United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Enforcement
& Compliance Assurance
Washington, DC 20460
EPA305-F-01-010
August 2001
www.epa.gov
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Ag Center
Helping Agriculture Comply with
Environmental Requirements
FOCUS ON
Information Commercial
Handlers Must Provide to
Growers
The Agricultural Worker Protection Standard (WPS) is a regulation issued by the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency in 1992 and amended in 1995. It covers pesticides that are
used in the production of agricultural plants on farms, forests, nurseries, and greenhouses. The
WPS requires you to take steps to reduce the risk of pesticide-related illness and injury if you (1)
use such pesticides, or (2) employ workers or pesticide handlers who are exposed to such
pesticides.
This fact sheet will help you understand how to comply with WPS requirements concerning the
information that commercial handlers must provide to their customers about pesticide-treated
areas. These questions were submitted to the Agency by people seeking clarification on this part
of the regulation, and have been answered by EPA's Office of Compliance.
Information provided by
commercial handlers to growers
Commercial pesticide handlers (custom
applicators) must make sure that their
customer -- the operator of the farm,
forest, nursery, or greenhouse -- knows
certain information about the pesticide
before it is applied on the establishment.
If the pesticide is not applied as
scheduled, the customer 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.
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How can commercial
handlers comply with
the requirement for
notifying growers in
advance about pesticide
applications?
Commercial pesticide handlers must
inform their customers 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 ingredient (s)
• restricted-entry interval for the
pesticide.
• whether the pesticide labeling
requires both treated-area posting
and oral notification.
• any other specific requirements on
the pesticide labeling concerning
protection of workers and other
people during or after application.
Your customers — the operators of
agricultural establishments -- must have
this information to protect their
employees as required by the WPS.
If the initial notification of an
application cannot be made
because of difficulty in reaching
the grower (agricultural
employer), can notification be
made after application?
No. There are no provisions for allowing
notification after application because of
earlier difficulty in contacting the
grower (agricultural employer).
How soon before an application
must a commercial handler
(handler employer) provide the
information to the grower
(agricultural employer)?
The WPS requires that the information
be provided by the commercial handler
to the grower anytime before the
application takes place. [40 CFR section
170.224]
The WPS requires that, before
the application of any pesticide
on an agricultural establishment,
a commercial handler must
provide certain information
about the pesticide and the
application, or must assure that
the customer -- the operator of
the farm, forest, nursery, or
greenhouse -- is aware of the
information. [40 CFR 170.224].
What constitutes compliance
with this requirement?
EPA recommends that the operator of
the agricultural establishment
(agricultural employer) and the
commercial pesticide handler (handler
employer) agree on a notification
process that will ensure that workers will
not be in an area while it is being
treated or under a restricted entry
interval (REI). For example, they could
Ag Center Fact Sheet Series
Agrichemicals/WPS - Commercial Handlers Must Inform Growers
Page 2
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Agrichemicals
agree that without prior mutual
agreement, an application will never
occur before the scheduled time, and
the grower (agricultural employer) will
not permit workers into the area to be
treated until he/she receives notification
from the commercial handler that:
• either the application will not take
place until a specified future time at
the earliest, or
• the application has taken place and
specific information required by the
WPS is provided to the grower.
Examples of compliance:
1. An oral exchange of the required
information between the
commercial handler and the grower
before an application would comply
with WPS notification
requirements.
2. Leaving a complete message on a
telephone answering machine before
the application would constitute
compliance if the message was
actually received by the grower
before the application.
3. Leaving a complete message on the
answering machine before the
application would constitute
compliance if the commercial
handler and grower had agreed that
by leaving a complete message on
the answering machine, notification
could be accomplished. In this
example, the commercial handler
would have satisfied his/her
obligations under the WPS even if
the message was not checked by the
grower before the application. The
grower, however, would remain
responsible if workers were sent into
treated areas in violation of any
portion of the WPS.
For more information
To get more facts about compliance,
contact the Ag Center by phone, fax, or
mail. Call the toll-free number to ask
compliance questions or order
publications. At the Center's web site,
www.epa.gov/agriculture, you can
explore compliance information and
order or download publications. For a
complete publications list, request
document 10001, "Ag Center
Publications."
National Agriculture Compliance
Assistance Center
901 N. 5th Street
Kansas City, KS 66101
Toll-free:
Internet:
Fax:
1-888-663-2155
www.epa.gov/agriculture
913-551-7270
United States Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, DC 20460
Ag Center Fact Sheet Series
Page 3
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