Title 40

SECTION 170.309

170.309 Agricultural employer duties.

§ 170.309 Agricultural employer duties.

Agricultural employers must:

(a) Ensure that any pesticide is used in a manner consistent with the pesticide product labeling, including the requirements of this part, when applied on the agricultural establishment.

(b) Ensure that each worker and handler subject to this part receives the protections required by this part.

(d) Provide to each person, including labor contractors, who supervises any workers or handlers information and directions sufficient to ensure that each worker and handler receives the protections required by this part. Such information and directions must specify the tasks for which the supervisor is responsible in order to comply with the provisions of this part.

(e) Require each person, including labor contractors, who supervises any workers or handlers to provide sufficient information and directions to each worker and handler to ensure that they can comply with the provisions of this part.

(f) Provide emergency assistance in accordance with this paragraph. If there is reason to believe that a worker or handler has experienced a potential pesticide exposure during his or her employment on the agricultural establishment or shows symptoms similar to those associated with acute exposure to pesticides during or within 72 hours after his or her employment on the agricultural establishment, and needs emergency medical treatment, the agricultural employer must do all of the following promptly after learning of the possible poisoning or injury:

(1) Make available to that person transportation from the agricultural establishment, including any worker housing area on the establishment, to an operating medical care facility capable of providing emergency medical treatment to a person exposed to pesticides.

(2) Provide all of the following information to the treating medical personnel:

(i) Copies of the applicable safety data sheet(s) and the product name(s), EPA registration number(s) and active ingredient(s) for each pesticide product to which the person may have been exposed.

(ii) The circumstances of application or use of the pesticide on the agricultural establishment.

(iii) The circumstances that could have resulted in exposure to the pesticide.

(g) Ensure that workers or other persons employed by the agricultural establishment do not clean, repair, or adjust pesticide application equipment, unless trained as a handler under § 170.501. Before allowing any person not directly employed by the agricultural establishment to clean, repair, or adjust equipment that has been used to mix, load, transfer, or apply pesticides, the agricultural employer must provide all of the following information to such person:

(1) Pesticide application equipment may be contaminated with pesticides.

(2) The potentially harmful effects of exposure to pesticides.

(3) Procedures for handling pesticide application equipment and for limiting exposure to pesticide residues.

(4) Personal hygiene practices and decontamination procedures for preventing pesticide exposures and removing pesticide residues.

(h) Display, maintain, and provide access to pesticide safety information and pesticide application and hazard information in accordance with § 170.311 if workers or handlers are on the establishment and within the last 30 days a pesticide product has been used or a restricted-entry interval for such pesticide has been in effect on the establishment.

(i) Ensure that before a handler uses any equipment for mixing, loading, transferring, or applying pesticides, the handler is instructed in the safe operation of such equipment.

(j) Ensure that before each day of use, equipment used for mixing, loading, transferring, or applying pesticides is inspected for leaks, clogging, and worn or damaged parts, and any damaged equipment is repaired or replaced.

(k) Ensure that whenever handlers employed by a commercial pesticide handling establishment will be on an agricultural establishment, the handler employer is provided information about, or is aware of, the specific location and description of any treated areas on the agricultural establishment where a restricted-entry interval is in effect that the handler may be in (or may walk within 1/4 mile of), and any restrictions on entering those areas.

(l) Ensure that workers do not enter any area on the agricultural establishment where a pesticide has been applied until the applicable pesticide application and hazard information for each pesticide product applied to that area is displayed in accordance with § 170.311(b), and until after the restricted-entry interval has expired and all treated area warning signs have been removed or covered, except for entry permitted by § 170.603 of this part.

(m) Provide any records or other information required by this part for inspection and copying upon request by an employee of EPA or any duly authorized representative of a Federal, State or Tribal government agency responsible for pesticide enforcement.