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Revisions to the federal worker protection regulations for pesticides, the Worker Protection Standard (WPS), will go into effect on Jan. 2, 2017.
Many employers already implement record keeping and training, similar to what is required by the new standard. However, as previously reported in Spotlight, there are a number of new obligations resulting from the rule.
Recently, EPA released a “How to Comply” manual available here. Western Growers encourages members to carefully review the manual. Agricultural employers and handler employers must comply with most of the requirements of the final rule by January 2, 2017, while others go into effect on January 2, 2018.
Changes required by January 2, 2017 include:
Changes required by January 2, 2018 include:
The rule also includes a controversial “designated representative” provision, which requires employers to make pesticide application and hazard information available to a person designated in writing by a worker or handler. Western Growers has concerns about the limits and intentions of this provision, though it is an improvement over the proposed rule that allowed written or oral designation of a representative.
In addition to the EPA “How to Comply” manual, states have services and training available to assist with compliance:
Previously, Western Growers released a fact sheet with information comparing the new standard to the old standard. EPA also made available a review and comparison of changes.
For more information, contact Ben Sacher at (202) 296-0191 ext 7301.
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