Reducing Risks from Pesticides

Emergency Information 

Human Exposure

If someone has swallowed or inhaled a pesticide or gotten it in the eye or on the skin:

• Call 911 if the person is unconscious, having trouble breathing, having convulsions, or otherwise requires emergency medical attention.
• Check the label for directions on how to give first aid.
• Call the Poison Control Center at (800)-222-1222 for help with first aid information.

The National Pesticide Information Center (800) 858-7378 (http://npic.orst.edu) can also provide information about pesticide products and their toxicity.

If you or anyone on the farm experiences unusual or unexplained illness, including headache, blurred vision, weakness, nausea, cramps, or chest pains that may be symptoms of pesticide exposure, seek immediate treatment. Provide medical personnel with information on the product name and AIs for the pesticide(s) a person may have been exposed to. Some pesticides require specific antidotes or other medical response and labels may contain a “note to physicians” that should be consulted when seeking or administering treatment. 

Tables 25, 28, and 32 include restricted-use fungicides, insecticides, and herbicides that are commonly recommended for vegetable disease, insect, and weed control and lists their respective oral and dermal LD₅₀ values. Materials with an LD₅₀ value of less than 100 should be considered highly toxic and handled with extreme caution.

Personal Protective Equipment. Exposure risks to pesticide handlers and applicators are greatly reduced by using the proper personal protective equipment (PPE) for a given pesticide. Always wear a long-sleeved shirt, long pants, close-toed shoes and socks, and chemical-resistant gloves when handling pesticides. Some products require other PPE, including respirators or eye protection. Review the label for safety information before using and ensure that you have all appropriate PPE, and that items are cleaned or disposed of properly after use. 

The Worker Protection Standard and Who Must Comply

While pesticides can be useful tools for farmers, they can also be deadly. Exposure to pesticides can cause physical harm, debilitation, and even death. Not only applicators are at risk. Family members and workers can also be harmed due to improper storage and use of pesticides.

The EPA developed the Agricultural Worker Protection Standard (WPS) for Pesticides (US EPA regulation, 40 CFR Part 170) to protect people from occupational exposures to pesticides. The WPS applies to all pesticides that are used in the production of agricultural plants on farms, forests, nurseries, and greenhouses. This includes general use pesticides, including those allowed in organic production (OMRI-listed), as well as restricted-use pesticides. Even if a pesticide license is not required, employees and handlers must still receive education in and comply with the WPS.

The WPS requires a farm owner or employer to take steps to reduce the risk of pesticide-related illness and injury if 1) pesticides are used on the farm or 2) workers or pesticide handlers are employed who may be exposed to such pesticides.

You will know a pesticide 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 with 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.

The primary WPS resource is the How to Comply manual developed by EPA. The manual is available online at the EPA’s website (https://www.epa.gov/pesticide-worker-safety/pesticide-worker-protection-standard-how-comply-manual). Printed copies may also be available from your state department of agriculture or university Extension office, or from the Pesticide Educational Resource Collaborative (PERC). Every agricultural producer should have a copy of the EPA How to Comply manual.

Key Elements of the Worker Protection Standard

The following is a brief summary of the basic principles and requirements of the WPS, excerpted from the How to Comply manual. Each of these categories is described in greater detail in the manual. Producers should refer to the manual for complete details and explanations of their responsibilities under the WPS.

INFORM. To ensure employees will be informed about exposure to pesticides, the WPS requires:

• Annual pesticide safety training — for workers and handlers. There is no grace period for training; handlers of pesticides must have received training within the previous 12 months. 
• Pesticide safety information — basic safety concepts (on a poster or otherwise displayed) available at a central location and some decontamination sites.
• Pesticide application and hazard information and access to the information — centrally-located pesticide application information and safety data sheets (SDS) in an area accessible to workers and handlers. This information must be kept for 2 years on the establishment and must be provided to the employee, medical personnel, or the employee’s designated representative upon request.
• Notify workers about treated areas — posting signs or providing oral notification to avoid inadvertent pesticide exposures.
• Information exchange — between commercial pesticide handler employers and agricultural employers.

PROTECT. To ensure employees will be protected from exposures to pesticides, the WPS requires employers to:

• Exclude workers and others from areas being treated with pesticides.
• Exclude workers and others from the application exclusion zone (AEZ) within the boundaries of the agricultural establishment during pesticide applications.
• Exclude workers from areas that remain under a restricted-entry interval (REI), with narrow exceptions.
• Ensure a pesticide handler or an early-entry worker (one that enters a treated site prior to the expiration of the REI) be a minimum of 18 years old.
• Prohibit handlers from applying a pesticide in a way that will expose workers or other persons.
• Protect handlers during handling tasks including monitoring while handling highly toxic pesticides.
• Provide, maintain and ensure the correct use of personal protective equipment (PPE) including enhanced protections for the use of respirators.
• Protect early-entry workers who are doing permitted tasks in treated areas during a REI, including special instructions and duties related to correct use of PPE.

In addition, the WPS requires handlers to:

• Apply pesticides in a way that will not expose workers or other persons.
• Suspend applications if anyone, other than a trained and equipped handler involved with the application, is in the AEZ during a pesticide application (which may be outside the establishment’s property boundary).
• Wear PPE specified on the pesticide product labeling.

MITIGATE. To address pesticide exposures that employees may experience, the WPS requires employers to provide:

• Decontamination supplies — specific amounts of water for workers and handlers along with soap and towels for routine washing and emergency decontamination.
• Eyewash water — for handlers using pesticides requiring protective eyewear.
• Emergency assistance — making transportation available to a medical care facility if an agricultural worker or handler may have been poisoned or injured by a pesticide, and providing information about the pesticide(s) to which the person may have been exposed.

Agricultural Owner Exemptions. Qualifying owners(s) of agricultural operations are exempt from some WPS requirements for themselves and their immediate family but MUST ALWAYS COMPLY with the following when using WPS-labeled pesticides:

• Follow WPS requirements for respirator training, medical evaluation, fit testing, and recordkeeping when respirators are required on the pesticide labeling.
• Use the PPE listed on pesticide labeling.
• Keep immediate family members out of the treated area until the restricted entry interval (REI) expires.
• Ensure pesticide is applied so it does not contact anyone, including members of the immediate family.
• Keep everyone, including members of the immediate family, away from the treated area during the application and the AEZ.
• Ensure that any pesticide applied is used in a manner consistent with the product’s labeling.
• Suspend a pesticide application if a workers or other person is in the AEZ during an application.

Crop Advisors. The WPS requires employers to provide certain protections to their employees who are working as crop advisors. Examples of crop advisors are crop consultants, scouts, and integrated pest management monitors. An independent or commercial crop advisor is any person working as a crop advisor who is employed (including self-employed) by anyone other than the agricultural establishment on which the work is being done. Certain provisions of the WPS apply to crop advisors depending on when the advisor is on the farm and when the pesticide has been applied.

Employers of Commercial Handlers must make sure that their customer (the operator of the farm, forest, nursery or greenhouse) knows certain information such as: specific location and description of the area treated with the pesticide, time and date pesticide is to be applied, product name, EPA registration number, active ingredient(s), REI for the pesticide, whether the labeling requires treated area posting, and oral notification and any other specific requirements on the pesticide labeling concerning protection of workers and other persons during or after application.

For more information on the WPS, contact your Cooperative Extension Pesticide Safety Education Coordinator, State Lead Agency, or EPA Region 1 office, or visit https://www.epa.gov/pesticide-worker-safety/agricultural-worker-protection-standard-wps

Reducing Risks to the Environment

Environmental Hazards statements. Check pesticide labels for any Environmental Hazards statements. This section will fall under the general Precautionary Statements heading on the label and will describe the product’s potential hazards to the environment from transport, use, storage, or spill of the product. These hazards may be to water, soil, air, beneficial insects, plants, and/or wildlife. Hazard statements are based on data from acute toxicity studies on representative wildlife, as well as data concerning a product’s potential to be transported to groundwater, surface water, aquatic sediment, to drift, or to adversely affect non-target plants and bees. 

Responding to Spills. For small pesticide spills, refer to the product label or contact the pesticide manufacturer for guidance on containment and clean-up. 

The National Pesticide Information Center website has extensive resources on pesticides, pesticide ingredients, and relevant human and environmental safety information. See https://npic.orst.edu/, or call 800-858-7378.

The National Response Center (NRC) is a part of the federally established National Response System and staffed 24 hours a day by the U.S. Coast Guard. It is the designated federal point of contact for reporting all oil, chemical, radiological, biological, and etiological discharges into the environment. The NRC can help you decide how to respond to a spill. See https://www.epa.gov/emergency-response/national-response-center or call 800-424-8802. 

CHEMTREC is a 24/7 public service hotline for firefighters, law enforcement officials, and other emergency responders who need immediate critical response information for emergency incidents involving chemicals. They maintain a large database of Safety Data Sheets, chemical information references, resources, and networks of chemical and hazardous material experts. See https://www.chemtrec.com/ or call 800-262-8200.

Protecting Groundwater and Surface Waters

Pesticide characteristics. Many pesticides and fertilizers are soluble in water and can leach through the soil to contaminate underlying groundwater. Consideration of the following characteristics of pesticides can minimize the threat to groundwater:

• Solubility is the ability of a chemical to dissolve in a solvent. Pesticides that are highly soluble in water are often desirable from an applicator's perspective because they are less likely to clump and/or separate. However, they also pose potential water quality issues as they can easily leach into the groundwater supply. 
• Adsorption is the binding of a chemical to the surfaces of soil particles and organic matter. Some chemicals are tightly adsorbed and do not easily leach from soils; however, they have a higher risk of moving with soil when there is surface erosion. Others have low adsorption, and will leach more easily. 
• Persistence refers to the amount of time a chemical will stay in the environment before being broken down into nontoxic substances. The rate of breakdown is affected by sunlight, temperature, soil pH, moisture, and microbial activity. Pesticide persistence is measured in terms of half-life, which is the length of time needed for one half of the amount applied to break down. Persistent chemicals break down slowly, increasing the chance for them to leach into the soil. Conversely, short-lived materials may be degraded before significant leaching occurs. Incorporation of pesticides into the soil reduces or eliminates photodegradation. As depth in the soil increases, there is less microbial degradation. Any practice that slows degradation increases persistence and the likelihood of leaching. Generally, foliar-applied materials are more likely to break down before significant leaching occurs than those that are applied to the soil.

Soil characteristics and topography. Soil texture and organic matter greatly influence the movement of pesticides and fertilizers. Fine-textured soils and those with high amounts of organic matter are highly adsorptive, whereas sandy soils low in organic matter are not. Highly permeable soils with permeable underlying layers allow for rapid downward movement of water and dissolved chemicals. Steep grades and long slopes allow water to build up speed and carry soil and contaminants off-site. Know your soils and apply chemicals accordingly.

Water location and movement. High water tables are especially vulnerable to contamination because chemicals reach the groundwater quickly. Tile drainage allows contaminants to leave the field faster and enter surface waters directly through outlet pipes. Excessive precipitation or irrigation, or poorly timed irrigation, immediately after pesticide or fertilizer applications, can also move contaminants off-site and into surface and ground water quickly.

To minimize risks to groundwater, avoid unnecessary or excessive pesticide applications, and avoid using the same pesticide repeatedly over the same area to prevent its accumulation in the soil. When possible, select products that are less soluble, more strongly adsorbed to soil, or degrade more quickly in the environment. Be mindful of the location of surface water bodies and wells and ensure that soil slopes away from well heads to divert runoff, particularly near areas where pesticides are stored or mixed. Be sure that backflow prevention devices are installed in water distribution systems. 

Leachable Pesticides. The following are some pesticides used on vegetables that have been identified as having high leaching potential; the majority are herbicides:

• atrazine (Aatrex)
• bentazon (Basagran)
• chlorothalonil (Bravo)
• dimethanamid (Outlook)
• diuron (Karmex)
• fluthiacet-methyl (Cadet)
• methomyl (Lannate)
• metolachlor (Dual Magnum)
• metribuzin (Metribuzin)
• pronamide (Kerb)
• simazine (Princep)

Pesticides and The Endangered Species Act 

To address Endangered Species Act and FIFRA obligations, some products are required to carry a statement informing the user of potential risk to endangered species. If EPA has determined that a product requires endangered species labeling, it will request that the registrant amend its labeling to place the following statement at the beginning of the Directions for Use section under the heading “ENDANGERED SPECIES PROTECTION REQUIREMENTS”:

This product may have effects on endangered species. When using this product, you must follow the measures contained in the Endangered Species Protection Bulletin for the county in which you are applying the product. To obtain Bulletins, no more than six months before using this product, consult http://www.epa.gov/espp or call 1-800-447-3813. You must use the Bulletin valid for the month in which you will apply the product.

In April 2022, the EPA released its Endangered Species Workplan outlining how it will comply with the ESA in pesticide registration. EPA developed a series of strategies to reduce exposure of federally listed Endangered & Threatened Species and designated critical habitats from the use of insecticides, herbicides, rodenticides, and fungicides. Since then, the agency has begun implementing these strategies, which may require additional mitigation measures to protect federally listed species. 

You will begin seeing new label language on new products and products which have gone through their routine registration review. The guidance below was prepared by the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources but is applicable to all US pesticide users.  

What’s New on Labels

Pesticide labels may include the following, depending on where and how a pesticide is used:

• Geographic-specific use limitations 
• Buffer zones and application restrictions 
• Runoff and drift mitigation measures 

Required Tools 

Bulletins Live! Two (BLT). You may be directed to BLT which is an online tool that provides location-specific use restrictions. Applicators must check the system within a specified timeframe (typically within 6 months of application). The bulletin will outline any additional measures required to protect listed species in that area. 

Drift and Runoff Mitigation Menu. You may be directed to the mitigation menu which is in the form of an online tool, interactive excel spreadsheet, or static spreadsheet. You will use this form to calculate the number of “points/credits” needed to use a product. 

What To Do Now 

While there may not be a lot of products with the new label language on them now, more products will begin to include the new language as they go through the routine review process. It is extremely important that you plan ahead and familiarize yourself with the tools before you need to use them. Below is a list of actions you should take prior to deciding to make any applications: 

1. Read the label to determine if there is any new language. Continue to read the labels frequently throughout the year before making applications so that you will know if changes have been made. 
2. Using the label, determine how you will make the application prior to the application. This will allow you time to determine the following: 
   • How many points/credits are needed in order to use the product. 
   • What types of mitigation measures you may need to take in order to use the product. 
   • Whether you can use the pesticide in that area at the time you want to use it. 
   • Whether you have any questions about the new label language. 
3. Review the mitigation menu and familiarize yourself with the optional mitigation measures provided. https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2025-09/runoff-mitigation-worksheet-september-2025_0.pdf    
4. Determine the baseline points your current practices and land automatically have. 
5. Access Bulletins Live! Two and familiarize yourself with how the website works. https://www.epa.gov/endangered-species/bulletins-live-two-view-bulletin
6. Practice! Perform a "dry run” of using a product that has the new label language on it. 

This is a long-term effort with a steep learning curve. The lead agencies for pesticide enforcement in each New England state will continue to develop guidance and provide education and outreach to pesticide users to help them comply. If you have questions, contact your state agency or see visit EPA’s website at https://www.epa.gov/endangered-species.