September/October 2017

need to have the following items:
• Sufficient water, at least 3 gallons per
handler
• Soap
• Single use towels
• One clean pair of coveralls
• One pint of eyewash immediately
available if the pesticide label
requires protective eyewear, although
best practice is to provide
eyewash in the kit at all times
The decontamination kit can be at
the mix/load site as long as it is not more
than quarter mile from the handler. In
addition to the items listed above, at the
mix/load site there needs to be an emergency
eye flushing system. The regulation
has very specific requirements as to
the amount of water and flow. See 3CCR
6734 for details: http://www.cdpr.ca.gov/
docs/legbills/calcode/030302.htm.
Employee Training
Training serves as the backbone to
any safety program and with pesticide
training, 3CCR 6724 specifically states
what is required. Employees need to be
trained prior to handling pesticides, on
every pesticide label they will handle,
anytime a new pesticide is introduced to
the operation and annually thereafter.
The elements covered during pesticide
training are robust. Recently DPR
adopted the Environmental Protection
Agency’s (EPA) revised Worker Protections
Standard (WPS) which increased
the number of training elements. These
elements include:
• Routes by which pesticides can enter
the body
• Signs and symptoms of pesticide
exposure
• Emergency first aid procedures
• Heat illness prevention
• Warnings about taking pesticides
home
• Proper decontamination
Training must be given in such a way
that the employee can understand, correlate
with the grower’s written pesticide
program and be documented.
Emergency Medical Care
In severe cases employees may need
to be taken to emergency care. This is
why 3CCR 6726 has requirements about
emergency medical postings. Emergency
medical care must be planned for
employees in advance. Employees shall
be informed of the name and location
of the facility where care is available.
This information needs to be posted
in a prominent place in the workplace.
This information also needs to be filled
out on the Pesticide Safety Information
Series A8 and A9 forms.
It is vitally important that this information is
readily available to employees. An easy
fix is to attach a key chain to the equipment
keys used for application with the required
information.
For the entire Pesticide Safety Information
Series visit; http://www.cdpr.
ca.gov/docs/whs/psisenglish.htm. It is
vitally important that this information is
readily available to employees. An easy
fix is to attach a key chain to the equipment
keys used for application with the
required information.
Label Requirements
As previously noted, the label is the
law. The pesticide label covers everything
from application rate and PPE to first
aid and application restrictions. Among
application restrictions are the restricted
entry interval and pre-harvest interval.
Restricted entry interval (REI) as
defined by DPR, is the period of time
after a field is treated with a pesticide
during which restrictions on entry are in
effect to protect persons from potential
exposure to hazardous levels of pesticide
residues. Basically, the REI is the amount
of time that has to elapse before anyone
can enter the field without proper PPE.
In regards to employee safety, handlers
should always check the REI time on a
label prior to spraying and follow notification
regulations so that other employees
know not to enter that treated field.
Pre-harvest intervals (PHI) are different
than REIs in that this is the amount
of time that has to elapse before you can
harvest your orchard and have the nuts
be safe to eat. Pre-harvest intervals are
intended to provide a period between
the application of a pesticide and harvest
so the crop will meet the established
pesticide residue tolerance and protect
the public from possible exposure to
excessive residues. For example, the Goal
2XL label states “do not apply within 15
to 30 days of harvest of almonds,” and
“within 7 days of harvest of walnuts.”
Unfortunately, this information on the
label is not on the front page, it is buried
on page 31 of 33, emphasizing the need
to review the entire label prior to application.
As harvest rapidly approaches, be
sure to consider these five essential operational
areas to ensure pesticide safety
for employees during this busy time of
year: personal protective equipment,
decontamination, employee training,
emergency medical care and label requirements.
For more information about pesticide
safety, or any worker safety, health, human
resources, labor relations, or food
safety issues, please visit www.agsafe.org,
call us at (209) 526-4400 or via email at
safeinfo@agsafe.org.
AgSafe is a 501c3 nonprofit providing
training, education, outreach and tools
in the areas of safety, labor relations,
food safety and human resources for the
food and farming industries. Since 1991,
AgSafe has educated nearly 75,000 employers,
supervisors, and workers about
these critical issues.
Comments about this article? We want
to hear from you. Feel free to email us at
article@jcsmarketinginc.com
September/October 2017
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