1. Overview of Revisions to the EPA Agricultural Worker Protection Standard for pesticides Pennsylvania farm bureau April 27, 2017

2. Background: Scope
The Agricultural Worker Protection Standard (WPS) was established “to improve occupational protections for agricultural workers and pesticide handlers.”
Scope: Who is covered?
Approximately 890,000 agricultural establishments (including farms, forests, nurseries, and greenhouses)
EPA claims that the rule exempts over 520,000 of these from most of the WPS provisions under the exemption for farm owners and immediate family members  
Approximately 45,000 commercial pesticide handling establishments (CPHEs)
1,936 CPHEs employ 14,120 handlers
The remaining CPHEs are self-employed handlers
No change in scope of rule with revisions
No significant changes to excepted uses (i.e., livestock-related uses, post-harvest uses, lawn and ornamental uses, etc.)

3. Key Points Contained In Revisions
The revised rule requires annual mandatory training to inform farmworkers on the required protections
EPA believes that this increases the likelihood that protections will be followed
The expanded training includes instructions that EPA believes will help to reduce take-home exposure from pesticides on work clothing and other safety topics
For the first time, the WPS rule will include a minimum age requirement
The rule expands mandatory posting of no-entry signs for the most hazardous pesticides—the signs prohibit entry into pesticide-treated fields until residues decline to a safe level
New no-entry application-exclusion zones up to 100 feet surrounding pesticide application equipment are intended to protect workers and others from exposure to pesticide overspray

4. Key Points Contained In Revisions
A requirement has been included to provide more than one way for farmworkers and their representatives to gain access to pesticide application information and safety data sheets
These can be centrally-posted, or accessed by requesting records
The revised rule includes mandatory record-keeping to improve states’ ability to follow up on pesticide violations and enforce compliance
Records of application-specific pesticide information, as well as farmworker training, must be kept for two years
Anti-retaliation provisions in the revised rule are comparable to those of the Department of Labor (DOL)

5. Key Points Contained In Revisions
In the revised rule, changes in personal protective equipment are consistent with the DOL’s Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) standards for ensuring respirators are effective
Includes fit test, medical evaluation and training
Specific amounts of water to be used for routine washing, emergency eye flushing and other decontamination are mandated under the revised rule
Includes eye wash systems for handlers at pesticide mixing/loading sites
The revised rule continues the exemption for farm owners and their immediate family with an expanded definition of “immediate family”

6. Pesticide Safety Training
Pre-Revision
Pesticide safety training was required every 5 years
A brief 5 point training prior to entering treated area was permitted, and full pesticide safety training could be delayed for up to 5 days (“grace period”)
Handlers, certified applicators, state/tribal/federal approved trainers, and persons completing an approved train-the-trainer course were allowed to train workers
The course had to include:
11 basic training items for workers and 13 items for handlers
Minimal training on reducing take-home exposure, reporting use violations, and prohibition from employer retaliation
No recordkeeping of training was required, although there was a voluntary verification card system

7. Pesticide Safety Training
Post-Revision
Pesticide training is mandatory every year for all workers
No “grace period”
Workers must be trained before they work in an area where:
A pesticide has been used, or
A restricted-entry interval has been in effect in the past 30 days
The course retains the existing content and expands final training topics
Workers from 11 to 23 items
Handlers from 13 to 36 items
Training on new content is not required until 2 years from the effective date of final rule
Who can train workers?
Certified applicators, state/tribal/federal approved trainers, and persons who have completed an EPA-approved train-the-trainer course
Recordkeeping of training is required for 2 years; workers or handlers must be provided a copy upon request

8. Notification Pre-Revision
Notification of outdoor treated areas could be oral or posted (unless labeling required both)
Posted notification was required for all applications in greenhouses
Early-entry workers (those entering when a restricted-entry interval (REI) was in effect) had to receive PPE
Required content of the warning sign
A red circle containing a stern-faced man with an upraised hand;
At the top: “DANGER” and “PELIGRO”, “PESTICIDES”, “PESTICIDAS”;
At the bottom: “KEEP OUT”, “NO ENTRE”
Agricultural employers had to provide application information on treated areas that the handler may be in (or walk within ¼ mile of)
A handler employer had to notify workers of changes to application plans before application begins

9. Notification Post-Revision
A warning sign must be posted if the REI is greater than:
For outdoor applications: 48 hours
For enclosed space applications (e. g., greenhouses): 4 hours
Otherwise, there is an option for posting or oral notification (unless the pesticide label requires both)
The warning sign requirements are the same
An agricultural employer must provide application information on treated areas that the handler may be in (or walk within ¼ mile of)
The handler employer must notify workers:
Before the application begins for certain changes; and
Within 2 hours of end of application for most other changes (unless the only change was less than 1 hour difference in application time)
Early-entry workers must be provided PPE & oral notification of:
Information about the pesticide application and the specific task to be performed
The amount of time that the worker is allowed to remain in the treated area
The PPE required by the label

10. Hazard Communication Pre-Revision
The employer was required to display:
Application-specific information at a central location before application occurs, or
If no workers or handlers are on the establishment, before the next period in which workers/handlers are on the establishment
The information had to remain posted for 30 days after a restricted entry interval (REI) expired
No recordkeeping was required
Access was available only to workers or handlers during the display period

11. Hazard Communication Post-Revision
The employer must display application information and safety data sheets (SDSs) at a central location as follows:
Within 24 hours of the end of application
Before workers enter that treated area
Both of these must be displayed for 30 days after the REI expires
Employers must keep the application information and SDSs for 2 years from the end of the REI and make them available to workers, handlers, designated representatives (as identified in writing) or treating medical personnel upon request.
Employees may access the information upon oral or written request
Treating medical personnel and persons working under their supervision may access the information upon oral or written request
Designated representatives may access the information by written request only

12. Pesticide Safety Information
Pre-Revision
A safety poster had to be displayed at a central location
Specific safety information was required on the poster:
7 concepts about preventing pesticides from entering your body
The point that there are federal rules to protect workers and handlers
The name, address and phone number of the nearest emergency medical care facility

13. Pesticide Safety Information
Post-Revision
Pesticide safety information must be displayed at:
A central location, and
At sites where decontamination supplies are located (if the decontamination supplies are at a permanent site or at a location with 11 or more workers or handlers)
Information can be displayed in any format (it doesn’t have to be a poster), but the 7 concepts about preventing pesticides from entering your body must be retained, including:
The point that there are federal rules to protect workers and handlers is deleted; instructions for employees to seek medical attention as soon as possible if they have been poisoned, injured or made ill by pesticides have been added
The name, address and telephone number of state or tribal pesticide regulatory authority have been added
The term “emergency medical facility” has been revised to read “a nearby operating medical care facility”
The new content for the safety information display is not required until 2 years from the effective date of the final rule (Jan. 2, 2018)
Pesticide Safety Information

14. Minimum Age for Handlers and Early-Entry Workers
Pre-Revision
No minimum age
Post-Revision
A minimum age of 18 for pesticide handlers and early- entry workers (entering during REI) is mandated
Members of owner’s immediate family would be exempt from this requirement [with expanded definition of “immediate family”]

15. Respirators Pre-Revision
Employers were required to provide the personal protective equipment (PPE) required by labeling & ensure respirator fits correctly (no recordkeeping was required for this)
The definition of “chemical-resistant” read as follows: “made of a material that allows no measurable movement of the pesticide through the material during use”
Exceptions to the labeling-specified PPE were allowed for handlers when using closed systems (there were no specific criteria for closed systems)
For crop advisors and their employees entering treated areas while an REI is in effect to conduct crop-advisor tasks:
They were able to wear the PPE specified on the pesticide labeling for early-entry activities instead of the PPE specified on the pesticide labeling for handling activities, provided certain conditions are met (contained in the exemption for certified crop advisors)
If the product label required eye protection:
Pilots in open cockpits could wear a visor instead of the label-required eye protection
For pilots in closed cockpits, gloves were optional when entering and leaving the aircraft unless required by the product label
Exceptions to the labeling-specified PPE were allowed when:
Handling tasks were performed from inside an enclosed cab that met the specifications defined in the rule, and
Certain conditions were met
Exceptions to the labeling-required respiratory protection were allowed only if the cab had been certified by the manufacturer to provide respiratory protection equivalent to the respiratory protection required by the pesticide labeling for handling

16. Respirators Post-Revision
Employers must provide the respirator and fit testing, training, and medical evaluation that conforms to OSHA standards for any handler required to wear any respirator by the labeling
Recordkeeping of completion of the fit test, training, and medical evaluation is required
The definition of the term “chemical-resistant” is the same as previously
Exceptions to the labeling-specified PPE are allowed for handlers when using closed systems, but:
A closed system must meet a broad performance-based standard, and
Basic operating standards (written operating instructions and training of handlers in use of the system) must be provided
For crop advisors and their employees entering treated areas while an REI is in effect to conduct crop- advisor tasks:
They may wear a standard set of PPE (coveralls, shoes plus socks and chemical-resistant gloves made of any waterproof material, and eye protection if the labeling of the pesticide product applied requires protective eyewear for handlers, as outlined in rule), OR
The PPE specified on the pesticide labeling for early-entry activities instead of the PPE specified on the pesticide labeling for handling activities, provided certain conditions are met (contained in the exemption for certified crop advisors)
If the product label requires eye protection:
Pilots in open cockpits may wear a helmet with a lowered face shield instead of the label-required eye protection, and
The exception for gloves for pilots in closed cockpits is the same as previously
The exception for dermal PPE is maintained with the same conditions, but:
Handlers in enclosed cabs must wear the labeling-specified respiratory protection except when the only labeling- specified respiratory protection is a particulate filtering facepiece respirator (NIOSH approval number prefix TC-84A), previously called a dust/mist filtering respirator

17. Application Exclusion Zones in Outdoor Production
Pre-Revision
During pesticide applications, workers and others were prohibited from being in:
The treated area (for farms and forests)
The treated area and areas adjacent to treated areas (entry-restricted areas) (for nurseries)

18. Application Exclusion Zones in Outdoor Production
Post-Revision
Establishes application exclusion zones (AEZ) based on distance from the application equipment for farms and forests, and also applies in nurseries
Agricultural employers must keep workers and other persons out of the AEZs that are WITHIN the boundary of the establishment owner’s property
Handlers must suspend application if persons are in AEZs— the requirement to suspend application is NOT limited by the boundary of the establishment owner’s property

19. Application Exclusion Zones in Outdoor Production
Pre-Revision: Entry-restricted area is in purple
Post-Revision: Application exclusion zone is in purple

20. Decontamination Supplies
Pre-Revision
Employers were required to provide a “sufficient amount of water so that the workers/handlers may wash thoroughly”
If a handler was using a product that required eye protection, one pint of water was to be immediately available to each handler
Post-Revision
1 gallon of water must be provided for each worker and 3 gallons for each handler and each early entry worker (as measured at the beginning of the work period)
If the handler is using a product that requires eye protection, eyeflush water must be immediately available at each mix/load site for handler eye flushing
If an applicator is using a product that requires eye protection, one pint of water must be immediately available to each applicator

21. Emergency Assistance Pre-Revision Post-Revision
Employers were required to provide “prompt” transportation to an emergency medical facility for workers or handlers who may have been exposed to pesticides
Upon request, employers were required to provide certain information, if available, to the exposed person or medical personnel
Post-Revision
Retains the term “prompt” for provision of transportation
Requires employers to provide, for each product, the following information to treating medical personnel:
The SDS and specific information about the product
The circumstances of the application and exposure

22. Definitions
Definitions have been added to the rule for the following terms:
Application exclusion zone, closed system, commercial pesticide handler employer, designated representative, employ, enclosed cab, enclosed space production, labor contractor, outdoor production, personal protective equipment, safety data sheet, use and worker housing area
The following key terms have revised definitions:
Agricultural establishment, agricultural plant, handler, immediate family and worker
The following definitions have been deleted:
Commercial production, entry-restricted area, farm, forest, forest operation, greenhouse and nursery

23. Definitions Employ means:
To obtain, directly or through a labor contractor, the services of a person in exchange for a salary or wages, including piece-rate wages, without regard to who may pay or who may receive the salary or wages.
It includes obtaining the services of a self-employed person, an independent contractor, or a person compensated by a third party, except that it does not include an agricultural employer obtaining the services of a handler through a commercial pesticide handler employer or a commercial pesticide handling establishment.
Immediate family is limited to the spouse, parents, stepparents, foster parents, father-in-law, mother-in-law, children, stepchildren, foster children, sons-in-law, daughters-in-law, grandparents, grandchildren, brothers, sisters, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, and first cousins.
“First cousin” means the child of a parent’s sibling, i.e., the child of an aunt or uncle.

24. Implementation Timeline
Date
Milestone
September 28, 2015
Revised WPS final rule signed and announced.
November 2, 2015
Revised WPS final rule published in the Federal Register.
January 1, 2016
Revised WPS final rule becomes effective.
[Compliance is required with existing WPS during 2016.]
January 2, 2017
Compliance is required with most of the revised WPS requirements.
January 1, 2018
Compliance is required with all of the revised WPS requirements. Last three requirements:
Cover new content in worker and handler training.
Include new content on pesticide safety information display.
Handlers suspend applications if anyone is in the application exclusion zone.

25. Questions? Web site: http://www2.epa.gov/pesticide-worker-safety
Contact: Grant Gulibon
Director, Regulatory Affairs
, ext. 543