United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office'of Enforcement
& Compliance Assurance
Washington/DC 20460
Helping Agriculture Comply with
Environmental Requirements
FOCUS
ON
When the Pesticide Is Not
Applied as Scheduled
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 when a pesticide
application does not take place as scheduled. 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. .
The WPS requires commercial
handlers (handler employers) to
provide information to their
customers — the farm, forest,
nursery, or greenhouse
operators (agricultural
employers) — about the pesticide
before it is applied. [40 CFR
section 170.224]. What
provisions apply if the pesticide
cannot be applied as scheduled?
The WPS requires the commercial
handler to provide specific information
to the grower about pesticide
applications on the agricultural
establishment before the application has
taken place.
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Advance
notification of
pesticide
applications gives
growers the
information they
need to protect
their employees.
This is so the grower can, in turn,
provide appropriate protection to his/her
workers and family. The Agency is
aware, however, that some commercial
handlers may on occasion not be able to
perform pesticide applications at a
previously scheduled time.
The "How To Comply" manual provided
some flexibility on this issue, noting that
"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." Questions have arisen
concerning the notification
requirements if applications do not take
place as scheduled, including when and
how the employer must be notified of
the change.
The WPS places certain requirements
upon growers (agricultural employers).
One of the most important requirements
involves keeping workers out of treated
areas during applications and while the
restricted entry interval (REI) remains
in effect. Growers also must provide
workers with (among other things) '
information, protective equipment, and
decontamination supplies when they
enter treated fields within 30 days of
expiration of the REI. The requirement
for commercial handlers to notify
growers before an application takes
place must be viewed in light of its
central purpose: to provide growers with
information they may need in order to
protect their workers.
The obligation of growers to assure that
workers remain out of treated areas
during applications and while the REI
remains in effect, and to assure that
proper protections are provided when
workers enter treated areas within 30
days of expiration of the REI, is not
affected by the notification provision.
The obligation of the grower continues
whether or not notification of an
application occurs. The grower should
take whatever steps are necessary to
assure that he/she is informed of an
application before workers might enter
treated areas.
Obviously, notification before
application is the best way to assure that
the grower has the necessary
information to protect the agricultural
employees. For this reason, the WPS
requires that notification take place
before applications. Commercial
handlers are liable under the WPS if
they fail to provide such notification.
EPA recognizes that an application
sometimes does not take place when
Ag Center Fact Sheet Series
Agrichemicals/WPS - Information Exchange Between Commercial Handlers and Growers
Page 2
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The Ag Center
welcomes
comments on this
document and its
other services.
scheduled, and that communication
between commercial handler and grower
may be difficult to accomplish. The
Agency is therefore willing to allow
some rescheduled applications to go
forward without requiring prior
notification. This flexibility is available
only when:
• an application has been previously
scheduled (including day, date, and
time) and agreed upon by the
commercial handler and grower,
• the prior notification required by the
WPS has been provided, and
• the pre-arranged application
subsequently does not take place as
scheduled.
Commercial handlers and growers must
keep in mind that growers are still liable
if their employees enter fields during the
REI, or within 30 days of expiration of
the REI if any applicable WPS
requirements are not met. Notification
must occur in one of two ways.
Notification can be received by the
grower before workers could.be exposed
to pesticide residues resulting from the
application in violation of the WPS.
Otherwise, the commercial handler
must notify the grower with a form of
notification previously agreed upon by
the commercial handler and grower,
which was reasonably calculated to get
information to the grower before
workers could be exposed to residues in
violation of the WPS.
EPA strongly recommends that
commercial handlers and growers work
out in advance between themselves:
• how notification of regularly
scheduled applications should be
accomplished,
• under what circumstances
applications may take place without
prior notification if previously
scheduled applications do not occur
on time, and
• how notification of rescheduled
applications should be
accomplished.
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. 5* 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
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