Oregon OSHA has adopted rules that increase protections against the risk of pesticides drifting off mark. The rules, which exceed federal requirements, will take effect January 1, 2019.

The rules expand a protective zone around a pesticide application; extend the evacuation period; require doors, windows and air intakes to be closed during pesticide applications; and require storage for shoes and boots to prevent tracking of pesticides into worker housing.

The rules are part of a broader and ongoing effort to reduce incidents of unsafe pesticide exposure among agricultural workers and pesticide handlers, according to Oregon OSHA.

“Putting these rules into action means workers and their families are better protected in Oregon than they are in the vast majority of the country,” said Michael Wood, administrator for Oregon OSHA.

The Oregon OSHA press release pointed out several differences between the agency’s rules and EPA’s. For example, the EPA rule requires people to move 100 feet from an area being treated with pesticides if the pesticide application requires use of a respirator. The EPA rule also allows people to return to the zone immediately after the spray equipment has passed.

By contrast, Oregon OSHA’s rule requires people stay out of the zone for an additional 15 minutes, requires an application exclusion zone of 100 feet even if no respirator is required, and for pesticides that require applicators use respirators, the exclusion zone expands to 150 feet.

The new rules also eliminate a worker-training grace period previously available, and require that certain workers be trained by a qualified trainer. A qualified trainer under the new rule is a certified applicator with a current license or someone who has taken a train-the-trainer course. Another change adopted by OR-OSHA, is that the train-the-trainer course, formerly only offered in-person, now can be taken online.

Oregon OSHA’s rules complete revisions the agency made last year to the EPA’s Worker Protection Standard.

Access to an EPA-approved web-based train-the-trainer course can be found by going to: http://pesticideresources.org/wps/ttt/course/index.html

More information on the Oregon-OSHA rules can be obtained by going to https://osha.oregon.gov/OSHARules/adopted/2018/ao2-2018-ltr-WPS-AEZ.pdf.