Pesticide Personal Protective Equipment

Assure that all PPE is inspected before each day of use for leaks, holes, tears, or worn parts

Repair or discard and replace damaged or heavily
contaminated PPE

Assure that employees wear appropriate protective eyewear when mixing, loading, or applying pesticides by hand or ground rig, and when exposed to application, mixing, or loading equipment that contains or is contaminated with pesticide.

Assure that protective eyewear provides brow and temple protection that conforms to the curvature of the face and side protection to the eyes and marked as meeting the National Standards Institute’s Standards for Occupational and Educational Personal Eye and Face Protection Devices

Assure that appropriate chemical-resistant gloves are worn when required by pesticide product labeling regulations, or permit conditions; and whenever employees are mixing, loading, or applying pesticides by hand or ground rig, and when they are exposed to application equipment that contains or is contaminated with pesticide.

Assure that if chemical-resistant gloves are required by pesticide labeling without specification of a barrier material or category, the barrier material may be any listed above All gloves must be 14 mils or thicker except: ➜➜Laminate and polyethylene materials; or ➜➜When chemical-resistant gloves are used to make fine adjustments to equipment or other activities that require high dexterity and motor control skill, the gloves must be made of an appropriate barrier material, as listed above, used only once for a maximum of 15 minutes, and then discarded. Separable glove liners made of cotton or other absorbent material may be worn under chemical resistant gloves unless expressly prohibited by labeling. The liners must not extend beyond the end of the glove, and liners must be disposed of at the end of the workday, or immediately if any portion of the liner comes in contact with pesticide. Leather gloves may be worn over chemical-resistant gloves when required by working conditions. Once leather gloves have been used for this purpose, they must only be worn over chemical-resistant gloves. If chemical-resistant gloves are brought into the cockpit of an aircraft that has been used to apply pesticides, the gloves must be stored in an enclosed chemical-resistant container.

Assure that you provide the PPE required by pesticide labeling and the worker safety regulations for the particular handling or early-entry activity: ➜➜Employees wear the required PPE until the handling or early-entry activity is complete, and ➜➜Employees use the required PPE correctly.

Know when certain label-required PPE may be substituted when using certain engineering controls (closed-systems, enclosed cabs, soluble bags).

Assure that you provide a clean, pesticide-free Assure that you provide a clean, pesticide-free place for employees to store any personal clothing not in use while at work handling pesticides.

Assure that you take all precautions to prevent heatrelated illness while the PPE is worn. Provide a clean-designated area where employees can remove their PPE at the end of their exposure period.

Provide clean towels,soap, and sufficient water to allow for thorough washing

Assure that PPE remains under your control and that employees do not take home potentially contaminated PPE.

Assure that any PPE to be reused is clean before each day of reuse according to instructions from the PPE manufacturer, or absent any instructions, wash in detergent and hot water: ➜➜Potentially contaminated PPE is kept and washed separately from other clothing and laundry, and ➜➜Clean PPE is either dried thoroughly before being stored or is put in a well-ventilated place to dry.

Assure that any person or firm assigned or hired to clean or repair potentially contaminated PPE is protected and informed of the hazards of the pesticides they may encounter.

Assure that employees use approved respiratory equipment when handling pesticides where respirators are required by label, restricted material permit condition, or regulation.

Assure that in any workplace where respirators are required by label, restricted material permit condition, regulation, or employer, a written respiratory protection program is established with work site specific procedures. Update the program whenever changes in workplace conditions affect respirator use.

Assure that the respiratory protection program provides: ➜➜Procedures for selecting respirators; ➜➜Medical evaluations of employees required to use respirators; ➜➜Fit testing procedures for tight-fitting respirators; ➜➜Procedures for proper use of respirators in routine and reasonably foreseeable emergency situations; ➜➜Procedures and schedules for cleaning, disinfecting, storing, inspecting, repairing, discarding, and managing respirators; ➜➜Procedures to ensure adequate air quality, quantity, and flow of breathing air for atmosphere supplying respirators; ➜➜Training of employees in the respiratory hazards to which they are potentially exposed during routine and emergency situations, including Immediately Dangerous to Life or Health atmospheres, if appropriate; and ➜➜Training of employees in the proper use of respirators, including putting on and removing them, limitations on their use, and their maintenance.