&EPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Enforcement
& Compliance Assurance
Washington, DC 20460
EPA305-F-01-012
August 2001
www.epa.gov
Ar^TT"V r
g Center
Helping Agriculture Comply with
Environmental Requirements
FOCUS ON
Q&A's on Information Displayed
at a Central Location
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 for displaying
information about pesticide applications. 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.
WPS requires employers to
"display" specific information
about pesticides for 30 days after
their application on the
agricultural establishment or the
expiration of any Restricted
Entry Interval (REI). Does this
mean that the information must
be displayed like posters, so that
all the information is in view at
once, or may the information be
displayed on sheets of paper in a
binder or in another convenient
manner?
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Products without a
WPS label need
not be listed.
WPS requires that the information on
applications be accessible, legible, and
displayed in a central location on the
farm, or in the nursery or greenhouse
(or in or near a forest, where workers
or handlers are likely to congregate or
pass by) "where it can be readily seen
and read" by workers [40 CFR
§§170.122 and 170.135] and handlers
[40 CFR §§170.222 and 170.235].
It also requires that workers and
handlers be informed of the location
and allowed access to it. EPA used
the word "display" to indicate that this
access must be unrestricted in that it
need not be requested. However, any
manner of display that meets these
criteria is acceptable, including such
approaches as page-on-page lists
stapled at the top and use of devices
such as clipboards or binders.
If a grower buys a WPS-labeled
product and a non-WPS-labeled
product, is he/she required to list
any applications of the non-WPS-
labeled product on his centrally
located information sheet
concerning applications of
pesticides?
applications as a way of protecting
workers.
Section 170.122 requires the
display of certain information
when workers are on an
establishment where pesticides
have been applied.
Does this mean anywhere on
the agricultural
establishment?
Yes. Whenever workers or
handlers employed by the
agricultural establishment are
anywhere on that establishment,
certain information must be
displayed.
Does it apply only to a
contiguous property?
No, it does not necessarily apply
only to contiguous property. It
applies anytime they are anywhere
on the agricultural establishment.
No. The grower is required to list only
applications of WPS-labeled products.
Nonetheless, the Agency encourages
growers to display information on all
Ag Center Fact Sheet Series
Agrichemicals/WPS - Basic Information about Central Posting
Page 2
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Agrichemicals
The Ag Center
welcomes comments
on this document and
its other services.
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 Ag 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: 1-888-663-2155
Internet: www.epa.gov/agriculture
Fax: 913-551-7270
United States Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, DC 20460
Ag Center Fact Sheet Series
Page 3
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