&EPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Enforcement
& Compliance Assurance
Washington, DC 20460
EPA 305-F-98-023
September 1998
vwwv.epa.gov
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Ag Center
Helping Agriculture Comply with
Environmental Requirements
FOCUS ON
Equipment Safety
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
pesticides.
pesticide handlers who are exposed to such
This fact sheet will help you understand how
people from pesticide exposure caused by faul
Equipment inspection
You must make sure that equipment
used for mixing, loading, transferring, or
applying pesticides (pesticide handling
equipment) is inspected and repaired.
You must inspect pesticide handling
equipment before each day of use for
leaks, clogging, and worn or damaged
parts. You must repair or replace any
damaged equipment.
o comply with WPS requirements for protecting
or contaminated equipment.
Protecting persons who
maintain equipment
You must make sure that persons
repairing, cleaning, or adjusting pesticide
handling equipment are protected or
informed. You must remove pesticide
residues from pesticide handling
equipment before anyone other than an
appropriately trained and equipped
handler is allowed to repair, clean, or
adjust it.
EXCEPTION: If it is not feasible to
remove pesticide residues from pesticide
handling equipment, AND the people
who will be repairing, cleaning, or
adjusting the equipment are not your
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Agrichemicals
What if removing
the pesticide
residues is not
feasible?
The Ag Center
welcomes
comments on this
document and its
other services.
employees (and, therefore, are not
handlers for whom you are responsible
under the WPS), you must inform them:
that the equipment may be
contaminated with pesticides,
of the potentially harmful effects of
exposure to pesticides, and
how to correctly handle such
equipment.
The example below is all the information
you need to provide to persons who are
not your employees and are not trained
as pesticide handlers. Although the
WPS does not require you to provide
this information in written form, you
may find that using photocopies of this
sheet is a convenient way to make sure
you convey all the necessary
information.
For more information
You can get more facts about
compliance by calling the Ag Center's
toll-free number. Materials can be sent
to you by fax or mail, or you can talk to
an Ag Center representative. For a list
of all publications available from the Ag
Center, request document number
10001, "Ag Center Publications."
National Agriculture Compliance
Assistance Center
901 N. 5th Street
Kansas City, KS 661 01
Toll-free:
Internet:
Fax:
1-888-663-2155
www.epa.gov/agriculture
913-551-7270
United States Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, DC 20460
Information for Persons Working on Pesticide Equipment
1. The equipment you will be cleaning, adjusting, or repairing may have pesticides on it. Although you may not be able to see or
smell the pesticides, they can rub off on you when you touch the equipment.
2. If pesticides get on you, they can hurt you. They can:
cause skin rashes or burns,
go through your skin and into your body and make you ill,
burn your eyes,
make you ill if you get them in your mouth.
3. You should wear work clothing that protects your body from pesticide residues, such as long-sleeved shirts, long pants, shoes, and
socks. If possible, avoid touching the parts of the equipment where the pesticide is most likely to be. Or, if practical for the job
that you will be doing, consider wearing rubber or plastic gloves and an apron.
4. You should not let pesticides stay on your hands:
Wash your hands as soon as you finish handling the equipment.
Wash your hands before eating, drinking, chewing gum, using tobacco, or using the toilet.
Wash or shower with soap and water, shampoo your hair, and put on clean clothes after work.
Wash work clothes that may have pesticides on them separately from other clothes before wearing them again.
Ag Center Fact Sheet Series
Page 2
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