EPA United States Environmental Protection Agency Office of Enforcement & Compliance Assurance Washington, DC 20460 EPA305-F-98-Q26C September 1998 www.epa.gov A Jr Vt ^^\T * Ag Center Helping Agriculture Comply with Environmental Requirements FOCUS ON Information Exchange Between Commercial Handlers and Growers - Part 3 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 (I) 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 and their customers must provide to each other about pesticide-treated areas. The questions answered here were submitted to the Agency by people seeking clarification on this part of the regulation. The questions and answers were released by EPA's Office of Compliance on March 15, 1995. The WPS requires that commercial handlers (handler employers) provide information to their customers, the farm, forest, nursery, or greenhouse operators (agricultural employers), about the pesticide before it is applied. [40 CFR § 170.224], What provisions apply if the pesticide cannot be applied as scheduled? The WPS requires that specific 'information be provided by the commercial handler to the grower about pesticide applications on the agricultural establishment before the application has taken place so that the grower can in ------- 1';Wn$!i!!r[-i!WWif;'E{ "^''KTi Growers must protect their Utorkers, even if the commercial applicator faik to provide notice of tlie application. 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 , i arisen concerning the notification I 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, and providing workers with (among other things) information, protective equipment, and decontamination supplies when they enter treated fields within thirty days of " expiration of the REI. The requirement i;;; for commercial handlers to notify gtowefs before an application takes ;;:: place must be viewed in light of its "t central purpose: to provide growers with information they may need in order to provide protection to 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 protection are provided when workers enter treated areas within thirty 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 therefore take whatever steps are necessary to assure that he/she is informed of an application before workers might enter treated areas. Obviously, notification prior to application is the best means to assure that the grower has the necessary information to provide protection to his/her agricultural employees. For this reason, the WPS requires that notification take place prior to applications. Commercial handlers are liable under the WPS if they fail to provide such notification. EPA recognizes that there may be circumstances where an application does not take place when scheduled, and where communication between commercial handler and grower may be Ag Center Fact Sheet Series Agrichemicals/WPS - Information Exchange 3 Page 2 ------- Agrichernicals Notification by the commercial handler to the grower of the application must occur as soon as practicable after the rescheduled application, and must occur within 24 hours of the rescheduled application. difficult to accomplish. The Agency is therefore willing to allow some rescheduled applications to go forward without requiring prior notification of the rescheduled application. This flexibility is available only in circumstances where: 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 either be received by the grower before workers could be exposed to pesticide residues resulting from the application in violation of the WPS or the commercial handler must have notified 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. scheduled applications do not occur on time, and how notification of rescheduled applications should be accomplished. 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." The Ag Center welcomes comments on this document and its other services. National Agriculture Compliance Assistance Center 901 N. 5* Street Kansas City, KS 66 101 Toll-free: Internet: Fax: 1-888-663-2155 www.epa.gov/oeca/ag 913-551-7270 United States Environmental Protection Agency Washington, DC 20460 Commercial handlers and growers should work out in advance how the notification will be accomplished. 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 Ag Center Fact Sheet Series Page 3 ------- I lllTlllHII' ! 'L ' I"!! 1111 ' ,',,' "II 1 fi it ' lit"1 ' ''" fill' BK < ! :.l! , ii ------- |