UNIT 3

UNIT 3 - What Employers Must Do for Both Workers and Handlers

Some WPS protections that employers must provide are nearly the same whether the employees are workers or handlers. This unit describes those requirements. Unit 4 describes additional requirements that employers must provide to their employees who are workers. Unit 5 describes additional requirements that employers must provide to their employees who are handlers. If you employ both workers and handlers, you will need to read all three of these units.

Information at a Central Location
Pesticide Safety Training
Decontamination Sites
Employer Information Exchange
Emergency Assistance

Information at a Central Location

Basic Responsibilities

Worker employers must make sure that certain information, described below, is displayed at a central location whenever (1) any worker whom they employ is on their agricultural establishment, and (2) a pesticide is about to be applied or has been recently applied.

When agricultural establishments employ their own handlers, handler employers of such establishments must make sure that certain information, described below, is displayed at a central location whenever (1) any handler whom they employ is on their agricultural establishment, and (2) a pesticide is about to be applied or has been recently applied. However, this information does not need to be displayed if only commercial (custom) pesticide handlers will be on the agricultural establishment.

Commercial pesticide handler employers do NOT need to display this information on the commercial pesticide handling establishment.

Specific Duties

What Information Must Be Displayed?
The following three types of information must be displayed:

Application list, which must include:
- the location and description of the area to be treated,
- product name, EPA registration number, and active
- ingredient(s) of the pesticide,
- time and date the pesticide is scheduled to be applied, and
- restricted-entry interval for the pesticide.
Emergency information, which must include the name, telephone number, and address of the nearest emergency medical facility. i>A pesticide safety poster, which must be either the WPS safety poster developed by EPA or an equivalent poster that contains the concepts listed in Criteria for Pesticide Safety Poster.

If the pesticide is not applied as scheduled, you must list the corrected time and date the application takes place. List the correction before the application takes place or as soon as practicable thereafter.

Where Must the Information Be Displayed?
Display the required information together in a central location on your agricultural establishment where it can be easily seen and read by workers and handlers.

Exception:
If the workplace is a forest, you may display the information near the forest. It must be in a location where workers and handlers can easily see and read it and where they are likely to gather or pass by. For example, you might display the information at a decontamination site or an equipment storage site.

When Must the Information Be Displayed?
Display the information whenever any worker or handler you employ is on your agricultural establishment and, in the past 30 days, a pesticide has been applied or a restricted-entry interval has been in effect. It may be displayed continuously.

Timing of Application List Information
Earlier display. If you post WPS warning signs at treated areas, you must display the application list at the central location no later than the time when the warning signs are posted.

If workers or handlers are on your establishment at the start of an application, record the required pesticide-specific information on the application list and display it before the application takes place.
If workers or handlers are NOT on your establishment at the start of an application, display pesticide-specific information no later than the beginning of their first work period.
Continue to display pesticide-specific information when workers or handlers are on your establishment until:
- at least 30 days after the'restricted-entry interval expires, or
- at least 30 days after the end of the application, if there is no restricted-entry interval for the pesticide.

Other Responsibilities

Inform workers and handlers where the information is located.
Allow workers and handlers access to the information.
Be sure that the poster, emergency information, and application list remain legible during the time they are posted.
Promptly inform workers if there is any change in the information on emergency medical facilities and update the emergency information listed with the poster.

Pesticide Safety Training

Basic Responsibilities

Handler employers must make sure that handlers are trained, as described below, about general pesticide safety and about correct ways to handle pesticides.

Worker employers must make sure that workers have been trained, as described below, about general pesticide safety. This includes workers who enter treated areas on the farm, forest, nursery, or greenhouse during a restricted-entry interval to perform WPS-permitted tasks.

Specific Duties

Who Must Be Trained?

Entry during a restricted-entry interval is permitted only in a few strictly limited circumstances; see Early Entry.
Each worker and handler must be trained.
This requirement is met if the worker or handler:

has been trained within the last 5 years as a WPS handler or WPS worker, even if he or she has changed employers,
OR
is currently a certified applicator of restricted-use pesticides,
OR
is currently trained (as specified in EPA's certification and training regulations) as a handler who works under the supervision of a certified pesticide applicator.

How Soon Must They Be Trained?

Handlers must be trained before they do any handling task.
Early-entry workers who will contact anything that has been treated with the pesticide which caused the restricted-entry interval must be trained BEFORE they do any early entry task on your establishment.
Early-entry workers who will NOT contact anything that has been treated with the pesticide which caused the restricted- entry interval must be trained in the same time period as that described for workers below.
Workers must be trained before they accumulate more than 5 separate days of entry into treated areas on your establishment where, within the past 30 days, a pesticide has been applied or a restricted-entry interval has been in effect. These 5 days of such entry need not be consecutive and may occur over several periods of employment or over several seasons or years.

Exception:

Starting on April 15, 1994, and until October 20, 1997, workers must be trained about general pesticide safety before they accumulate more than 15 separate days of entry into such treated areas on your establishment.

How Often Must Handlers and Workers Be Trained?

Handlers and workers must be trained at least once every 5 years, counting from the end of the month in which the previous training was completed.

Who Can Conduct Training?

1.The person who conducts handler training must:

currently be a certified applicator of restricted-use pesticides (in any category of certification),
OR
currently be designated as a trainer of certified pesticide applicators or pesticide handlers by a State, Federal, or Tribal agency having jurisdiction,
OR
have completed a pesticide safety train-the-trainer program approved by a State, Federal, or Tribal agency having jurisdiction.

2.The person who conducts worker training must:

currently be qualified to present handler training, as described immediately above,
OR
currently be trained (as specified in EPA's certification and training regulations) as a handler who works under the supervision of a certified pesticide applicator,
OR
currently be trained as a WPS handler,
OR
have completed a pesticide safetv train-the-trainer program approved by a State, Federal, or Tribal agency having jurisdiction.

How To Conduct Training

1.Anyone who conducts worker or handler training must:

use written and/or audiovisual materials,

present the training orally or audiovisually,

present the information in a manner that the trainees can

understand, using a translator, if necessary, respond to trainees' questions. 2.Anyone who conducts worker training must use non- technical terms.

Content of Training

The pesticide safety training materials for workers and handlers must be either:

WPS training materials developed by EPA,
OR
equivalent material that contains at least the concepts listed in Criteria for Worker and Handler Training.
Verification of Training
If you make sure that a handler has an EPA-approved WPS handler training card or that a worker has an EPA-approved WPS worker or handler training card, the person does not have to be retrained UNLESS you are aware, or have reason to know, that the card is invalid.
A WPS training card is invalid if you, the employer:
- are aware, or have reason to know, that the card was not issued according to the criteria in the WPS. For example, you know that the person who gave the training was not qualified to conduct WPS training, or that the content of the training did not meet the WPS criteria, or the trainee could not understand the training when it was given.
  OR
- are aware, or have reason to know, that the card was not issued to the person who has the card.
  OR
- know that the training for which the card was issued took place more than 5 years before the beginning of the current month (the card has expired).
Avoiding Discrimination in Hiring
Even if you do not normally provide training in the particular language of a job applicant, or if a translator is not readily available, you are not exempted from your training responsibilities under the WPS. Refusing to hire an applicant who cannot understand the language or languages in which you usually provide training may constitute discrimination on the basis of national origin. Such discrimination is actionable under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 or the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA).
If you want information about your responsibilities under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, contact the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. For details about IRCA anti-discrimination provisions, contact the Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices, U.S. Department ofjustice.

Decontamination Sites

Basic Responsibilities
Handler employers must make sure that a decontamination site (described below) for washing off pesticides and pesticide residues is provided to handlers while they are doing handling tasks.
Worker employers must make sure that a decontamination site (described below) for washing off pesticide residues is provided to workers who are working in a pesticide-treated area and are doing tasks that involve contact with anything that has been treated with the pesticide, including soil, water, or surfaces of plants.
The WPS requires that decontamination sites be provided regardless of the number of employees. There is no exemption for employers with only a few employees.

Specific Duties
When Must the Site Be Provided?
For handlers, for the duration of the handling task.
For workers, until 30 days after the end of any restricted-entry interval for that area. If there is no restricted-entry interval, until 30 days after the end of any application in that area.
For early-entry workers who will contact anything that has been treated with the pesticide, the decontamination site requirements are different. See Decontamination Sites for Early Entry Workers, .
Decontamination and emergency eye flush water must, at all times when it is available to workers or handlers, be of a quality and temperature that will not cause illness or injury when it contacts the skin or eyes or if it is swallowed.
Supplies
Provide each decontamination site with:
1. Water-enough for:
  - routine washing, and
  - emergency eyeflushing.
    If the water is stored in a tank, the water must not be used for mixing pesticides, unless the tank is equipped with correctly functioning anti-backsiphoning or check valves or other mechanisms (such as air gaps) that prevent pesticides from moving into the tank.
2. Soap and single-use towels-enough for workers' or handlers' needs.
3. At handler decontamination sites ALSO provide:
  - enough water for washing the entire body in case of emergency, and
  - clean change of clothes, such as one-size-fits-all coveralls, to put on if the handler's garments are contaminated and need to be removed right away.
How Much Water Should Be Provided?
Obviously, running water meets the requirement. However, if it is not available, use the following guidelines.
- Workers: At least I gallon of water is recommended for each worker using the site. If you find that one gallon per worker is inadequate to last for the entire work period, provide more water or replenish the water at some point during the work period.
- Handlers: At least 3 gallons of water is recommended for each handler using the site. If you find that 3 gallons per handler is inadequate to last for the entire work period, provide more water or replenish the water at some point during the work period.
Location
1. Worker and handler decontamination sites must be reasonably accessible to the workers and handlers and not more than 1/4 mile from where they are working. Handlers mixing pesticides must have a decontamination site at the mixing area.
  Exceptions:
  - For a pilot who is applying pesticides aerially, the decontamination site must be at the aircraft's loading site or in the aircraft.
  - For tasks performed more than 1/4 mile from the nearest point reachable by vehicles (cars, trucks, or tractors), the decontamination site may be at the access point. In this circumstance, clean water from springs, streams, lakes, or other sources may be used for decontamination if such water is more readily available than the water at the decontamination site.
2. Worker decontamination sites must NOT be in an area being treated with pesticides or in an area under a restricted-entry. interval.
3. Handler decontamination sites may be located in an area being treated with pesticides (or an area that has a restricted- entry interval in effect), only if:
  - It is in the area where the handler is doing handling tasks,
    AND
  - The soap, single-use towels, and clean change of clothing are in closed containers,
    AND
  - The water is running tap water or is in a closed container.
Emergency Eyeflushing
Provide each handler with at least I pint of emergency eyeflush water when the pesticide labeling requires protective eyewear for the handling task being performed. The emergency eyeflush water must be immediately accessible. For example, it could be carried by the handler or be on a vehicle the handler is using. The emergency eyeflush water may be the water at the decontamination site if the decontamination site is immediately accessible.
Decontamination After Handling Tasks
At the site where handlers remove their personal protective equipment (PPE), provide:
soap,
clean towels, and
enough water to allow handlers to wash thoroughly after removing PPE.

Employer Information Exchange

Basic Responsibilities
Employers of commercial pesticide handlers must make sure that their customer-the operator of the farm, forest, nursery, or greenhouse- -knows certain information, pesticide before it is applied on the establishment.
Operators of farms, forests, nurseries, and greenhouses (agricultural employers) must make sure that, whenever a commercial handler will be doing pesticide handling tasks (including tasks as a crop advisor) on their establishment, the commercial handler's employer knows specific information, described below, concerning treated areas on the agricultural establishment.

If the pesticide is not applied as scheduled, the agricultural employer must be informed of the corrected time and date of the application. Make the correction before the application takes place or as soon as practicable thereafter.

Specific Duties
Information for Establishment Operators
Commercial handler employers must inform their customer-the operator of the farm, forest, nursery, or greenhouse-about:
- the specific location and description of the area(s) on the agricultural establishment that are to be treated with a pesticide,
- time and date the pesticide is scheduled to be applied,
- product name, EPA registration number, and active ingredients,
- restricted-entry interval for the pesticide,
- whether the pesticide labeling requires both treated-area posting and oral notification, and
- any other specific requirements on the pesticide labeling concerning protection of workers and other persons during or after application.
Operators of agricultural establishments must have this information to protect their employees. See Information at a Central Location, and Notice About Applications. Information for Commercial Handier Employers Operators of agricultural establishments must provide the following information to the commercial pesticide handler employer that they hire:
Specific location and description of any areas on the agricultural establishment:
- that may be treated with a pesticide or be under a restricted-entry interval while the commercial handler will be there,
  AND
- that the commercial handlers may be in (or walk within 1/4 mile of).
- Restrictions on entering those areas.
Operators of commercial pesticide handling establishments must have this information to protect their employees. See Specific Instructions for Handlers.
Emergency Assistance

Basic Responsibilities
Worker employers must provide emergency assistance, described below, to anyone who is or has been employed as a worker on their farm, forest, nursery, or greenhouse if there is reason to believe that the worker has been poisoned or injured by a pesticide used on the agricultural establishment-for example, through application, spills, splashes, drift, or contact with pesticide residues.
Pesticide handler employers must provide emergency assistance, described below, to anyone who is or has been employed as a handler on their farm, forest, nursery, or greenhouse or on their commercial pesticide handling establishment, if there is reason to believe that the handler has been poisoned or injured by a pesticide as a result of that employment-for example, through application, spills, splashes, drift, handling tasks, or contact with pesticide residues.

Employers can "make transportation available" by:
Specific Duties
Emergency Transportation
1. Promptly make emergency transportation available to take the worker to an emergency medical facility able to provide treatment:
  from the agricultural establishment, or
  from a labor camp located on the establishment.
2. Promptly make emergency transportation available to take the handler to an emergency medical facility able to provide treatment:
  - from the agricultural establishment, or
  - from another handling site, such as a commercial handling establishment or an airport hangar.
Emergency Information
Provide to the worker or handler or to treating medical personnel, promptly upon request, any obtainable information on:
- product name, EPA registration number, and active ingredients for any product (s) to which the person may have been exposed,
- antidote, first aid, statement of practical treatment and other medical or emergency information from the product labeling, -
- description of the way the pesticide was being used, and
- circumstances of the worker's or handler's exposure to the pesticide.
Forward to Unit 4
Back to the Table of Contents
Index

UNIT 3 - What Employers Must Do for Both Workers and Handlers

CONTENTS

Information at a Central Location

Basic Responsibilities

Specific Duties

Pesticide Safety Training

Basic Responsibilities

Specific Duties

Decontamination Sites

Basic Responsibilities

Specific Duties

Employer Information Exchange

Basic Responsibilities

Specific Duties

Emergency Assistance

Basic Responsibilities

Specific Duties