AGRICULTURAL WORKER PROTECTION STANDARD (WPS) PROTECTIONS TO THE EXISTING PROTECTI fr- Ashley Nelsen PI|otd CURRENT PROTECTIONS PROPOSED NEW PROTECTIONS Pesticide Safety Trainin Train workers arid handlers every year. for trainers of workers. Stricter qualification 3 Train workers and handlers every 5 years. Expand training content to include information on reducing take-home exposure. Workers and handlers would be trained on reducing take-home exposure, the hazards from residues on clothing, and warned not to take containers home. No training provided on reducing take-home exposure. Workers and handlers are trained on hazards from residues on clothing and warned not to take containers home. Reduce "grace period" to 2 days before full WPS training is required, expand the content of the abbreviated, pre- "grace period" training, and require distribution of information sheet listing training points. Grace period is 5 days and there is less content to the abbreviated training, and no information sheet. Require recordkeeping of training for 2 years. Recordkeeping of training is not required. Mandatory Posting of No Entry Signs Require posting of treated areas when Restricted-Entry Interval (REI) is greater than 48 hours. The REI is the interval after application during which worker entry is generally prohibited, except as allowed under the early entry exceptions. I Either oral or posted notification I is acceptable for REIs of any j length, unless the pesticide j labeling requires both. Minimum Age Require pesticide handlers and early-entry workers to be 16 j No minimum age. years old. Members of owner's immediate family are exempt from this (arid most other) requirements of the WPS. No minimum age requirement. No Entry Buffer Areas Adjacent to Areas being treated on Farms and Forests Prohibit entry into 25-100 foot buffer areas around the field I Applies only in nurseries and during pesticide application on farms, forests, nurseries, and J greenhouses, greenhouses to protect persons from pesticide overspray i and fumes. The buffer size depends on the type of application. Personal Protective Equipment (PRE): Respirators and Closed Systems Adopt the OSHA standard for respirators: fit test, medical | Employer must provide the evaluation, and training. Require recordkeeping to document completion of these requirements. J respirator listed on the pesticide I labeling and ensure it fits. I Recordkeeping is not required. Add specific performance standard requirements for closed , The closed system definition fails systems based on California (CA) standard to permit PPE I to provide specific criteria for the exceptions. Does not include the CA requirement to use closed systems for certain types of pesticides. | PPE exception. J. AGRICULTURAL WORKER PROTECTION STANDARD (WPS) ------- COMPARISON OF THE MAJOR NEW PROPOSED PROTECTIONS TO THE EXISTING PROTECTIONS PROPOSED NEW PROTECTIONS CURRENT PROTECTIONS I Hazard Communications I Require employer to maintain and make available to workers, handlers, or their authorized representatives application-specific information, labeling and Safety Data Sheets (SDS). Retain this information for 2 years. Remove burdensome requirement to post application- specific information at central display. No requirement to make safety information available to authorized representative. Record keeping is not required, except, application-specific information must be posted at a central display until 30 days after the REI expires. Notification for Early-Entry Workers In rare circumstances, early-entry workers can enter while REI is in effect. For these situations, provide notification of the pesticide application (what was applied, when and where), specific task to be performed, and amount of time the worker is allowed to remain in the treated area, along with the pesticide hazard information from the labeling. Early-entry workers must be informed only of hazards written on pesticide labeling. Require recordkeeping for 2 years of the notifications that are provided to early-entry workers. Recordkeeping is not required. Definitions Expand the definition of "immediate family" to more accurately reflect farm families that qualify for the exemption from most WPS requirements. Currently the definition does not include family members such as grandparents, grandchildren and in-laws. ------- |