Workshops on Complying With 2015 Revised Worker Protection Standard

COLUMBUS, Ohio – New regulations and safeguards under the 2015 revised Worker Protection Standard took effect on Jan. 2, 2017, and owners of farms, forests, nurseries and greenhouses that use pesticides in agricultural plant production can learn how stay in compliance during a series of workshops offered by the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences at The Ohio State University.

The free, three-hour workshops will be offered at several locations around Ohio on Feb. 16, March 13, 23 and 27, and April 13, said Mary Ann Rose, program director for Ohio State University Extension’s Pesticide Safety Education Program. OSU Extension is the college’s outreach arm.

All workshop participants will receive a new worker training DVD and employer compliance manual. The manual, called “How to Comply With the 2015 Revised WPS for Agricultural Pesticides,” was released by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and details the important new rules that impact employers of agricultural workers, Rose said.

The Worker Protection Standard is designed to protect workers and pesticide handlers from occupational exposure to pesticides. It protects thousands of agricultural workers on farms and growing operations statewide, she said.   

“The goal of the workshop is to help employers and supervisors comply with the new regulations,” Rose said. “The workshop emphasizes the new requirements for training workers and handlers, central display of hazard information, entry restrictions, and protections for pesticide handlers and early entry workers.

“Attendees will have the knowledge and resources they need to implement the new rules on their farm or business.”

The workshops will held at the following locations:

• Feb. 16 from 1 to 4 p.m. at Natorp’s Nursery, 8601 Snider Road, in Mason, Ohio.
• March 13 from 1 to 4 p.m. at Scarff’s Nursery and Landscape, 411 N. Dayton-Lakeview Road, in New Carlisle, Ohio.
• March 23 from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Toledo Zoo, 2700 Broadway St., in Toledo, Ohio.
• March 27 from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Ohio State’s Nationwide and Ohio Farm Bureau 4-H Center, 2201 Fred Taylor Drive, in Columbus.
• April 13 from 2 to 5 p.m. at the Lake County Educational Service Center, 8221 Auburn Road, in Painesville, Ohio.

While the workshops are free, registration is required. Register online at go.osu.edu/workerprotection. For more information, call the Pesticide Safety Education Program at 614-292-4070.

The new compliance manual can also be downloaded for free at pesticideresources.org/index.html.

The Ohio Pesticide Safety Education Program provides training, education and outreach to pesticide applicators about the safe, effective and legal use of pesticides. The program works with farmers, businesses and public agencies to protect human health and the environment and serves as a critical part of job training and business growth in Ohio.