From Mary Ann Rose
WPS was first released in 1992 and protects agricultural workers and pesticide handlers at farms, forests, nurseries and greenhouses. A revised rule was signed on September 28 by Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator Barbara McCarthy. This 2015 revision is a comprehensive overhaul of the existing rule and the result of extensive stakeholder input over the past 10 years. The revised rule is expected to significantly reduce pesticide exposure incidents, and is intended to give farm workers a level of protection from pesticides that is directly comparable to industrial worker protection afforded by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) hazardous chemical regulations. The new rule will be published in the federal register later this fall and will take effect 60 days later.
The changes are comprehensive. Pesticide handlers and early-entry workers now must be 18 years of age or older. Training content has been expanded to include new material. The grace period for new employees is eliminated, and workers must now receive training before they enter an area that has been treated with a pesticide with WPS labeling in the last 30 days. Agricultural workers must receive annual training instead of every five years, and a record of training must be kept. Being a pesticide handler no longer qualifies an individual to train workers; worker trainers must be certified applicators, EPA/Federal/Tribal approved applicators, or have completed an EPA-approved train-the-trainer course.
There are new mandatory posting requirements if the pesticide restricted entry interval (REI) exceeds 48 hours for outside applications, or four hours for applications in enclosed spaces. Previously, only greenhouses were required to post signs at treated areas and other growers could choose between oral warnings or posting signs. Also, worker exclusion zones of up to 100 feet away from the application area may be required depending on the type of application; previously, exclusion zones only applied in greenhouses and nurseries. Required amounts of decontamination supplies per worker or handler are now specified. When respirator use is required by the labeling, training, medical evaluation, fit testing, and record-keeping will be required (same as the OSHA requirement).
Safety Data Sheets (SDS) now must be posted with pesticide application information at the central display location, and the specific pesticide application information must be retained for two years after the REI expires. The pesticide application records are to be made available to workers, handlers, designated representatives, or medical personnel upon request.
The farm owner exemption has been expanded to include all in-laws, grandparents, grandchildren, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, and first cousins.
The EPA’s draft compliance schedule indicates that most changes will be required a year after the rule’s effective date; the annual training with updated content will be required after two years. The “How to Comply” manual, which is a key reference for owners and managers, is projected to be available next spring; the worker training materials (videos, manuals, workbooks, PowerPoints) are not expected to be available until mid-2017. For more information on the 2015 revisions to WPS, see the EPA website www2.epa.gov/pesticide-worker-safety/revisions-worker-protection-standard
Mary Ann ‘Mimi’ Rose, Ph.D.
Director, Pesticide Safety Education Program
College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences
Ohio State University Extension
308 Howlett Hall, 2001 Fyffe Ct., Columbus, OH 43210
(614) 247-7489
rose.155@osu.edu
website: http://pested.osu.edu
