Decontamination Supplies

Employers must provide workers and handlers with pesticide decontamination supplies, including enough water for routine washing and emergency eye flushing, as well as soap and single-use towels. Handlers must also be provided with enough water for washing the entire body in an emergency and a clean change of clothes, such as one-size-fits-all coveralls, to put on if the handlers' clothing gets contaminated and needs to be removed right away.

Employers are required to provide these decontamination supplies to handlers while they are performing handler tasks and for the duration of the task. The WPS requires that decontamination supplies be provided regardless of the number of employees. There is no exemption for employers with only a few employees.

Decontamination supplies must be reasonably accessible. All decontamination supplies for workers must be located together, and all decontamination supplies for handlers must be located together. Handler decontamination supplies may only be located in an area that is being treated with pesticides or is under a restricted-entry interval, if all of the following conditions are met:

• The supplies are in the area where the handler is doing handler tasks.
• The soap, single-use towels, and clean change of clothing are in closed containers.
• The water is running tap water or is stored in a closed container.

Handlers who are mixing pesticides must be provided with decontamination supplies at the mixing area. At the sites where the handlers remove their PPE, the employer must provide soap, clean towels, and enough water for thorough washing.

To learn more about Pesticide Handler Safety visit our Pesticide Handler Safety Online Training web page.