Agricultural Safety | Office of the Vice President for Research (TEST)

On August 13, 1992, the US EPA promulgated the Worker Protection Standard (WPS). The regulation protects agricultural employees who work in or on farms, forests, nurseries and greenhouses from risk due to occupational exposure to pesticides or pesticide residue.

Purpose of the WPS

The WPS sets out required work place practices that are intended to:

Eliminate or reduce employee exposure to pesticides
Mitigate exposures that occur
Inform employees about the hazards of pesticides

Applicability of the WPS

The WPS applies to the working conditions of two types of employees (including student labor and work-study student employees):

pesticide handlers – those who handle agricultural pesticides (mix, load, apply, clean or repair equipment, act as flaggers or crop advisors, or perform other tasks involving direct contact with pesticides); and
agricultural workers – those who perform tasks related to the cultivation and harvesting of plants on farms or in greenhouses, nurseries or forests.

The WPS applies to farms, forests, nurseries or greenhouses where pesticides are used in the production of agricultural plants (plants grown or maintained for commercial or research purposes including food, feed and fiber plants, trees, turf grass, flowers, shrubs, ornamentals and seedlings). The WPS does not apply to the following uses:

government-sponsored public pest control including mosquito control;
on livestock and other animals;
on plants grown for other than commercial or research purposes (e.g., home gardens and greenhouses);
on ornamental plants in parks, lawns & grounds (including commercial lawn care);
uses not directly related to agricultural plant production such as structural, right-of-way, pasture and rangeland applications;
control of vertebrate pests;
as attractants or repellents in traps;
on harvested portions of plants or timber; and
research uses of unregistered pesticides

To schedule Worker Protection Standard training, contact the Department of Environmental Health & Safety. By law, employees covered under the WPS must receive training prior to or within 5 days of employment. The training certifies an individual for five years. Certificates of training are kept at UConn’s Department of Environmental Health & Safety; copies are sent to the employee’s department. For more information regarding the WPS, visit the EPA WPS website.

Other Resources

The Worker Protection Standard for Agricultural Pesticides (via EPA)
The National Ag Safety Database (NASD)
UC Davis Ag Safety & Health