WPS in Colorado

A general guide to understanding the Worker Protection Standard (WPS).

The Worker Protection Standard (WPS) was issued in 1992 by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This regulation applies where pesticides are used in production of agricultural plants for commercial or research purposes on farms, forests, nurseries, greenhouses, and related structures. It covers pesticide applicators, mixer/loaders, disposers of pesticide containers, and those who may be exposed to a pesticide residue on the job. Both general-use and restricted-use pesticide applications are covered by WPS.

The regulations are exposure reduction measures that reduce the risk of pesticide poisonings and injuries among agricultural workers and pesticide handlers. WPS defines two groups of agricultural employees: agricultural workers and pesticide handlers.

WPS requires that an owner of an agricultural establishment provide certain protections and information to workers. Specifically, WPS requires that agricultural establishments:

• train or verify training of handlers and workers
• restrict entry to treated areas
• provide notification of applications
• post specific information regarding applications at a central location
• post safety information at a central location
• provide decontamination supplies
• provide access to emergency medical assistance
• employer/commercial applicator information exchange

WPS is a very complex regulation. This publication is intended only as a general guide to some of the requirements under WPS. Omissions or oversights in this publication do not exempt people from complying with the standard. The complete WPS regulations are detailed in EPA’s The Worker Protections Standard for Agricultural Pesticides - How to Comply, What Employers Need to Know, EPA 735-B-93-001 (http://agenvsafety.tamu.edu/wps/epawps0.htm). Even though an operation may be exempt from WPS, the standard outlines good safety practices for all individuals who use pesticides.

Pesticide products covered by WPS have the following statement in the “Directions for Use” section of the label:

“Agricultural Use Requirements - Use this product only in accordance with its labeling and with the Worker Protection Standard, 40 CFR Part 170. This standard contains requirements for the protection of agricultural workers on farms, forests, nurseries, and greenhouses, and handlers of agricultural pesticides. It contains requirements for training, decontamination, notification, and emergency assistance. It also contains specific instructions and exceptions pertaining to the statements on this label about personal protective equipment, notification of workers, and restrictedentry intervals.”

Pesticides used on sod farms are covered by WPS.

Some pesticide uses are not covered by WPS, even when the Agricultural Use Requirements section is on the labeling. For example, if the pesticide labeling bears an Agricultural Use Requirements section, but the product also can be applied to rights-of-way, the rights-of-way use is not covered by WPS.

Employers using a pesticide product in the production of an agricultural plant or commodity with labeling that refers to WPS must comply. Otherwise, it is a violation of Federal law, since it is illegal to use a pesticide product in a manner inconsistent with its labeling.

WPS Enforcement and Penalties
In 2000, the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) published a report entitled Pesticides: Improvements Needed to ensure the Safety of Farmworkers and their Children (http://www.gao.gov/archive/2000/rc00040.pdf). GAO was critical of WPS implementation and concluded that EPA Regions had been inconsistent in enforcing WPS. In response to the GAO Report, EPA has begun a nationwide reassessment of WPS, which includes examining the regulation itself, the implementation and effectiveness of its provisions, and the enforcement at the state level.

The implementation and enforcement of pesticide requirements, including WPS, are generally carried out by State Departments of Agriculture under cooperative agreements with EPA, except in Colorado and Wyoming. EPA has primary jurisdiction in Wyoming and partial primary jurisdiction in Colorado. In Colorado, the Department of Agriculture’s Pesticide Section (CDA) is charged with enforcing WPS regulations for commercial applicators. If a person is found to be in violation, the case may be referred to EPA Region 8 and EPA can levy a fine. EPA Region 8 inspectors are responsible for inspections of agricultural establishments (usually also private applicators). Part of the inspection process will also include interviews of workers. Questions, such as “Were you trained?” or “How were you trained?” and “Where is the central location?” are likely to be asked. In addition, employers who fail to provide WPS protections for employees may be liable in civil court.

In 2001 and 2002, EPA Region 8 inspected a number of greenhouses, nurseries, and farms specifically to assess compliance with WPS. Overall, the rate of compliance was extremely low. The most common violations include failure to:

• assure training,
• post application information in a central location, and
• post safety poster and emergency information in a central location.

The Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) requires that a private applicator receive a Notice of Warning prior to be being assessed a penalty. Subsequent to receiving a Notice of Warning, a private applicator can be assessed a civil penalty of up to $1,100 per violation. In determining the size of any penalty, EPA considers the size of business of the person charged, the effect on the person’s ability to continue in business and the gravity of the violation.

As most of you know, EPA has begun issuing civil penalties for violations of WPS by private applicators and agricultural establishments. Additional rounds of compliance inspections are, and have been occurring this season. Even if agricultural establishments do not use RESTRICTED USE pesticides, they can be inspected if using general use pesticides on crops. Any farm, nursery, greenhouse, or forest block where pesticides are used in the production of agricultural plants and commodities are subject to inspections. Everyone should be prepared and in compliance. Agricultural operations that have a number of employees, including those with migrant workers, will be prime candidates for inspections.

WPS Requires Training or Verification of Training of Handlers and Workers
Training is essential for the proper use of pesticides and is key to the success of WPS. To protect the health and safety of workers and handlers, employers are responsible for training them in the safe use of pesticides. WPS requires that all agricultural workers and pesticide handlers are trained about pesticide safety.

Each agricultural worker and pesticide handler must be trained about pesticide safety except those who:

• have been trained within the last 5 years as a WPS handler or WPS worker, even if he or she has changed employers, OR
• currently hold a valid Colorado commercial or private applicator license

Handlers must be trained before they perform any handling task, such as mixing, loading or applying pesticides, etc.

Early-entry workers who will enter a treated area and contact anything that has been treated with the pesticide during a restricted-entry interval (REI) must be trained BEFORE they conduct any early entry task.

Workers must be trained before they accumulate more than 5 separate days entry into treated areas on an agricultural establishment where, within the past 30 days, a pesticide has been applied or an REI has been in effect. These 5 days need not be consecutive and may occur over several periods of employment or over several seasons or years.

WPS handler training can be conducted by anyone who meets one of the following criteria:

• Be a certified as a Colorado Private or Commercial pesticide applicator
• Attend a WPS Train-the-Trainer workshop approved by EPA Region 8. Individuals who have attended such a workshop may train both handlers and workers
• Be trained as a handler. Persons trained as handlers under WPS may serve as trainers of workers only. They may not train handlers

To conduct worker or handler training, trainers must:

• use written and/or audiovisual materials
• present the training orally or audiovisually
• present the information in a manner that trainees can understand
• using a translator if necessary, respond to trainees’ questions

Anyone who conducts worker training must use non-technical terms the worker can understand.

Training Materials
The pesticide safety training materials for workers and handlers must be either:

• WPS training materials developed by EPA, or
• equivalent material that contains at least the concepts/topics listed in the specific training section for workers or handlers below.

Basic Pesticide Safety Training
Basic training must be given before the employee begins work. Full training must be completed within 5 days. Basic training requirements will cover the following information:

• Where an individual can come in contact with pesticides
• How to prevent pesticides from entering the body
• That further training will be provided within 5 days

Pesticide Safety Training for Workers
WPS worker safety training must cover, at a minimum, the following concepts/topics:

• Where and in what form pesticides may be encountered during work activities
• Hazards of pesticides resulting from toxicity and exposure, including acute and chronic effects, delayed effects, and sensitization
• How pesticides can enter the body
• Signs and symptoms of common types of pesticide poisoning
• Emergency first aid for pesticide injuries or poisonings
• How to obtain emergency medical care
• Routine and emergency decontamination procedures, including emergency eye flushing techniques
• Hazards from chemigation and drift
• Hazards from pesticide residues on clothing
• Warnings about taking pesticides or pesticide containers home

NOTE: WPS worker training materials must use nontechnical terms that the worker can understand and be able to answer questions.

Pesticide Safety Training for Handlers
WPS training for pesticide handlers must include, at a minimum, the following topics/information:

• Format and meaning of information contained on pesticide labels and in labeling, including safety information such as precautionary statements about human health hazards
• Hazards of pesticides resulting from toxicity and exposure, including acute and chronic effects, and sensitization
• How pesticides can enter the body
• Emergency first aid for pesticide injuries or poisonings
• How to obtain emergency medical care
• Routine and emergency decontamination procedures, including emergency eye flushing techniques
• Hazards from chemigation and drift
• Need for and appropriate use of personal protective equipment (PPE)
• Prevention, recognition, and first aid treatment of heat-related illness
• Safety requirements for handling, transporting, storing, and disposing of pesticides, including general procedures for spill cleanup
• Environmental concerns such as drift, runoff, and wildlife hazards
• Warnings about taking pesticides or pesticide containers home

Documentation of WPS Trained Workers and Handlers
Maintain the following documentation throughout the trainees’ employment:

• Name of trainee
• Signature of trainee
• Name of trainer
• Date of training
• Training material used

The possession of an EPA training verification card is acceptable proof of WPS Training. Each plastic EPA training verification card, green for handlers and blue for worker, has a unique identification number.

WPS Requires Restricted Entry to Treated Areas
Restricted-entry interval (REI) is the time immediately after a pesticide application when entry into the treated area is prohibited or very limited. REIs are established for all pesticides used in the production of agricultural plants depending on toxicity. The REI is listed on the pesticide labeling under the heading “Agricultural Use Requirements” in the “Directions for Use” section of the pesticide labeling or next to the crop or application method to which it applies.

REIs must be specified on all agricultural plant pesticide product labels. Workers are excluded from entering a pesticide treated area during the REI, with few narrow exceptions. The duration of REIs ranges from 4 hours to several days. Some pesticides have one REI, such as 12 hours, for all crops and uses. Other products have different REIs, depending on the crop or method of application. When two or more pesticides are applied at the same time and have different REIs, the longer interval must be followed.

There is a no-entry period for 4 hours for all products with WPS labeling; this means no early entry.

WPS Requires Notification of Applications
Employers must notify workers about pesticide applications on the agricultural establishment if they will be on or within a quarter (1/4) mile of the treated area. In most cases, employers may choose between oral warnings or posted warning signs, but they must tell workers which warning method is in effect. All applications must be additionally recorded and displayed at the central location.

Most products allow worker notification either orally or by posting a field warning sign, one or the other is acceptable as long as workers are informed of which method is being used. However, you must provide double notification if the pesticide label has this statement in the “Directions for Use” section under the heading “Agricultural Use Requirements”:

“Notify workers of the application by warning them orally AND by posting warning signs at entrances to treated areas.”

If double notification is specified on the pesticide label workers must be orally notified about REI’s and treated fields must be physically posted with warning signs during the REI. It is the agricultural establishment’s responsibility to post warning signs in the field if it is required. Farms employing ONLY immediate family members are not required to post the field.

Signs must have the words “Danger-Peligro” and “Pesticides-Pesticidas” at the top and “Keep Out-No Entre” at the bottom. Signs must be at least 14” x 16”, with a minimum letter height of one inch. The Spanish portion of the sign may be replaced with a substitute language read by the majority of non-English speaking workers. In greenhouses and nurseries, smaller signs (4.5” x 5”) are acceptable.

Warning signs must be:

• Posted 24 hours or less before application
• Removed within three (3) days after the end of the REI
• Posted so they can be seen at all normal entrances to treated areas, including borders adjacent to labor camps
• If no employees were involved with treatment, or the employees do not come within a quarter (1/4) mile, no posting is required

Oral warnings must be delivered in a manner understood by workers, using an interpreter if necessary. Oral warnings must contain the following information:

• Location and description of the treated area
• The length of the REI
• Specific directions not to enter during the REI

WPS Requires Specific Information Regarding Applications and Safety Be Posted at a Central Location
WPS requirement that information be posted (displayed) at a central location is cited by EPA as one of the most commonly violated provisions. Employers must provide current and specific information about the pesticides being applied for the benefit of their employees (handlers and workers). Employees must be informed of the central location and allowed access.

Employers (owner/operator of agricultural establishments) must post the following information just prior to applications and for 30 days after the REI has expired whenever pesticide handlers or workers are on the agricultural establishment:

• an approved EPA safety poster or an equivalent
• emergency medical information, including the name, address and telephone number of the nearest emergency medical care facility
• a list of dates and times that pesticides have been applied within the last 30 days, including a description of each treated area, and the product name, EPA registration number, active ingredient(s) and REI for each pesticide on that list

The information at the central location must be easily seen and read. Workers and handlers must be informed where it is and given access. By “access,” EPA wants the workers to be able to view the information without having to ask anyone to let them see it. Some examples of a central location include: field or forest entrance; parking area; common areas; break areas; port-a-pots. The central location cannot be in a treated area.

The EPA safety poster or an equivalent that shows how to keep pesticides from getting on or entering the body and information about how to clean up if an individual comes in contact with pesticides.

If the emergency medical information changes, update the posted information in the central location and ensure that it remains legible.

Pesticide applications must remain on the list from before each application begins and remain posted through 30 days after the REI has expired. The list must remain accessible by the workers for the entire required posting period at the designated central location.

Handlers and workers must be informed of pesticide label requirements and information. A grower must have all the material safety data sheets (MSDS) of the labeled pesticides he/she is using on file and available upon request.

WPS Requires Providing Decontamination Sites
Employers must establish a decontamination site for all workers and handlers for washing off pesticides and pesticide residues. A decontamination site must be within a quarter (1/4) mile of the employees’ work site.

Employers must provide a site where workers and handlers can wash pesticide residue from their hands and body. A decontamination site should supply:

• Enough water for routine and emergency wholebody washing and for eye flushing.
• Plenty of soap and single use towels.
• Employers also must provide water that is safe and cool enough for washing, eye flushing, and drinking. Employers may not use tank stored water that also is used for mixing or diluting pesticides.

Specific requirements differ depending whether employees are doing worker or handler tasks. Worker decontamination site requirements:

• Decontamination sites must be provided for workers from application to 30 days after expiration of the REI.
• Worker decontamination sites may not be in areas being treated or under an REI.

• Decontamination sites must be provided for handlers during the handling task.
• Soap, clean towels and water must be provided when handlers remove their PPE and must have enough water for entire-body washing and a clean change of clothes.
• The site for handlers must be where they are mixing and loading.
• Handler decontamination sites may be in the treated area in which the handler is working, as long as the materials are stored in enclosed containers.
• When the label requires protective eyewear, handlers must be provided one pint of emergency eye-flush water.
• Employers must provide handlers with the previously mentioned supplies at each mixing site and at the place where protective equipment is removed at the end of a task.

WPS Requires Providing Access to Emergency Medical Assistance

When there is a possibility that a handler or worker has been poisoned or injured by a pesticide, an employer must promptly provide transportation to an appropriate medical facility. The employer is responsible for providing transportation, which includes paying when there is a charge for transportation. Additionally, the employer must provide to the victim and medical personnel the following information: describe how the pesticide was being used describe how the individual became exposed to the pesticide product name EPA Registration # active ingredient all first aid & medical information from label The product name, active ingredient and EPA Registration number must already be recorded in the pesticide application list at the central location. Additionally the name, address and phone number of the nearest emergency medical facility must also be legibly posted at the central location.

Key Definitions Relating to WPS
It is important to review several key definitions to assist understanding the regulation.

Agricultural establishment - any farm, forest nursery or greenhouse. WPS applies to owners or managers of ag establishments that employ people who may come in contact with pesticides.

Agricultural plant - any plant grown or maintained for commercial or research purposes and includes, but is not limited to, food, feed, and fiber plants; trees; turfgrass; flowers; shrubs; ornamentals; and seedlings.

Agricultural worker - a person, including a self employed individual, who works for salary, wages or other compensation and who must enter a field or area treated or under a REI within the past 30 days to perform tasks such as harvesting, weeding cultivating, watering, pruning, topping, sucker removal, packing produce in the field, thinning, etc. related to the production of an agricultural plant.

Agricultural employer - any person who hires or contracts for services of workers/handlers, for any type of compensation, to perform activities related to the production of agricultural plants, or any person who is an owner or responsible for the management or condition of an agricultural establishment that uses workers/handlers.
Commercial pesticide handling establishment -An ag dealership that employs individuals to apply pesticides on farms. Farmers must provide certain information to employers at commercial handling establishments.

Crop advisors - those that access pest numbers or damage, pesticide distribution, or the status, condition, or requirements of agricultural plants. Includes independent crop consultants, crop scouts, and IPM monitors.

Early entry workers - any person who performs “worker” tasks during the REI.

Handler - any person, including a self employed person, who mixes, loads, transfers, applies, disposes pesticides or pesticide containers, cleans, adjusts, handles or repairs application equipment, acts as a flagger, etc. (certified or licensed crop advisors and persons working under their direct supervision are now exempt from some, but not all provisions of WPS).

Handler employer - any person who hires people to do pesticide handling tasks, or if you do them yourself, WPS considers you a handler employer

Immediate family - includes spouse; children; stepchildren; foster children; parents; stepparents; foster parents; brothers; sisters; and in-laws.

Personal protective equipment (PPE) - Clothing and other equipment such as goggles, gloves, boots, aprons, coveralls and respirators, that provide protection from exposure to pesticides.

Restricted entry interval (REI) - the time after the completion of a pesticide application during which entry into the treated area is restricted.

Worker employers - any person who hires or contracts for people to do agricultural worker tasks, or if you do them yourself, WPS considers you a worker employer.

WPS labeling - all pesticide products affected by WPS carry a statement in the Agricultural Use Requirements section on the label. This statement will inform users that they must comply with all WPS provisions. If you are using a pesticide product with WPS labeling to produce an agricultural commodity, WPS requirements must be followed. WPS requirements are not in effect if an agricultural pesticide is used as labeled for a nonagricultural use.

Note: By definition, “workers” do not apply pesticides or handle pesticide containers or equipment. Someone may be a “worker” while completing one task and a “handler” while completing a different task.

You need to comply because it is the law, but that is not the only reason. When violations are publicized (whether injury has occurred or not) some people think that the answer is to further limit the use of pesticides. By practicing pesticide safety we protect not only ourselves, our workers, and the environment against pesticides, we also safeguard the use of these chemicals in agriculture. WPS outlines good safety practices for all individuals who use pesticides. Even if compliance is not required, consider using WPS as a guide to develop your own safe practices and habits.

And remember, the label is the law. Always read the label and follow precautionary statements carefully.

Sandra McDonald
Environmental and Pesticide Education Specialist

Lindsay Hofsteen
CEPEP Program Assistant
Colorado State University