Central Location is Key for the Worker Protection Standard

The central location should be in an area that is accessible to your employees and must consist of following three items: pesticide records, pesticide safety information (WPS) poster, and Safety Data Sheets (SDS).

 Pesticide records from at least the past 30 days since your last restricted Entry Interval (REI) expired must be at the central location.

There is no longer an official poster but there are official poster requirements. Penn State developed a poster with all the requirements, and it was reviewed by EPA. These posters are free to all Pennsylvania growers and come in two different sizes and are available in English and English/Spanish. The poster must display the name, address, and phone number for your lead agency (e.g., PA Department of Agriculture in Pennsylvania) and the closest medical facility.

Safety data sheets are reformatted from the former MSDS and provide detailed information about all chemicals and pesticides including the chemical properties, various hazards (e.g., physical, health, environmental, etc.), protective measures, and safety precautions (e.g., handling, storing, and transporting). In Pennsylvania, the only acceptable options for SDS include a hard copy or a flash drive.

You can get the Safety Data Sheets from either your pesticide supplier or download them from the Internet. If you download them from the Internet be sure that you are getting the Safety Data Sheet (SDS) and not the old Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS). Since the old MSDS sheets are available online, it is easy to confuse the two so double check that it says Safety Data Sheets!

It is a safety and health best management practice to have SDS for all chemicals and pesticides used in a grower’s operation. Examples of chemicals that require SDSs include fuels, lubricants, sanitizers and disinfectants, and paints.

Regarding the Worker Protection Standard (WPS), producers who employ at least one or more non-family relatives are required to have SDSs for all pesticides used in their operation. If an operation has 11 or more non-family employees (at any one time during a given year), SDSs are required under the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for all chemicals. For both WPS and OSHA, it is recommended that growers keep the SDS and the pesticide label together. In the event of an emergency, the SDS and pesticide label should be taken to the medical facility with the person who was exposed to the pesticide.

For more information about complying with the Worker Protection Standard revisions or to schedule a visit, contact Jim Harvey, Rural Health Farm Worker Protection Safety Specialist, via email (jdh18@psu.edu) or telephone (814-863-8656).