Department of Agriculture

The Worker Protection Standard

Terminology Pesticide Uses Covered Exempt Pesticide Uses Employer Responsibility Commercial Applicators Pesticide Enforcement Program Contacts

The Worker Protection Standard (WPS) is a regulation issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. It covers pesticides that are used in the production of agricultural plants on farms, forests, nurseries, and greenhouses. The WPS requires you to take steps to reduce the risk of pesticide-related illness and injury if you use such pesticides or employ workers or pesticide handlers who are exposed to such pesticides.

If you are an agricultural pesticide user and/or an employer of agricultural workers or pesticide handlers, the WPS requires you to provide to your employees and, in some cases, to yourself and to others:
1) information about exposure to pesticides, 2) protections against exposures to pesticides, and
3) ways to mitigate exposures to pesticides.

Worker Protection Standard Terminology

Agricultural plants: Plants grown or maintained for commercial or research purposes. Examples: food, feed, and fiber plants, trees, turf grass, flowers, shrubs, ornamentals, and seedlings.

Farms: Operations, other than nurseries or forests, that produce agricultural plants outdoors. Examples: wheat and barley farms, orchards, sugar beet farms, etc.

Forests: Operations that produce agricultural plants outdoors for wood fiber or timber products.

Greenhouses: Operations that produce agricultural plants indoors in an area that is enclosed with nonporous covering and that is large enough to allow a person to enter. Examples: polyhouses, mushroom houses and caves, and rhubarb houses, as well as traditional greenhouses.

Nurseries: Operations that produce agricultural plants outdoors for 1) transplanting to another location, or 2) flower or fern cuttings. Examples: Flowering and foliage plants or trees; tree seedlings; live Christmas trees; vegetable, fruit, and ornamental transplants; and turf grass production for sod.

Agricultural Worker: A worker is anyone who is employed for any type of compensation and is doing tasks, such as harvesting, weeding, or watering, related to the production of agricultural plants on a farm, forest, nursery, or greenhouse.

Pesticide Handler: A pesticide handler is anyone who is employed for any type of compensation by an agricultural establishment or a commercial pesticide handling establishment that uses pesticides in the production of agricultural plants on a farm, forest, nursery or greenhouse, and is doing any of the following tasks:

• mixing, loading, transferring, or applying pesticides,
• handling opened containers of pesticides,
• acting as a flagger,
• cleaning, handling, adjusting, or repairing the parts of mixing, loading, or application equipment that may contain pesticide residues,
• assisting with the application of pesticides, including incorporation the pesticide into the soil after the application
• disposing of pesticides or pesticide containers.

Pesticides Covered by the Worker Protection Standard

Most pesticide uses involved in the production of agricultural plants on a farm, forest, nursery, or greenhouse are covered by the WPS. This includes pesticides used on plants, and pesticides used on the soil or planting medium the plants are (or will be) grown in. Both general-use and restricted-use pesticides are covered by the WPS. You will know that the product is covered by the WPS if you see the following statement in the Directions for Use section of the pesticide labeling:

"Agricultural Use Requirements
Use this product only in accordance with its labeling and the Worker Protection Standard, 40 CFR Part 170. This standard contains requirements for the protection of agricultural workers on farms, forests, nurseries, and greenhouses, and handlers of agricultural pesticides. It contains requirements for training, decontamination, notification, and emergency assistance. It also contains specific instructions and exceptions pertaining to the statements on this label about personal protective equipment, notification of workers, and restricted-entry intervals."

If you are using a pesticide product with labeling that refers to the Worker Protection Standard, you must comply with the WPS. Otherwise, you will be in violation of Federal law, since it is illegal to use a pesticide product in a manner inconsistent with its labeling.

Exempt Pesticide Uses

Some pesticide uses are not covered by the WPS, even when the Agricultural Use Requirements section is on the labeling. For example, if the pesticide labeling bears an Agricultural Use Requirements section, but the product also can be applied to rights-of-way, the rights-of-way use is not covered by the WPS. The WPS does NOT cover pesticides applied:

• on pastures or rangelands,
• for control of vertebrate pests such as rodents,
• as attractants or repellents in traps,
• on the portions of agricultural plants that have been harvested, such as in packing houses or on cut timber,
• for mosquito abatement, Mediterranean fruit fly eradication, or similar government-sponsored wide-area public pest control programs,
• on livestock or other animals, or in or around animal premises,
• on plants grown for other than commercial or research purposes, which may include plants in habitations, home fruit and vegetable gardens, and home greenhouses,
• on plants that are in ornamental gardens, parks, golf courses, and public or private lawns and grounds and that are intended only for decorative or environmental benefit,
• in a manner not directly related to the production of agricultural plants, including, for example, control of vegetation along rights-of-way and in other noncrop areas, and structural pest control, such as termite control and wood preservation,
• for research uses of unregistered pesticides.

Employer Responsibility

The agricultural employer has basic responsibilities he or she must provide to the agricultural workers and/or pesticide handlers, which include:

1. Information at a Central Location (pesticide application list, emergency information, and a pesticide safety poster)
2. Pesticide Safety Training (Agricultural Worker Training Form; Pesticide Handler Training Form)
3. Decontamination Sites (water, soap, and single-use towels; emergency eyeflushing for handlers)
4. Employer Information Exchange (specific location of the area treated, time and date of application, product information, restricted-entry interval for the pesticide, pesticide labeling requirements for posting and oral notification, and any other specific requirements on the pesticide labeling.)
5. Emergency Assistance (provide emergency transportation and information to a medical facility)

For more detailed information about the employer responsibility purchase a How to Comply Manual from Gempler's or any other type of agricultural resource center.

Commercial Pesticide Applicators

Commercial applicators who apply pesticides to cereal grains, sod farms, or orchards, for example, and employ pesticide handlers must comply with the Worker Protection Standard. This includes providing your employee(s):

1. Pesticide Safety Training (Agricultural Worker Training Form; Pesticide Handler Training Form)
2. Decontamination Sites (water, soap, and single-use towels; emergency eyeflushing for handlers)
3. Employer Information Exchange (specific location of the area treated, time and date of application, product information, restricted-entry interval for the pesticide, pesticide labeling requirements for posting and oral notification, and any other specific requirements on the pesticide labeling.)
4. Emergency Assistance (provide emergency transportation and information to a medical facility)

Governmental applicators must also comply with the above requirements if they are applying pesticides to agricultural plants for research purposes.

Worker Protection Standard Program Contacts

Related Links:

Pesticide Field Office Contact Information
Worker Protection Standard Related Documents

• Privacy & Security
• Accessibility
• Contact Us
• Search