Rules,
rules and more rules.
You hear
that complaint from farmers quite regularly. But county ag commissioners will
tell them, that rules and regulations are a fact of life. And it’s important to
follow them or ag inspectors could be knocking on the barn door.
Fresno County
Agricultural Commissioner’s points out that the state has enacted new worker
protection standards. Growers can learn
about these new rules as well as regulations on pesticides during a field day
this Wednesday in Firebaugh.
 |
| Growers need to ensure worker safety in pesticide handling.. |
Gilbert
Urquizi, who oversees pest control operations for the Fresno Ag Commissioner’s
Office, will talk about regulations and be available to answer questions at the
free event sponsored by the San Joaquin Sustainable Farming Project. The field
day is scheduled from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Firebaugh Mendota United
Methodist Church, 1660 O St., Firebaugh.
Other
speakers are: Dr. Pete Goodell of UC Statewide Integrated Pest Management, who
will cover the impact of the weather on pest insects in almonds, cotton and
alfalfa for the coming season; and Orvil Mckinnis, project manager of the
Westside San Joaquin Valley Watershed Coalition, who will talk about the uses
of pesticides and their impact on local water quality.
Continuing
education credits will be available.More information about the field day is
available from SJSFP Director Marcia Gibbs at (530) 370-5325 or Marcia@sustainablecotton.org
Here’s a
quick overview from the Fresno Ag Commissioner’s Office about the new worker
protection rules:
· Pesticide
safety training: Workers and handlers of pesticides are required to be trained
every year.
·
Field posting notification: Growers must post
signs for outdoor applications with restricted entry intervals over 48 hours.
·
Drift exposure prevention: There are new
“exclusion zones” set up around application equipment up to 100 feet for
outdoor applications.
·
Hazard communication: Safety data sheets must be
available at a central display location.
·
Minimum age: All handlers and early entry
employees must be at least 18 years old.
·
Pesticide safety information display: The
pesticide safety information series has to be displayed at decontamination
facilities at sites with 11 or more workers.
·
Decontamination: Employers
must have available 1 gallon of water for each worker and 3 gallons for
handlers.
·
Eye flushing at the mix/load site: When
protection eyewear is required on the label or a closed mixing system is in
use, employers must provide either from a system able to deliver 0.4 gallons
per minute for 15 minutes or from six gallons of water able to flow gently for
15 minutes.
 |
| A closed mixing system for pesticides. |
What is
a closed mixing system?
There
are engineering controls used to protect workers from dermal exposure hazards
when mixing pesticides with high acute toxicity, according to the ag
commissioner. The dermal toxicity of a pesticide is determined by the caution
statements on the label.
Regulators
have established a new tiered mitigation system based on the chemical’s caution
label.
A Tier 1
closed mixing system is now required for workers who handle pesticides with a
dermal hazard statement on the label that reads something like “fatal if
absorbed through the skin.” This closed mixing system must be able to enclose
the pesticide while removing the chemical from its original container. Each
emptied container must be rinsed and drained while attached to the closed
mixing system.
A Tier 2
closed mixing system is required for workers who handle pesticides with the
warning label that reads something like “may be fatal if absorbed through skin”
or “corrosive, causes skin damage.” This
mixing system must prevent pesticides from having contact with the handler.
However, the container is not required to be rinsed while still attached to the
system.
Growers
should contact their local agricultural commissioner office for more
information.
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