COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE / AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION
Worker Protection Standard (WPS) Handout
Revised: September 2012
To sign up for a WPS session:
Email ghtechs@oregonstate.edu with your name and OSU email address to be added to our Zoom WPS invite list. If your employees work in the greenhouse, email ghtechs@oregonstate.edu with their names and OSU email addresses. Greenhouse Operations hosts scheduled Zoom WPS/ITP sessions once a week.
WPS/ITP Review
All professors, staff, RA’s, TA’s, graduate students and student workers must attend the WPS/ITP before doing any work in the greenhouses.
Information is included about Right - to - Know which is a federal regulation establishing your RtK what is being done at your work site. The link to EHS RtK (http://oregonstate.edu/ehs/SD0001)
You must retrain annually. Your signature on our WPS form is the only verification of your training. Training is site specific.
If an OR-OSHA inspection did occur you could be asked to verify WPS training by your ability to answer questions similar to the ones listed in this handout.
1. Do you recognize the pesticide application warning signs?
WPS\EPA hand/face 14”x16” and 5”x5” warning signs. Never remove a spray sign. Contact the greenhouse office for questions at 737-2381.
2. Where is pesticide application information posted?
Pink door sheets. WPS 30-day postings located at west high corridor and in the east garage. Permanent records are kept at the East Office along with labels and MSDS of all chemicals used in the facility? Users need to supply this information for chemicals used on site.
3. When is pesticide application work done by the Greenhouse Ops crew?
Wednesday and Saturdays after 4:00pm – please vacate greenhouse unless prior arrangements are made by contacting greenhouse office by noon on Weds. and noon on Fri. for Sat. night sprays. Try to avoid working Thursday and Sunday before 10am.
4. What is the REI and what activities are permitted during the REI’s?
REI is the restricted entry interval when you are not allowed access to your greenhouse areas. All pesticides are labeled with this information along with rates, PPE, crops, etc. If access is necessary prior to the end of a REI contact the greenhouse office for “Handler” training.
5. Where are the WPS poster and EPA reference guide are located?
At the East office and garage. West 10B and the high corridor.
6. Do you know the location of the phones, emergency phone numbers and first aid stations?
Phone information is on page 5 of WPS/ITP handout & located by each greenhouse phones. First aid stations and emergency numbers are located by each phone, high corridor, east office, east 16-17 & 12-6 shop.
7. Can you locate the decontamination sites? ie: safety eye wash/shower stations
West: corridors & high corridor by HH13. East: garage and E - 16-17. A shower stall is located at the East office. All water faucetts fed from city water and okay for decontamination.
8. Do you recognize common pesticides poisoning symptoms? What to do in a possible poisoning situation. Severe poisoning contact 911
Symptoms are numerous and hard to detect. Ex.; dermal/inhaled/ingested, acute/chronic, nausea, headache, dizziness, eye irritation, nose/throat irritation, etc., minor incident contact greenhouse office to determine strategy such as; accident report, contact toxicologist, and/or doctor. NPIC hotline http://npic.orst.edu/ (800) 858-7378
9. Do you relate sense of smell as a warning of pesticides or other chemicals?
Rapid desensitizing. Common greenhouse odors are chemical, electrical, weed burning, molds.
10. What are the procedures for pesticide and other chemicals storage and disposal?
All pesticide storage is required to be properly labeled and kept in the East Greenhouse pesticide locker. All other chemical storage and disposal must follow the instructions in the EHS Hazardous Waste Disposal Guide. Do not leave chemicals on benches or on sidewall edges. No disposal in sinks, sewers or dumpsters!!
11. If you apply your own pesticides in the greenhouses, do you need to be licensed?
Yes. Follow pesticide label, ODA and Greenhouse Ops rules. Contact the manager on this complex issue.
12. If you are required to use a respirator, do you know how to do a proper fit test?
OSU Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) will coordinate a mask fit test and the required medical respirator evaluations.
13. What pesticide/chemical-related information should you provide to visitors or class students you bring to the greenhouses?
Inform them they are entering a facility where ag pesticides and other chemicals are used routinely. Information about these chemicals is available at the greenhouse office.
14. What is your responsibility for access to plant material for pesticide applicators?
Aisles must be kept free of plant materials. Plants must not extend past sides and ends of the benches.
We appreciate you sharing information about overall pest management practices from other places you have worked or visited. Please provide input relative to WPS and R-t-K practices you observed at other institutions. OSU Greenhouse policies are located at the greenhouse office for your review. Policies for the WPS Compliance Plan and the Written Hazard Communication Plan are two examples of policies pertinent to this WPS/ITP training.