Always keep personal clothing, food, drinks, chewing gum, tobacco products, and other personal belongings away from where pesticides are stored or handled; they could become contaminated and poison or injure you when you use them. And besides, a sprinkling of herbicide on the turkey sandwich you brought for lunch would taste terrible.

Keep in mind that some pesticide formulations are more hazardous to people than others. Emulsifiable concentrates and ultra-low-volume concentrates often contain solvents that are hazardous themselves or that allow the pesticide to pass through the skin more quickly while aerosols are easily inhaled.

According to the National Ag Safety Database (NASD), there are four ways that pesticides can enter the body: through the skin, the mouth, the nose and the eyes. Pesticides can enter your body in solid, liquid or gaseous form. It is particularly important to remember that highly concentrated and highly toxic chemicals, especially liquids and gases, present the greatest danger. If they are not washed off immediately, the liquid concentrates can penetrate unbroken skin. The longer a pesticide remains on your skin or in your eyes, or the longer you inhale it, the greater the damage that is likely to occur. Protective clothing, such as coveralls, aprons, boots, gloves, goggles and face shields, and respirators provide protection against exposure to these chemicals.

Pesticides that are inhaled in large enough amounts can cause serious damage to nose, throat, and lung tissues. Vapors and extremely fine particles are the most serious contributors to respiratory exposure. Wear a respirator while working with powder and liquid pesticides. If you are unsure if a respirator is needed, ask your supervisor.

When you take home or wear home your work clothing and personal protective equipment, the pesticides can rub off on carpeting, furniture, and laundry items. When you do not clean up a spill, no matter how small, other people or animals may get pesticide on themselves without knowing they are being exposed. Pesticides that you spread may harm whoever or whatever touches them.

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It is possible to transfer pesticides to objects, people, and animals when touching them with gloves worn while handling pesticides. When you sit in your car or on a chair while wearing your pesticide-handling outfit, you may leave pesticides behind. If you step into your office or home to answer the telephone or use the toilet, you could leave pesticides on surfaces. All clothing worn while handling pesticides should be thoroughly cleaned after they are used.

Be Prepared for Emergencies

It is extremely important to be prepared for emergencies before beginning any kind of pesticide handling. Make sure that you are prepared to deal with emergencies such as spills, injuries, and poisonings. The IPM states that emergency supplies should include, at minimum, the following:

Before You Apply

One of the first things to do before beginning any kind of pesticide application is decide which pesticide to use. The certified applicator for your company has the knowledge to make that decision and should select the safest and most effective pesticide for the job.

Some formulations of pesticides are more likely than others to cause unwanted harm to surfaces, plants, and animals in the application site. For example, emulsifiable concentrates have a tendency to pit or stain some surfaces, are easily absorbed through the skin of some animals, and may injure some plants. Dusts and powders are likely to leave a visible residue that may be unacceptable. It is also important to consider whether runoff or wind is likely to carry the pesticide away from the application site. There are two types of wind drift that may cause chemicals to move off target. Particle drift happens when the wind scatters small droplets off the application site and onto neighboring shrubs, flowers or lawns. Vapor drift occurs when chemicals evaporate and move with air currents to other sites. Vapor drift is not common among specialty products, but in either case, an applicator should be aware of wind conditions in order to avoid any drift potential.

According to the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell University, there are about 110,000 non-fatal human pesticide poisonings each year in the United States. To avoid accidental poisonings when treating an area with pesticides, keep in mind the safety of people and animals in the vicinity and post warning signs alerting them to the presence of chemicals. Always keep personal clothing, food, drinks, chewing gum, tobacco products, and other personal belongings away from where pesticides are stored or handled; they could become contaminated and poison or injure you when you use them.

Scheduling Pesticide Applications

Each pesticide application involves a different set of conditions. Your responsibility is to assess the conditions and decide when to apply the pesticide and whether to take any special precautions.

Avoid Heat Stress

Several factors work together to cause heat stress. Before you begin a pesticide handling task, think about whether any of these factors are likely to present a problem. Consider what adjustments you may need to make in the task itself or in the workplace conditions, including these suggestion from the EPA:

For more information on pesticide handling, visit www.epa.gov www.ipmcenters.org www.cdc.gov