Pesticide Worker – EPA Agricultural Worker Protection Standard

EPA Training & Certification

TRAINING MODE: e-Learning

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This safety training program intended to provide an overview of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Worker Protection Standard requisites for safeguarding agricultural workers, including those who frequently or occasionally enter pesticide-treated fields to perform some tasks. The course offers learners information regarding types of risks due to pesticide exposure beyond safe levels, safety regulations and guidelines to be followed for basic emergency first aid.

Governing regulations

The Worker Protection Standard (also referred as WPS), is a safety standard proclaimed by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to avoid the possibility of injury and illness due to the over usage of pesticides in the production of agricultural produce or plants on farms, nurseries, greenhouses and forests.

Course Overview

Overexposure to pesticides by workers is a common phenomenon in the agricultural industry and there are regulations in safe usage of pesticides. This course delves into the nuances of workplace safety with regard to usage of pesticide and explains in details about the negative impacts of pesticide overexposure, accidental exposure, laws to protect agricultural labourers, compliance procedures, effective utilization of preventive control measures and protective equipment while using pesticides.

Topics Covered

• About This Course
• Course Objectives
• Introduction to EPA Pesticide Worker Safety Training
  • What Are Pesticides?
  • Introduction to EPA Agricultural Worker Protection Standard
  • Pesticide Exposure Types
  • Pesticide Exposure Health Risks
  • Responding to a Pesticide Exposure Emergency
  • Pesticide Exposure First Aid
  • Injury Statistics
  • Key Terms
• EPA Agricultural Worker Protection Standard
  • Information, Protection, and Mitigation Requirements
  • Employers and Pesticide Uses Covered by the WPS
  • Pesticide Uses Not Covered by the WPS
  • Protected Parties
  • Agricultural Owner Exemptions
  • New WPS Requirements
• Employer Requirements for Protecting Workers and Handlers
  • Centralized Information
  • Pesticide Safety Poster Criteria
  • Centralized Information Accessibility
  • Pesticide Safety Training Requirements
  • Basic Pesticide Safety Information for Untrained Workers
  • Pesticide Safety Training for Workers
  • Decontamination Supplies
  • Employer Information Exchange
  • Emergency Assistance

• Additional Employer Requirements for Protecting Agricultural Workers
  • Protections for All Agricultural Workers: Notice About Applications
  • Exceptions to Worker Notification
  • Oral Warning Criteria
  • Warning Sign Criteria
  • Posting Warning Signs
  • Protections for All Agricultural Workers: Restrictions During and After Applications
  • No-Contact Early Entry
  • Special Application Restrictions in Nurseries
  • Special Application Restrictions in Greenhouses
  • Greenhouse Ventilation Criteria
• Early-Entry Worker Protections
  • Early-Entry Work Situations
  • Short-Term Early-Entry Tasks with No Hand Labor
  • Limited-Contact Early-Entry Tasks with No Hand Labor
  • Early-Entry Tasks During an Agricultural Emergency
  • EPA-Approved Exceptions for Early Entry
  • Protections for Early-Entry Workers
  • Training and Instructions for Early-Entry Workers
  • Decontamination Supplies for Early-Entry Workers
  • Personal Protective Equipment for Early-Entry Workers
  • Cleaning and Maintaining Personal Protective Equipment
• Summary
• Additional Resources
• Exam

Who Must Take this Course?

Anyone who is frequently or occasionally impacted by pesticides while spraying the chemicals on plants or trees should take this course. This course is also ideal for employers who should be familiar with the hazards of pesticides, regulations and safe work practices that can overcome the risk of pesticide poisoning or injury. Pesticides are harmful chemicals that can make people sick or injured when they come in contact with or over exposed to the treated areas. Laws stipulate that employers must provide information to agricultural workers along with safety equipment to safeguard them from harmful effects of pesticides.

Course Format

Our Pesticide Worker Training course has been formulated to have high quality content prepared by safety experts along with informative graphical and audio presentations, case studies, self-practice questions and the final exam.

Continuing education credits?

Each student will receive 0.2 CEUs (or 2 CMEs) from Compliance Training Online® for completing this course.