Storage Assessment

Content to be modified: Read all the statements in each set and select the one that best describes your storage conditions. The responses, in order from first to last, have a high, medium, or low (zero or negative) point value. Your goal is to score the highest number of points (maximum = 26) by applying as many low risk practices as you can.

  1. You usually store:

_____  no more than 1 gallon or 10 pounds of each pesticide. (2)

_____  more than 1 gallon or 10 pounds, but less than 55 gallons or 50 pounds of each pesticide. (1)

_____  more than 55 gallons or 50 pounds of each of several pesticides. (0)

  1. Your pesticide storage area:

_____  is a roofed building with a waterproof (sealed or coated) concrete floor and curb to contain leaks and spills. (2)

_____  is roofed with a concrete floor and no curb (1)

_____  has a gravel or dirt floor or it is in the open. (-1)

  1. Your pesticide storage area:

_____  has an active (electrical) ventilation system. (2)

_____  has a passive ventilation system (holes or vents to provide cross ventilation). (1)

_____  has no ventilation. (-1)

  1. Your pesticide storage area:

_____  is more than 100 feet (horizontally) from a public water supply or surface waters and more than 50 feet from a private water supply well. (2)

_____  is within 100 feet of a public water supply or surface waters or within 50 feet of a well. (1)

_____  is in your well house or in a facility containing an unsealed well. (0)

  1. Your pesticide storage area:

_____  is locked or secured and separated from other activities (2)

_____  is secured, but sometimes open to activities that could damage containers or spill pesticides. (1)

_____  is not secure and is open to theft, vandalism, and children or other unauthorized persons. (-1)

  1. Your pesticide storage area:

_____  is used for pesticides only. (2)

_____  is sometimes also used for seed, fertilizer or other nonfood/nonfeed products. (1)

_____  is used to store human food or animal feed products. (-1)

  1. Unusable or cancelled pesticides:

_____  are kept separately in the pesticide storage area until safe disposal through your state’s  pesticide disposal assistance program. (2)

_____  are kept with other pesticides in clearly marked containers. (1)

_____  are buried on the farm or dumped off the property. (-1)

  1. Your pesticides are:

_____  in plastic or metal containers.  Containers in poor condition are placed inside another liquid-proof container. (2)

_____  in some metal containers that are deteriorating. (1)

_____  in metal containers with holes or weak seams that may leak or are stored in containers that have previously been used for food, feed, beverages,

or medicine. (-1)

  1. You have pesticides:

_____  stored in clearly labeled original containers. (2)

_____  that have been transferred to another container with the following labeling information: common chemical name, percentage of each active ingredient, EPA registration number, signal word (Caution, Warning or Danger), and use classification (restricted-use or general-use).  (1)

  1. Pesticides are:

_____  store with liquids on lower shelves below dry pesticides and herbicides separated from insecticides and fungicides. (2)

_____  store with liquids below dry pesticides (1)

_____  store without sorting for liquids or type of pesticide. (0)

  1. Your pesticide storage area has:

_____  warning signs posted on all entrances to the storage area which read “Danger – Pesticide – Keep Out – No Smoking” (or similar wording). (2)

_____  warning signs posted, but they have become weathered and are difficult to read. (1)

_____  no warning signs. (0)

  1. Your local fire authorities:

_____  have a copy of your pre-fire plan for handling agricultural chemical fires at your storage area. (2)

_____  are aware of your pesticide storage facility. (1)

_____  do not know about your pesticide storage facility and have not visited your site. (0)

  1. Your inventory of pesticides in storage:

_____  is up-to-date, has Safety Data Sheets (SDS) for each product, and is kept at a central location. (2)

_____  is not kept up-to-date (pesticides placed in storage in the last 6 mos. to a year are not recorded). (1)

_____  is out-of-date or does not exist. (0)