Dr. Claudio C. Pasian
According to the Worker Protection Standards (WPS) How to Comply manual, employers must make sure that certain information is displayed at a central location whenever: 1) any worker whom they employ is on their agricultural establishment, and 2) a pesticide is about to be applied or has been recently applied.
The following three types of information must be displayed:
On the back of this page, you will find a form that will help floriculture growers satisfy the application list requirement. This form was designed with input from Extension agents and growers. However, this form is not a standard. Rather, it represents a form which you are encouraged to adapt.
The intent of WPS regulations is to protect workers. More than half of the form is dedicated to showing the location and time of chemical application, restricted entry interval (REI), and "quarantine" time. It may seem redundant to describe the location and, at the same time, to sketch a map of the location. The reasons for this include: 1) some locations may be difficult to describe or may have been given names that are misleading; 2) some employees may not know how to read; 3) your (or your manager's) handwriting may not be legible.
The quarantine time should be calculated by adding the finish time of application to the REI time. Let's say you are applying a pesticide that has 12 hours REI and that you finished the application today at 6:00 p.m. The area treated should be quarantined until tomorrow at 6:00 a.m. Perhaps the most important piece of information on this form is the "Do not enter until" time. I suggest you highlight it with a colored, read-through marker.
The second part of this form asks for information required to satisfy both the WPS central information and the Ohio Private Applicator Record Keeping for Restricted Use Products. In the case you are spraying outdoors-bedding plants, perennials, or specialty cuts, for example-you should factor in weather conditions, such as temperature, wind speed, and wind direction. Out-of-state growers should check with their local Extension service to be sure that specific information requested by their state is added to this form.
Make photocopies of this form, enlarge them at your convenience, and fill them with the appropriate information. Before applying a pesticide, post these forms in an easy-to-see place and keep them posted for at least 30 days. The How to Comply manual states that you should display the information before the application takes place if you have workers or handlers in the establishment, or no later than the beginning of the first work period if workers and handlers were not present at the start of the application.
Continue to display pesticide-specific information when workers or handlers are in your establishment until at least 30 days after the REI expires, or at least 30 days after the end of the application if there is no REI for the pesticide.
Instruct your employees to read the new forms daily.
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Keith L. Smith, Associate Vice President for Ag. Adm. and Director, OSU Extension.
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