EPA The Worker Protection Standard for Agricultural Pesticides

This is a copy of the EPA 1992 WPS, modified for presentation on the Web. We have added clickable links for ease in use. Every effort has been made to provide the exact wording of the EPA document, but Mosaic does not allow the production of an identical copy. This document is provided by the Agricultural & Environmental Safety Group, Texas Agricultural Extension Service, The Texas A&M University System, as a service to the agricultural community for general reference only. Please refer to the printed document from EPA for the actual legal guidelines.

Dated 1993
Placed on the Web 3/95 by the Center for Integrated Pest Management, NCSU

You can go directly to the CONTENTS, or to the INDEX for a quick retrieval of information.

How To Comply

What Employers Need To Know


Who Needs To Read This Manual?

You probably need to comply with the Worker Protection Standard (WPS) if you are a Most WPS provisions are protections that you as an employer must provide to your own employees and, in some instances, to yourself. The WPS covers two types of employers, which are defined according to the type of work performed by their employees:

Worker Employers

If you hire or contract for people to do agricultural worker tasks, or if you do them yourself, the WPS considers you a worker employer. In general, agricultural workers are persons who (1) do hand labor tasks, such as weeding, planting, cultivating, and harvesting, or (2) do other tasks involved in the production of agricultural plants, such as moving or operating irrigation equipment (complete definition). Units 3 and 4 of this manual describe the WPS protections you must provide to the agricultural workers you employ.

Handler Employers

If you hire people to do pesticide handling tasks, or if you do them yourself, the WPS considers you a handler employer. In general, pesticide handlers are persons who mix, load, apply, or do other tasks that bring them into direct contact with pesticides (see p. 14-15 for complete definition). You must provide WPS protections to all your pesticide handler employees, whether or not they are certified as applicators of restricted-use pesticides. Units 3 and 5 of this manual describe the WPS protections you must provide to the pesticide handlers you employ.
  • The same employee may be a worker at some times and a handler at other times, depending on the type of task being performed.
  • You may be both a handler employer and a worker employer, depending on the tasks that you and your employees do.
  • Both general-use pesticides and restricted-use pesticides are covered by the WPS.

    About This Manual

    This "How To Comply" manual will Important definitions and other special explanations are enclosed in shaded boxes. Reading them will help you better understand the WPS requirements and how they apply to you.

    For more information

    Region 1 (MA, CT, RI, NH, VI, ME)
    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 1
    Pesticides and Toxic Substances Branch (APT)
    1 Congress St.
    Boston, MA 02203
    (617) 565-3273

    Region 2 (NY, NJ, PR, VI)
    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 2
    Pesticides and Toxic Substances Branch (MS-105)
    2890 Woodgridge Ave., Building #10
    Edison, NJ 08837-3679
    (908) 321-6765

    Region 3 (PA, MD, VA, WV, DE)
    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 3
    Toxics and Pesticides Branch (3AT-30)
    841 Chestnut Building
    Philadelphia, PA 19107
    (215) 597-8598

    Region 4 (GA, NC, SC, AL, MS, KY, FL, TN)
    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4
    Pesticides & Toxic Substances Branch (4-APT-MD)
    345 Courtland St., N.E.
    Atlanta, GA 30365
    (404) 347-5201

    Region 5 (IL, MI, MN, IN, OH, WI)
    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5
    Pesticides and Toxic Substances Branch (5SPT)
    77 W. Jackson Blvd.
    Chicago, IL 60604
    (312) 886-6006

    Region 6 (TX, OK, AR, LA, NM)
    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 6
    Pesticides and Toxics Branch (6T-P)
    1445 Ross Ave.
    Dallas, TX 75202-2733
    (214) 655-7235

    Region 7 (MO, KS, IA, NB)
    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 7
    Toxics and Pesticides Branch (TOPE),
    726 Minnesota Ave.
    Kansas City, KS 66101
    (913) 551-7020

    Region 8 (CO, MT, ND, SD, UT, WY)
    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 8
    Toxic Substances Branch (8ART-TS)
    One Denver Place, Suite 500
    999 18th St.
    Denver, CO 80202-2405
    (303) 293-1730

    Region 9 (CA, NV, AZ, HI, GU)
    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 9
    Pesticides and Toxics Branch (A4)
    75 Hawthorne St.
    San Francisco, CA 94105
    (415) 744-1090

    Region 1O (WA, OR, ID, AK)
    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 10
    Pesticides and Toxic Substances Branch (AT-083)
    1200 Sixth Ave.
    Seattle, WA 98191
    (206) 553-1918


    Contents