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Protecting employees and their families from pesticide exposure is the right thing to do. And it’s the law.
Hands that help with homework and arms that hug shouldn’t cause harm. No one wants to hurt their family, but employees at your agricultural business might not realize they may be unintentionally bringing agricultural pesticides home to their families on their hands, shoes or clothing.
Protecting your employees and their families from pesticide exposure is a responsibility of every agricultural business. It isn’t just the right thing to do. It’s the law.
The Agricultural Worker Protection Standard was
issued by the Environmental Protection Agency in 1995 to reduce pesticide
poisonings and injuries among agricultural workers and pesticide handlers.
It was updated in 2015 with requirements to reduce pesticide exposure
incidents for employees and family members.
ResponsibleAg provides
these quick reminders to help you keep employees safe and your business
compliant heading into the busy application season.
- Agricultural employers are
required to train
all employees before they work with or around pesticides.
- There is no grace period on
training employees.
- Pesticide handlers and
early-re-entry workers must be at least 18 years old.
- Training required is specific
to the type of work employees do.
- Annual retraining is required.
- Training must be done by
a qualified
individual.
- EPA-approved pesticide
safety training
materials must be used.
- A record of each employee’s training must be kept on
file for two years.
Read our Pesticide Safety Whitepaper for an overview of the WPS,
pesticide safety practices and compliance requirements for your
agribusiness.
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