Agricultural use requirements
Use this product only in accordance with its labeling and with the Worker Protection Standard, 40 CFR 170. This standard contains requirements for the protection of agricultural workers on farms, forests, nurseries, and greenhouses, and handlers of agricultural pesticides. It contains requirements for training, decontamination, notification, and emergency assistance. It also contains specific instructions and exceptions pertaining to the statements on this label about personal protective equipment, restricted-entry intervals and notification of workers.
WPS is designed for agricultural establishments
An agricultural establishment is any farm, forest operation, or nursery engaged in the production of agricultural plants outdoors, or in an enclosed space such as a greenhouse.
The WPS also covers family-owned agricultural operations in which family members are the only persons who work on the establishment.
1. Inspection Station
First, it is important to know your responsibilities:
Farm Manager
An owner or manager who employs workers and/or handlers. This includes family-owned farms that hire non-family agricultural labor.
The kinds of tasks your employees do, within 30 days of a pesticide application, will determine whether you have workers, handlers, or both. Someone may be a worker while completing one task and a handler while completing a different task.
Handler
Handlers are paid to mix, load, transfer, or apply pesticides, or to do other tasks that bring them into direct contact with pesticides.
Worker
Workers are paid to do tasks involved in the
production of agricultural plants such as planting, harvesting, weeding, re-potting, pruning, or watering. Workers do not apply pesticides or handle the equipment used to apply pesticides. This group includes the “early-entry worker,” a fully-trained and equipped worker who is able to perform limited tasks before the restricted-entry interval (REI) expires. Early entry within the first 4 hours after a pesticide application is prohibited.
Family Farmer
The farm is majority-owned and operated (NOT rented or leased to outsiders) by one or more members of the same immediate family. If qualified, the family farmer is exempt from most WPS requirements that pertain to immediate family members. See Family Reunion for more information.
2. Which Way Cafe
You have two great resources that can help you:
- North Carolina Cooperative Extension
- North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (NCDA&CS)
There are a number of requirements for different categories:
- Pesticide safety training
- Central posting of information
- PPE and decontamination supplies
- Record keeping of pesticide
applications - Emergency assistance provisions
- Establishment-specific information
- Employer information exchange
- Retaliation prohibition policies
- Communication with farm-servicing
personnel
For all the general responsibilities for agricultural employers, see page 20 of the How to Comply with the 2015 Revised Worker Protection Standard for Agricultural Pesticides – What Owners and Employers Need to Know manual for details.
To purchase a printed copy, visit the National Pesticide Safety Education Center website.
3. WPS Learning Center
Pesticide safety training is an absolute must.
All handlers and workers MUST be trained before they perform any worker or handler task on the establishment (except as listed for in the exemptions) and they must complete the training every 12 months thereafter.
The key requirements for WPS training:
- There is no grace period for WPS training. The farm manager must ensure that the WPS training is completed within the last 12 months before:
- Any worker enters a treated area where a WPS-labeled pesticide was used within the last 30 days, or an REI for such pesticide has been in effect.
- Any handler conducts any handling task.
- Workers and handlers are exempt from the WPS training
if they are currently:- Certified as an applicator of restricted-use pesticides.
- Certified as a crop advisor by a program acknowledged as appropriate in writing by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), or a state or tribal agency responsible for pesticide enforcement.
- Identified as a worker who completed the WPS handler training within the previous 12 months.
- Use only qualified trainers for the WPS training.
- Train workers and handlers annually.
- Provide training that can be understood, and use a translator when necessary.
- Present training with EPA-approved materials.
- Keep records of worker/handler training for two years.
- Make training records available to employees on request.
For more information about worker training see page 36, and for handler training, see page 58, of the How to Comply manual.