 



PROTECTION AGENCY 



OFFICE OF PESTICIDES 



AND TOXIC SUBSTANCES 



401 M STREET SOUTHWEST 

 WASHINGTON, DC 20460 



TELEPHONE: 

 Z02-260'2902 



3. Inform employees about the 

 hazards of pesticides. 



1. PROVISIONS TO 

 ELIMINATE OR REDUCE 

 PESTICIDE EXPOSURES 



This final rule limits pesticide expo- 

 sures by establishing restncted entry 

 intervals (REI's) for all pesticide 

 products which are used in the pro- 

 duction of agricultural plants and for 

 which REI's have not been set ac- 

 cording to current standards. The REI 

 is a penod of time after application 

 of a pesticide dunng which worker 

 entry to the treated area is restricted. 



• Previously established REI's will 

 be retained if they are based on entry 

 data that meet Agency guidelines. 

 Any other previously established en- 

 try interval is considered to be "in- 

 tenm" and will be retained only if it 

 IS longer than the REI established by 

 Part 170. 



• 48-hour REI is established for any 

 product that is highly toxic because 

 of dermal toxicity or skin or eye irri- 

 tation. (The REI is extended to 72 

 hours m and areas if the product is 

 an organophosphate and is applied 

 outdoors. ) 



• 24-hour REI is established for any 

 product that is moderately toxic be- 

 cause of dermal toxicity or skin or 

 eye initation. 



• 12-hour REI is established for all 

 other products. 



Overall exposure to pesticides is 

 reduced in this final rule by: 



• Prohibiting handlers from applying 

 a pesticide in a way that will expose 

 workers or other persons. 



• Excluding workers from areas being 

 treated with pesticides, 



• Excluding workers from areas that 

 remain under an REI, with narrow 

 exceptions, 



• Protecting early-entry workers who 

 are performing permitted activities in 

 treated areas dunng an REI, including 

 special instructions and duties related 

 to correct use of PPE, 



• Notifying workers about treated ar- 

 eas so they can avoid inadvenent ex- 

 posures, and • Protecting handlers 

 during handling activities, including 

 monitonng while handling highly 

 toxic pesticides and duties related to 

 correct use of PPE. 



2. PROVISIONS TO MITIGATE 



EXPOSURE 



Exposure to pesticides is mitigated 



in this final rule by: 



• Decontamination supplies — 



providing handlers and workers an 

 ample supply of water, soap, and 

 towels for routine washing and 

 emergency decontamination, 



• Emergency assistance — making 

 transportation available to a medical 

 care facility if an agricultural worker 

 or handler may have been poisoned 

 or injured by a pesticide, and pro- 

 viding information about the 

 pesticide(s) to which the worker or 

 handler may have been exposed. 



3. PROVISIONS TO INFORM 

 EMPLOYEES ABOUT PESTI- 

 CIDE HAZARDS 

 This final rule provides information 

 about pesticide hazards through: 



• Pesticide safety training — 

 requiring training for workers and 

 handlers, 



• Pesticide safety poster — requiring 

 the posting of a pesticide safety 

 poster, 



• Access to labelinq information — 

 requiring that pesticide handlers and 

 early-entry workers are informed of 

 pesticide label safety information, 

 and 



• Access to specific information — 

 requinng a centrally located listing 

 of pesticide treatments on the 

 establishment. » 



32 THE Plantsman 



