Seeking Pesticide Alternatives due to PPE Shortage?
Read the Label. Product labels include specific information about required PPE for applicators and other handlers.
Kaci Buhl, PSEP
PSEP Director Kaci Buhl led a rapid response committee in April and May in response to the COVID-19 crisis. Part of the American Association of Pesticide Safety Educators (AAPSE), they anticipate a potential shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) this season, particularly N95 respirators, which are often known as “face masks.” For those that use full or half-face elastomeric respirators, there may also be a sortable of particulate filters (N, P, and R). The Oregon Department of Agriculture distributed a large supply of KN95 masks for agricultural operations in late May, but the “K” models are insufficient for pesticide applications.
- Pesticides may not be applied without the label-required PPE.
- Home-made masks are not sufficient substitutes for label-required respirators or masks.
- No exemption or relaxation of the requirements has been made by the US Environmental
- Protection Agency.
- Users may need to select alternative products or practices if the required PPE is not available
This may create an IPM opportunity. Let’s plan to be ready as a community of IPM advocates/experts, to work with growers in a pinch this season. If you don’t know how to advise someone seeking alternative pest control tactics, you are welcome to reach out to me (Kaci.Buhl@oregonstate.edu) or the State’s IPM Coordinator, Katie Murray (Katie.Murray@oregonstate.edu).
Reimagining In-Person Recertification Courses in a Post-COVID World
We will miss the personal interactions with our community but will continue to deliver high-quality education that you’ve come to expect.
Daniella Whanger, PSEP
During these times, the Pesticide Safety Education Program (PSEP) is re-designing their recertification courses for pesticide applicators. Switching to online webinars, applicators can obtain their credits from the comfort and safety of their homes. With over 30+ webinars and a diverse range of topics, there are many opportunities for credits this coming this fall and winter. Visit our website, agsci.oregonstate.edu/PSEP, for more information.
How We Fell In Love With IPM
Beans, famine, and IPM: Watch Kaci Buhl tell a story about how she fell in love with Integrated Pest Management. This video was created as part of a new pre-licensing study program that PSEP is hard at work developing. (More on that exciting news later this summer!)
Link: https://youtu.be/97vrxWs6R78
Back to the newsletter
This article appears in Oregon IPM Insider, Vol 1 Iss 2, Summer 2020. Updates provided by Kaci Buhl, Daniella Whanger, and Miranda Dudzik. You can find out more about the Pesticide Safety Education program on their main page.