Environmental Safety
Pesticide Use and Management
PESTICIDE USAGEAny Georgia Southern University employee performing pest control shall:
" Use only pest control equipment, which is in good repair and safe to operate.
" Perform all pest control in a careful and effective manner.
" Use only methods and equipment suitable to ensure proper application of pesticides.
" Perform all pest control under climatic conditions suitable for proper application of pesticides.
" Exercise reasonable precautions to avoid contamination of the environment.
A copy of the MSDS matching the pesticide inventory list must be available in the Department Office or on site.
Concentrated pesticides shall be weighed or measured accurately using devices that are calibrated to the smallest unit in which the pesticide is being weighed or measured.
Pest control equipment shall be thoroughly cleaned when necessary to prevent illness or damage to persons, plants, or animals from residues of pesticides previously used in the equipment.
If a service rig and piece of application equipment that handles pesticides also draws water from an outside source, it shall be equipped with an air-gas separation, reduced pressure principle backflow prevention device or double check valve assembly. Backflow protection must be acceptable to both the water purveyor and the local health department.
AGE OF OPERATOR
Minors under 18 years of age shall not be permitted to mix or load a pesticide, which, in any use situation, requires either air supplied respiratory protection, closed systems, or full body chemical resistant protective clothing.
PROTECTION FROM PESTICIDES
An applicator, prior to and while applying a pesticide, shall evaluate the equipment to be used, meteorological conditions, the property to be treated, and surrounding properties to determine the likelihood of harm or damage. No pesticide application shall be made or continued when there is a reasonable possibility of either:
" Contamination of the bodies or clothing of persons not involved in the application process;
" Damage to non-target crops, animals, or other public or private property; or
" Contamination of non-target public or private property, including the creation of a health hazard, preventing normal use of such property.
POSTING OF STORAGE AREAS
Signs visible from any direction of probable approach shall be posted around all storage areas where containers which hold or have held pesticides required to be labeled with the signal words "warning" or "danger" are stored. Each sign shall be of such size that it is readable at a distance of 25 feet and be substantially as follows:
DANGER: UNAUTHORIZED PERSONS KEEP OUT!
KEEP DOOR LOCKED WHEN NOT IN USE
CONTAINER REQUIREMENTS
Except as provided in the Food and Agricultural Code pertaining to service containers, any container that holds or has held any pesticide, when stored or transported, shall carry the registrant's label. All lids or closures shall be securely tightened except for measuring devices that are not used to store or transport a pesticide. In no case shall a pesticide be placed or kept in any container of a type commonly used for food, drink, or household products.
SERVICE CONTAINER LABELING
Containers shall be labeled with:
" Information about the manufacturer (Name, Emergency Contact Number, Address)
" The identity of the poison in the container; and
" The word "Danger," "Warning," or "Caution" in accordance with the label on the original container if applicable.
CONTAINER RINSE/DRAIN PROCEDURES
Each emptied container which has held less than 28 gallons of a liquid pesticide that is diluted for use shall be rinsed and drained by the user at the time of use by either of the following methods:
METHOD A:
1. Use the following amount of water or other designated spray carried for each rinse. If the size of container is less than 5 gallons, then the amount of rinse medium should be 5 gallons. If the size of the container is over 5 gallons, then the amount of rinse medium is 1/5 the container volume.
2. Place required minimum amount of rinse medium in the container, replace closure securely, and agitate.
3. Drain rinse solution from container into tank mix. Allow container to drain 30 seconds after normal emptying.
4. Repeat (2) and (3) above a minimum of two times so as to provide a total of three rinses; or
METHOD B:
1. Invert the emptied container over a nozzle located in the opening of the mix tank, which is capable of rinsing all inner surfaces of the container.
2. Activate the rinse nozzle allowing the rinse solution to drain into the tank. The rinse shall continue until the rinse solution appears clear and a minimum of one-half of the container volume of rinse medium has been used. A minimum of 15 pounds pressure per square inch shall be used for rinsing.
WORKER SAFETY RESPONSIBILITIES
Georgia Southern University and each employee shall comply with each pesticide regulation, which is applicable to his or her own action and conduct. The Supervisor is responsible for knowing about the applicable safe use requirements specified in state and federal regulations and on the pesticide label, and shall inform the employee in the language he/she understands of the specific pesticide being used and the protective clothing, equipment and work procedures to be followed.
The Supervisor shall ensure that safe work practices, including all applicable regulations and label requirements, are complied with, and shall require employees to follow safe work practices.
The University shall inform employees of pesticide safety hazards and pesticide safety regulations applicable to all activities they may perform, and employees must handle and use pesticides in accordance with the requirements of law, regulations, and label requirements.
EMPLOYEE PESTICIDE TRAINING
Georgia Southern University shall have a written training program for employees who handle minimal exposure pesticides. GSU shall maintain a copy of the training program for two years at the location where employee training records are kept.
Georgia Southern University provides training for each employee who handles any pesticide as to each of the following subjects:
" The safety procedures to be followed
" The clothing and protective equipment to be used
" The common symptoms of pesticide poisoning and the ways poisoning or injury from pesticides can occur
" Where to obtain emergency medical treatment
" The purposes and requirements of medical supervision
" Applicable laws, regulations and label requirements
" The need for immediate decontamination of skin and eyes when exposure occurs
Georgia Southern University shall post copies of the appropriate Pesticide Safety Information Series leaflets in a prominent location at the workplace where the employee begins the workday. If there is no designated workplace, the employer shall provide copies of the leaflets to each employee.
Training shall be completed before the employee is allowed to handle pesticides and at least annually thereafter. Initial training may be waived if the employee is a certified commercial applicator or submits a record that training was received within the last year and a letter from the previous employer documenting satisfactory work practices.
Georgia Southern University shall record the date and extent of initial and annually required training given to the employee and the job to be assigned. This record shall be verified by the employee's, the employer's, and trainer's signature and retained by the employer for two years at the employee's permanent assigned work location.
MEDICAL SUPERVISION
Whenever an employee handles a pesticide in toxicity category one or two that contains an organophosphate or carbamate, for the purpose of producing an agricultural commodity, Georgia Southern University shall maintain use of records that identify the employee, name of the pesticide, and the date.
An employee that regularly handles pesticides shall have a written agreement signed by a physician that includes the names and addresses of both the physician providing the medical supervision and the employer responsible for the employees, stating that the physician has agreed to provide medical supervision and that the physician possesses a copy of, and is aware of the contents of the document "Medical Supervision of Pesticide Workers-Guidelines for Physicians" (available from the Department of Health Services). The employer shall give a copy of this agreement to the commissioner no later than when an employee begins to regularly handle pesticides.
All covered employees shall have baseline red cell and plasma cholinesterase determinations. Baseline values shall be verified every two years. For new employees, the medical supervisor may accept previously established baseline values if they are obtained in accordance with these regulations by the same laboratory methodology and are acceptable to the laboratory which will analyze the new employee's blood samples.
Each employee not previously under medical supervision associated with the employer must have his red cell and plasma cholinesterase determinations within three working days after the conclusion of each 30-day period in which pesticides are regularly handled.
After three tests at 30-day intervals, further periodic monitoring shall be at intervals specified in writing by the medical supervisor except for verification of baseline as specified above.
Where the medical supervisor has made no written recommendation for continued periodic monitoring, the testing interval shall be 60 days.
Records of the agreement to provide medical supervision, use records, all recommendations received from the medical supervisor, and all results of cholinesterase tests required to be made, shall be maintained for three years.
The name, address, and telephone number of the medical supervisor shall be posted in a prominent place at the locale where the employee usually starts the workday or, if there is no locale where the employee usually starts the workday, at each worksite or in each work vehicle.
There shall be an investigation of the work practices of any employee whose red cell or plasma cholinesterase levels fall below 80% of the baseline. The investigation of work practices shall include a review of the safety equipment used and its condition, and the employee's work practices, which include employee sanitation, pesticide handling procedures, and equipment usage. Georgia Southern University shall maintain a written record of the findings, any changes in equipment or procedures and any recommendations made to the employee.
Georgia Southern University shall remove an employee from exposure to organophosphate or carbamate pesticides if the employee's plasma cholinesterase level falls to 60% or less of baseline, or if red cell cholinesterase falls to 70% or less of baseline. The employee shall be removed from further exposure until cholinesterase values return to 80% or more of their respective baseline values. The employer shall maintain written records of the dates of removal and the dates when employees are returned to exposure.
Red cell and plasma cholinesterase tests ordered by a medical supervisor for occupational health surveillance shall be performed by a clinical laboratory currently approved by the State Department of Health Services to perform these tests.
WORKING ALONE WITH PESTICIDES
An employee mixing, loading, or applying pesticide in toxicity category one may not work alone during nighttime hours unless personal, radio, or telephone contact is made to a responsible adult at intervals not exceeding one hour.
A pilot, mixer-loader, and/or flagger team is considered as working together. In the case of two ground applicators working in the same field, no additional person is necessary if they can see each other or each other's application vehicles.
FACILITIES-EQUIPMENT FOR USE
Change Area: For any employee who regularly handles pesticides in toxicity categories one or two, there shall be, at the place where employees complete their workday, an area where employees may change clothes and wash themselves. Clean towels, soap, and adequate water shall be available to allow for thorough washing. Employees are instructed to thoroughly shower with warm water and soap as soon as possible after the end of each work shift. The employer shall provide a clean, pesticide-free place where employees may store any personal clothing not in use while at work handling pesticides.
Washing Facilities: Clean water, soap and towel(s) for routine washing of hands and face, and for emergency washing of the entire body, shall be available for all employees at the work site where they mix or load pesticides in toxicity categories one or two. A minimum of ten galls of water shall be present at the beginning of each workday for one employee and a minimum of 20 galls for two or more employees. This water shall be stored separate from that used for mixing with pesticides unless the tank holding water for mixing with pesticides is equipped with appropriate valves to prevent backflow of pesticides into the water. Any other easily available supply of clean water within 100 feet of the mixing and loading site is satisfactory for the purposes of this section.
WORK CLOTHING
Georgia Southern University shall provide clean work clothing for each employee who handles any pesticide in toxicity category one or two.
Employees shall:
" Start each workday wearing clean work clothing whenever they handle pesticides in toxicity categories one or two
" Change out of their work clothing and wash at the end of the workday
" Not take home potentially contaminated work clothing
" Remove and store contaminated work clothing in a sealable container outside of their own living quarters for later return to Georgia Southern University
Georgia Southern University shall provide for cleaning of work clothing and shall inform the person or firm doing the laundry that they will receive pesticide-contaminated clothing, which should be laundered separately.
SAFETY EQUIPMENT
Georgia Southern University shall provide all necessary safety equipment and provide for its cleaning, repair and replacement when necessary. Georgia Southern University shall require that all personal protective equipment be maintained and kept in a clean, specially designated place or locker when not in use. The clothing and equipment shall remain the property of the employer. Safety equipment shall be provided and maintained in accordance with the regulations of the Food and Agriculture Code.
PESTICIDE EQUIPMENT
Equipment used for mixing, loading or applying pesticides shall be kept in good repair and shall be safe to operate. Equipment with any safety defect shall be repaired or altered to remove the hazard before further use.
All openings on tanks used for mixing or applying pesticides shall be equipped with covers that will prevent splashes and spills.
Fixable hoses carrying liquid pesticides in toxicity categories one or two under pressure shall not pass unshielded through the cockpit of an airplane or helicopter.
Shut-off devices shall be installed on the exit end of all hoses carrying liquid pesticides in toxicity categories one or two from mixing tanks that are adequate to prevent splashes onto the employee doing the loading when filling operations are stopped and the filler hose is removed from the inlet to the tank of the application vehicle. As an alternative, a reversing action pump or a similar system may be used that will empty the hose and will eliminate dripping of liquid from the end of the hose when the filling operation is stopped.
Each tank with capacity of more than 49 gallons that is used to mix or apply any liquid mixture derived from a pesticide in toxicity categories one or two shall have eitwo shall have either:
" A properly functioning means to indicate externally the internal liquid level in the tank such as a sign gauge; or
" The tank or the filler hose nozzle shall have a device that will automatically stop the filling operation before the pesticide liquid mixture spills over the top.
EQUIPMENT MAINTENANCE
Persons who own or operate pesticide mixing, loading, or application equipment shall inform each employee under their control who may be involved in the cleaning, servicing or repair of that equipment of the hazards of the pesticides that person may encounter and the methods of protecting against personal injury. If such cleaning, servicing or repairing is to be performed by persons not under the control of the owner or operator of the equipment, he shall so notify the person in charge of performing these services. Employees who clean, service, or repair mixing and application equipment shall be provided, and must use, any necessary protective equipment or clothing, and shall be instructed and supervised in the maintenance operation in a manner that will reduce work hazards.
Enviromental Safety Services
- Georgia Southern University
P.O. Box 8072-01 Statesboro, Georgia 30460
(912)478-7161 | (912)478-7169
ess@georgiasouthern.edu