Equipment Safety

The employers of pesticide handlers must make sure that pesticide handling equipment that is used for mixing, loading, transferring, or applying pesticides is inspected before use for leaks, clogging, damage, and wear. Any damaged equipment should be repaired and replaced. Employers are responsible for safely removing pesticide residues before they allow anyone other than an appropriately trained and equipped handler to repair, clean, or adjust equipment.

Sometimes it is not feasible for an employer to remove pesticide residues before sending equipment out to be repaired, cleaned, or adjusted. In these cases, if the repair personnel are not pesticide handlers who are protected under WPS standards by their own companies, the employer must inform the repair personnel of each of the following:

• That the equipment may be contaminated with pesticides
• That there are potentially harmful effects of exposure to the pesticides
• The correct way to handle such equipment

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