Apply Security Measures To Prevent Pesticide Mishaps

Your actions have consequences. You, others, or the environment may be affected if the directions on the pesticide label are not followed. Please use pesticides responsibly by reading and following the label.

In the field of agriculture, safety is largely up to you the employee. The grower or agency that you work for will give you initial safety training and updates throughout your time with them. However, these trainings are of little or no value if you do not heed the information and apply the directions to your work mindset. The same is true for pesticide labels; they are worthless if not read and followed.

Your job requires that you work with pesticides some or most of the time. As a society, we have grown accustomed to using chemicals on an almost daily basis without seeing any ill effects. As time goes on, we tend to lose the focus on something, in this case safety, if we are not reminded about it often. We go about our work for weeks, months, and even years without any perceived damage to us or others from pesticides. Some damage is not noticeable until years have passed. Therefore, it is vitally important for us to stay vigilant and use pesticides safely and keep pesticide safety in mind at all times.

Most pesticide applicators are looking for ways to reduce the use of pesticides if for no other reason than to save money.  One way for us to remain safe is to follow the principals of integrated pest management (IPM) and possibly reduce the use of pesticides and use less toxic materials when possible.  IPM involves looking at various approaches to pest management and using several approaches together. These can include:

• host resistance or genetic control
• biological control
• cultural control
• physical/environmental modification
• chemical control

As an applicator, you are aware of the main place to get information on a particular pesticide, the label.  Along with the label, the material safety data sheet (MSDS) or SDS as they are becoming, gives you a complete look at the hazards of a pesticide. These two sources will give you use directions to protect your health, the health of others, and the wellbeing of the environment, as well as hazardous ingredients, chemical hazards, toxicology, storage, transportation information and much more.

Your decisions will affect your safety and others around you as well as the environment. The majority of time pesticide applications go as planned without any trouble.  However, sometimes our decisions cause trouble for us and/or others.

Agricultural pesticides are reviewed by the EPA before they are allowed to be offered for sale. Part of this review is determining the toxicity of the chemical. Through EPA’s recertification efforts, some of the more toxic pesticides are not being reregistered.

The chemical manufacturers spend large amounts of money to develop products that are effective and less toxic to us and the environment. Historically pesticide use rates were in the range of pounds or quarts per acre. Today, many pesticides are in the ounce range, both dry and liquid. With these low rates, new cautions are raised.  It now takes less material to cause damage if it does not stay on the intended target.

The pesticide regulations and laws were originally placed into effect to protect purchasers from fraudulent claims about product performance. EPA’s efforts now have the emphasis to protect human health and the environment, including:

• providing for the proper and beneficial use of pesticides to protect public health and safety.
• protecting the environment by controlling the uses and disposal of potentially harmful pesticides.
• assuring safe working conditions for farm workers, commercial pest control personnel, and consumers.
• assuring users that pesticides are labeled properly and are appropriate for their intended use, and contain all instructions and precautions necessary.
• encouraging the use of integrated pest management (IPM) systems that emphasize biological and cultural pest control techniques with selective use of pesticides.

Even with the emphasis on human health and the environment, pesticides still have risks associated with them. Some of the hazards we face from using pesticides include:

• acute poisoning from a single or short-term exposure can result in death.
• chronic impacts of long-term exposure to pesticides, including pesticide residues in food, could also result in death.
• natural resources can be degraded when pesticide residues in storm water runoff enter streams or leach into groundwater.
• pesticides that drift from the site of application can harm or kill nontarget plants, birds, fish, or other wildlife.
• the mishandling of pesticides in storage facilities and in mixing and loading areas can contribute to soil and water contamination.

Personal Concerns And Pesticide Use

The hazard of using any pesticide is a function of the toxicity of the compound and the exposure one has to that compound. You may have seen this expressed as an equation: Hazard = Toxicity x Exposure. In other words any pesticide can and will be hazardous if it is misused and any pesticide can be used safely if all label procedures and safety practices are followed.

The pesticide label warns of the toxicity of the product through the signal word. Signal words that are found on labels are caution, warning, and danger, or danger – poison with skull and crossbones.  In 2005, Nesheim, N. O., Fishel, F. M., and Mossler, M. explained the toxicity of pesticides.

The acute toxicity of a chemical refers to its ability to do systemic damage as a result of a one-time exposure to relatively large amounts of the chemical. A pesticide with a high acute toxicity may be deadly if even a very small amount is absorbed. The signal words on the label are based on the acute toxicity of the pesticide. Acute toxicity may be measured as acute oral (through the mouth), acute dermal (through the skin) and acute inhalation (through the lungs or respiratory system).

Acute toxicity measures and warnings.

		Categories of Acute Toxicity
		LD50	LD50	LC50
Categories	Signal Word	Oral mg/kg	Dermal mg/kg	Inhale mg/l	Oral Lethal Dose1
I Highly Toxic	DANGER, POISON (skull & crossbones)	0 to 50	0 to 200	0 to 0.2	a few drops to a teaspoonful
II Moderately Toxic	WARNING	50 to 500	200 to 2,000	0.2 to 2.0	over a teaspoonful to one ounce
III Slightly Toxic	CAUTION	500 to 5,000	2,000 to 20,000	2.0 to 20	over one ounce to one pint
IV Relatively Non-toxic	CAUTION (or no signal word)	5,000+	20,000 +	20 +	over one pint to one pound
1 Probable for a 150 lb.-person.

The commonly used term to describe acute toxicity is LD_50. LD means lethal dose (deadly amount) and the subscript 50 means that the dose was acutely lethal to 50% of the animals to whom the chemical was administered under controlled laboratory conditions. The test animals are given specific amounts of the chemical in either one oral dose or by a single injection, and are then observed for a specified time.

The lower the LD₅₀ value, the more acutely toxic the pesticide is. Therefore, a pesticide with an oral LD₅₀ of 500 mg/kg would be much less toxic than a pesticide with an LD₅₀ of 5 mg/kg. LD₅₀ values are expressed as milligrams per kilogram (mg/kg) which means milligrams of chemical per kilogram of body weight of the animal. Milligram (mg) and kilogram (kg) are metric units of weight. Milligrams per kilogram is the same as parts per million. To put these units into perspective, 1 ppm is analogous to 1 inch in 16 miles or 1 minute in 2 years.

For example, if the oral LD₅₀ of the insecticide parathion is 4 mg/kg, a dose of 4 parts of parathion for every million parts of body weight would be lethal to at least half of the test animals.

A pesticide with an LD50 value of 10 mg/kg is 10 times more toxic than a pesticide with an LD50 of 100 mg/kg.

On this web site, http://www.epa.gov/oppfead1/safety/healthcare/handbook/Chap13.pdf , an EPA publication lists some of the LD50s of some common herbicides.  You can find the LD50 of most any chemical by doing a search online for ‘LD50 of _____’.  Try looking for sugar, caffeine, and nicotine and see how they compare with the herbicides in the above EPA publication.

Your exposure is based on your use of the pesticide and the personal protective equipment (PPE) that you use. The more you use a product and the less PPE you wear, the higher your exposure will be. Remember you are required at a minimum to wear the PPE listed on the label. You are allowed to wear more PPE as you see fit for your circumstances. Don’t forget the more PPE you wear the more heat stress will be placed on yourself.

Another aspect of exposure is proper decontamination. As you work you will be exposing yourself to pesticide splashes either from the concentrate or the diluted spray mix. Any contact that you have from these splashes should be removed as soon as possible. The faster that you decontaminate yourself the lower you are keeping your exposure. If you are lax in decontamination and wait until a break or lunchtime to decontaminate, you are increasing your exposure.

Pesticide Application And Environmental Concerns

How long do pesticides stay active when they are applied? To determine this you have to know the half-life. The term half-life for a pesticide is the expected time for half of the material to no longer be active. Therefore, the smaller the half-life the faster the pesticide would disappear from the environment and conversely the larger the half-life the longer the pesticide would remain in the environment. The longer a material is in the environment the more time it has to affect organisms and move off site. According to EPA, pesticides are less likely to leach when their hydrolysis half-life, how quickly it breaks down in water, is less than six months and their soil half-life is less than three weeks.

In April 2007, Kerle, E.A., Jenkins, J.J., and Vogue, P.A. published that “Pesticides can be divided into three categories based on half-lives: nonpersistent pesticides with a typical soil half-life of less than 30 days, moderately persistent pesticides with a typical soil half-life of 30 to 100 days, or persistent pesticides with a typical soil half-life of more than 100 days. “

To determine how likely a pesticide may be to leach in the soil, you need to find the soil adsorption coefficient (K_oc).  The K_oc value is a measure of how tightly the pesticide binds or sticks to soil particles. The greater the K_oc value, the less likely a chemical will leach or contribute to runoff. Higher K_oc values are better. K_oc values of less than 500 indicate little or no adsorption and a potential for leaching.  These values can be found by searching for “Koc value of __________”.  You may have the best chance of getting the answer if you use the common name in your search.

Solubility is a measure of how easily a chemical dissolves in water. The lower a chemical’s solubility, the less likely it is to move with water through the soil.  Lower is better. Pesticides are less likely to leach when their water solubility is less than 30 parts per million.

Case Studies Of Various Pesticide-Related Hazards

The following are some examples of applicator’s decisions that have caused harm. Each of these examples will have the source for the complete story, so you can read more if you want to.

Hazard to Applicator
This piece tells about someone that harmed themselves by not following the label: “A man was spraying for bees and hornets on his deck. He developed symptoms within 2 hours and was rushed to the emergency room an hour later. He had been spraying overhead and had a substantial amount of liquid fall back on to his clothing and face. The label stated that the user should ‘Stand a safe distance from the nest with wind at your back, and not directly underneath’.”

What was wrong with the actions in this story? He failed to follow the label directions. He contaminated himself. The article did not tell how soon or if he tried to wash off the pesticide.

What should have happened in this case? He should have followed the label directions. If he still had the pesticide get on his skin, he should have stopped and washed it off.

What was the outcome from the applicators decisions? He became sick and had to go to the emergency room. This cost him money and his time. This exposure may have damaged him permanently, only time will tell.

You should know dermal exposure, or getting pesticides on your skin, is the most likely exposure you will have. Of the dermal exposure we have, the hands and the forearms are the most likely body parts to be exposed.

The above piece and others that show the hazards of pesticides can be found at: http://www.health.ny.gov/environmental/workplace/pesticide_poisoning_registry/ppr_ten_year_summary.htm#report

Hazard to Others
The Toones, Nathan and Brenda, of Layton, Utah hired an exterminator to kill voles in their yard. Tragically, two of their daughters died due to this misuse of pesticides.

The Toones had the exterminator return on a Friday morning to retreat the voles because an earlier treatment, in November, failed to work. By Saturday afternoon their four year old daughter had passed away. On Sunday, their 15-month-old daughter was taken to the hospital in critical condition. She was removed from life support on Tuesday, less than six days from the pesticide application.

These little girls died as a direct result of a misapplication of pesticides. The material used, Fumitoxin, releases phosphine gas as it reacts with the moisture in the environment.

The following details were revealed in the weeks and months after the girls’ deaths:

• Pesticide pellets were buried in a pest burrow system within 15 feet of the family’s home, violating EPA rules.
• Bugman, a pest control company, employees used Fumitoxin dozens of times, but didn’t have a fumigant management plan. The label states “The certified applicator is responsible for working with the owners and/or responsible employees of the structure and/or area to be fumigated to develop and follow a Fumigation Management Plan.
  • A federal indictment alleged Bugman misused Fumitoxin at two other homes in the Salt Lake City, UT, area.
  • The applicator admitted that he exceeded dosage requirements.
  • The applicator did not provide the customer (e.g., homeowner) with a MSDS or appropriate sections of the Applicator’s Manual for the pesticide.

The following section was taken from a Fumitoxin label.

BURROWING PEST CONTROL

26.1 Use Restrictions

This product may be applied to underground burrow systems located in noncrop areas, crop areas, or orchards occupied by woodchucks, yellowbelly marmots (rockchucks), prairie dogs (except Utah prairie dogs, Cynomys Parvidens), Norway rats, roof rats, mice, ground squirrels, moles, voles, pocket gophers, and chipmunks.

All treatments for control of these species in burrows must be made outdoors. Tablets or pellets must be applied directly to underground burrow systems. Before using FUMITOXIN tablets or pellets for burrowing pest control, read the applicable restrictions under Environmental Hazards, Endangered Species and Special Local Restrictions below.

This product may be used out-of-doors only for control of burrowing pests. THIS PRODUCT MUST NOT BE APPLIED INTO A BURROW SYSTEM THAT IS WITHIN 15 FEET (5 METERS) OF A BUILDING THAT IS, OR MAY BE, OCCUPIED BY HUMANS, AND/OR ANIMALS ESPECIALLY RESIDENCES. Document any burrows that open under or into occupied buildings and do not apply to these burrows. In addition, check for any other source through which the gas may enter into occupied buildings as a result of application to burrows. If there is any way gas can move through pipes, conduits etc., from burrows do not treat these burrows. Prior to treating a rodent burrow on a property containing an inhabited structure, the applicant must provide the customer (e.g. tenant, home-owner, or property manager) with a MSDS or appropriate sections of the Applicator’s Manual.

What was wrong with the actions in this story? Clearly the applicator violated the law when he did not follow the label directions. At least two provisions of the label were not followed, he did not provide an MSDS to the customer and he applied the material too close to an occupied building.

What should have happened in this instance? As always, the applicator should have followed the information, including the restrictions, on the label.

What was the outcome from the applicators decisions?  Foremost, two little girls lost their lives and the family will remember this tragedy for the rest of their lives. The applicator lost his job, was convicted of a federal misdemeanor (the equivalent of negligent homicide under state laws), served jail time, and will always remember what he caused by his actions. The pest control company paid a small fine and has a probationary period where they cannot sell, distribute, or use pesticides.

Please see full article if you want more information: http://www.epa.gov/enforcement/criminal/press/2011/bugman-pest-coleman-nocks-10-11-11.pdf.

Hazard To Environment
The environment can be harmed from unintended movement of pesticides either through drift, runoff, leaching or intentional dumping.  This article from the Associated Press was carried on StarTribune.com on May 31, 2013.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Wal-Mart Stores Inc. will pay $81.6 million after pleading guilty on Tuesday to criminal charges of improperly disposing of fertilizer, pesticides and other hazardous products that were pulled from stores in California and Missouri because of damaged packaging and other problems.

The retail giant entered the plea in federal court in San Francisco to misdemeanor counts of violating the Clean Water Act and another environmental law regulating pesticides. The fine also settled Environmental Protection Agency allegations.

In Kansas City, MO, the company pleaded guilty to improperly handling pesticides.

What was wrong with the actions in this story? The company employees violated the label, and you all know that the ‘label is the law’. The article states that the actions of the company ‘put the public and the environment at risk’.

A Deep Woods Off® (not mentioned in the article) container has this statement in the ‘disposal’ section, “If partially filled: Call your local solid waste agency or 1-800-529-3394 for disposal instructions.” The only pesticide mentioned in the article, bleach, has this statement in the ‘storage and disposal’ section ”Recycle empty container or discard in trash.”

What should have happened in this instance? The company employees should have read and followed the label for each product involved. If Deep Woods Off was involved, they clearly had instructions to call their solid waste agency and the manufacturer’s number was available if needed.  In lieu of that, they could have called the manufacturer and asked for them to handle the materials.

EPA gave these two options for disposing of pesticides in an online article for tribal government.  The company had the ability to find this information on their own, since it was available online.

“Pesticide management includes the disposal of excess pesticides that cannot be stored for later use or are no longer needed. Pesticide disposal can involve incineration, chemical degradation, burial in a specially designated landfill, or well and soil injection. The potential environmental impacts from pesticide disposal are air, soil, and water contamination from releases and accidental exposure of humans and animals. The environmental implications are the same as for the application process, except that the concentration of the pesticide may be stronger because of the quantity and mass of the disposed pesticide. The disposal of pesticides is a critical process; if not properly conducted it can have immediate detrimental effects on the environment.

Pesticide labels outline proper disposal guidelines. FIFRA, RCRA, and the CWA all regulate these practices. Disposal activities may require notifying EPA or a local solid waste disposal facility (landfill or incinerator).

Before disposing of excess pesticide, the tribal government should consider two options:

• Store and reuse any leftover portion at the prescribed dosage rates
• Return any excess to the manufacturer or distributor for relabeling or reprocessing into other materials”

The full article can be found at http://www.startribune.com/politics/national/209707011.html.

Dealing With Pesticide Drift

Drift is the unintentional movement of pesticide through the air to an off target site. Drift can harm others nearby, crops, and the environment. If you read many labels, you will see that an increasing amount of the label is used to address the prevention of drift. The following was taken from a Forestry Garlon 4® label found at: http://www.cdms.net/LDat/ld18P004.pdf.

Spray Drift Management

Avoiding spray drift at the application site is the responsibility of the applicator. The interaction of many equipment and weather related factors determine the potential for spray drift. The applicator and the grower are responsible for considering all these factors when making decisions.

On this label, almost a page and a half is spent discussing drift and ways to avoid or minimize it. Two of the main factors affecting drift are droplet size and wind speed. A 1990s survey by insurance companies determined that applicator error was the main cause of drift. Remember, the applicator is responsible for preventing drift.

An applicator is under investigation for possible pesticide drift that damaged his neighbor’s shrubs and trees. The neighbor noticed damage to their shrubs and trees and called the Ohio Department of Agriculture to investigate.  The neighbor believes that the farmer next to them caused the problem by applying pesticides on a windy day. The case is still under investigation.

What was possibly wrong with the actions in this story? An applicator made the decision to spray when the wind was too high or blowing in the wrong direction.

What should have happened if drift is the cause? The applicator should have read and followed the label directions, including the directions for preventing drift. The applicator should have been more aware of the wind speed and direction.

What was the outcome from the applicators decisions? The farmer is embarrassed by his actions and he could face a fine as well. His relations with his neighbors will most likely be strained in the future. His neighbors may lose plants that the farmer may have to pay to replace.

The full article can be read here: http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2013/05/19/pesticide-drift-cause-of-sudden-devastation.html

For a good paper on managing pesticide drift go to: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pi232#FIGURE%205

Learning About Leaching And Malicious Acts

In a study by the United States Geological Service (USGS) focusing on southern Florida, several pesticides were found in surface waters. The pesticides found most frequently were atrazine, bromacil, simazine, 2-4-D, and diuron. These samples were intentionally from areas of concentrated agricultural use. As you might expect, the concentrations were related to land use and varied with the crop season.

Pesticides were found in ground water in more than 85% of the wells sampled. These samples found pesticides beneath every type of land use studied. No pesticide concentration exceeded USEPA or State of Florida drinking-water standards or health advisories.

What was wrong with this story? Pesticides are found in surface and ground water. Possibly the pesticides had been over applied, there is no way of knowing. We must be careful with our application of pesticides because as this report shows they can end up in our water supply.

What should happen with this information? All applicators should be aware that pesticides can and will move with water under the right circumstances. Applications should be timed so they are not during the heavy rainfall periods. Materials that are less likely to leach should be used more often, when that choice is available. Leaving more buffer strips may lessen some of the chemical movement.

What is the outcome from this report? The public and the applicators were made aware that pesticides are in the water.

The USGS report is located at this link: http://pubs.usgs.gov/circ/circ1207/major_findings.htm

Malicious Acts
Intentional and malicious misuse of pesticides is plain wrong any way you think about it. This is included here not because applicators may misuse pesticides, but because criminals might.  According to Chapter 5E-2, Florida Administrative Code, “Restricted use pesticides shall be stored and maintained in a secure manner, such that they are not easily accessible to unauthorized persons.” All pesticides should be stored responsibly.

In 2011 this statement came from Auburn University “The famous live oaks at Auburn University’s Toom­er’s Corner have been given a lethal dose of herbicide and probably can’t be saved.” In 2010, someone had intentionally poisoned the trees with Spike 80DF, a soil-active herbicide.

What was wrong with the actions in this story? All of the perpetrator’s actions were wrong.

What should have happened in this case? It never should have happened.

What was the outcome from the applicator’s decisions? The trees did die and have been removed. A part of history is gone for Auburn fans. True sports fans were appalled by this man’s actions and other universities supported Auburn.    The person that poisoned them will serve at least six months in jail and spend five years on supervised probation for the Class C felony.

One article on this sad event is located here: http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2011/02/toomers_corner_trees_poisoning.html

The outcome of the case is found here:  http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-57576106-504083/auburn-tree-poisoning-harvey-updyke-jr-sentenced-to-3-years-for-poisoning-beloved-trees/

Conclusion
There are many components of pesticides that give them the ability to harm us and the environment, but our use decisions for the pesticides play the largest part. From the articles describing pesticide exposures and harm you can see your actions have consequences. You, others, or the environment may be affected if the pesticide label is not followed. Please use pesticides responsibly by reading and following the label.

References

Kerle, E.A., Jenkins, J.J., and Vogue, P.A. (2007, April) Understanding pesticide persistence and mobility for groundwater and surface water protection (EM 8561-E). Oregon State University. Retrieved May 15, 2013, from: http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog/pdf/em/em8561-e.pdf 

Nesheim, N. O., Fishel, F. M., and Mossler, M. (2005). Toxicity of Pesticides (PI-13). Gainesville: University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. Retrieved May 15, 2013, from http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/DLN.

For more information on this topic, you may wish to view:

• http://www.epa.gov/agriculture/ag101/croppesticideuse.html
• http://www.epa.gov/agriculture/ag101/croppesticideuse.html
• http://www.epa.gov/agriculture/ag101/pestlethal.html
• http://www.epa.gov/agriculture/ag101/pesthalflife.html