What is the Worker Protection Standard?
 Glenda L. Mah, Pesticide Program Specialist
Kansas Department of Agriculture

The Worker Protection Standard (WPS) is a regulation issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 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 pesticide handlers who are exposed to such pesticides.

If you are an agricultural pesticide user and/or an employer of agricultural workers or pesticide handlers, the WPS requires you to provide to your employees and, in some cases, to yourself and to others:

  • information about exposure to pesticides

  • protections against exposures to pesticides, and

  • ways to mitigate exposures to pesticides.

Information

To ensure that employees will be informed about exposures to pesticides, the WPS requires:

  • Pesticide safety training -- for workers and handlers,

  • Pesticide safety poster -- to be displayed for workers and handlers,

  • Access to labeling information -- for pesticide handlers and early-entry workers, and

  • Access to specific information -- a centrally located Application List of pesticide treatments on the establishment.

Protection

To ensure that employees will be protected from exposure to pesticides, the WPS requires employers to:

  • prohibit handlers from applying a pesticide in a way that will expose workers or other persons,

  • exclude workers from areas being treated with pesticides,

  • exclude workers from areas that remain under a restricted-entry interval (REI), with narrow exceptions

  • protect early-entry workers who are doing permitted tasks in treated areas during an REI--requirements include special instructions and duties related to correct use of personal protective equipment (PPE),

  • notify workers about treated areas so they can avoid inadvertent exposures, and

  • protect handlers during handling tasks -- requirements include monitoring while handling highly toxic pesticides and duties related to correct use of PPE.

Mitigation

To mitigate pesticide exposures that employees receive, the WPS requires:

  • Decontamination sites -- providing handlers and workers an ample supply of water, soap, and towels for routine washing and emergency decontamination,

  • Emergency assistance -- making transportation available to a medical care facility if an agricultural worker or handler may have been poisoned or injured by a pesticide, and providing information about the pesticide(s) to which the person may have been exposed.

Does the Worker Protection Standard Apply to You?

You need information on WPS if:

  • You own or manage a farm, forest, nursery, or greenhouse where pesticides are used in the production of agricultural plants.

  • You hire or contract for the services of agricultural workers to do tasks related to the production of agricultural plants on a farm, forest, nursery, or greenhouse. This includes labor contractors and others who contract with growers to supply agricultural laborers.

  • You operate a business in which you (or people you employ) apply pesticides that are used for the production of agricultural plants on any farm, forest, nursery or greenhouse.

  • You operate a business in which you (or people you might employ) perform tasks as a crop advisor on any farm, forest, nursery or greenhouse.

Which Pesticide Uses Are Covered?

Most pesticide uses involved in the production of agricultural plants on a farm, forest, nursery, or greenhouse are covered by the WPS. This includes pesticides used on plants, and pesticides used on the soil or planting medium the plants are (or will be) grown in. Both general-use and restricted-use pesticides are covered by the WPS. You will know that the product is covered by the WPS if you see the following statement in the Directions for Use Section of the pesticide labeling:

 

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 restricted-entry intervals.

If you are using a pesticide product labeling that refers to the Worker Protection Standard, you must comply with the WPS. Otherwise, you will be in violation of Federal law, since it is illegal to use a pesticide product in a manner inconsistent with its labeling.

What Pesticide Uses Are Not Covered?

Some pesticide uses are not covered by the 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 the WPS. The WPS does NOT cover pesticides applied.

  • on pastures or rangelands

  • for control of vertebrate pests such as rodents

  • as attractants or repellents in traps,

  • on the portions of agricultural plants that have been harvested, such as in packing houses or on cut timber,

  • for mosquito abatement, Mediterranean fruit fly eradication, or similar government- sponsored wide-area public pest control program,

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  • on livestock or other animals, or in or around animal premises,

  • on plants grown for other than commercial or research purposes, which may include on plants that are in ornamental gardens, parks, golf courses, and public or private lawns and grounds that are intended only for decorative or environmental benefit,

  • in a manner not directly related to the production of agricultural plants, including, for example, control of vegetation along rights-of-way and in other noncrop areas, and structural pest control, such as termite control and wood preservation,

    •

  • for research uses of unregistered pesticides.

The WPS does not cover workers who are working in an area where a pesticide has been injected directly into the plants. However, people who handle pesticides that are to be applied by direct injection ARE covered by the WPS and must receive handler protections.