[Code of Federal Regulations]

[Title 40, Volume 23]

[Revised as of July 1, 2006]

From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access

[CITE: 40CFR170.150]



[Page 223-224]

 

                   TITLE 40--PROTECTION OF ENVIRONMENT

 

         CHAPTER I--ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED)

 

PART 170_WORKER PROTECTION STANDARD--Table of Contents

 

                     Subpart B_Standard for Workers

 

Sec.  170.150  Decontamination.



    (a)(1) Requirement. The agricultural employer must provide 

decontamination supplies for workers in accordance with this section 

whenever:

    (i) Any worker on the agricultural establishment is performing an 

activity in the area where a pesticide was applied or a restricted-entry 

interval (REI) was in effect within the last 30 days, and;

    (ii) The worker contacts anything that has been treated with the 

pesticide, including, but not limited to



[[Page 224]]



soil, water, plants, plant surfaces, and plant parts.

    (2) Exception. The 30-day time period established in paragraph 

(a)(1)(i) of this section shall not apply if the only pesticides used in 

the treated area are products with an REI of 4 hours or less on the 

label (but not a product without an REI on the label). When workers are 

in such treated areas, the agricultural employer shall provide 

decontamination supplies for not less than 7 days following the 

expiration of any applicable REI.

    (b) General conditions. (1) The agricultural employer shall provide 

workers with enough water for routine washing and emergency eyeflushing. 

At all times when the water is available to workers, the employer shall 

assure that it is of a quality and temperature that will not cause 

illness or injury when it contacts the skin or eyes or if it is 

swallowed.

    (2) When water stored in a tank is to be used for mixing pesticides, 

it shall not be used for decontamination or eyeflushing, unless the tank 

is equipped with properly functioning valves or other mechanisms that 

prevent movement of pesticides into the tank.

    (3) The agricultural employer shall provide soap and single-use 

towels in quantities sufficient to meet worker's needs.

    (4) To provide for emergency eyeflushing, the agricultural employer 

shall assure that at least 1 pint of water is immediately available to 

each worker who is performing early-entry activities permitted by Sec.  

170.112 and for which the pesticide labeling requires protective 

eyewear. The eyeflush water shall be carried by the early-entry worker, 

or shall be on the vehicle the early-entry worker is using, or shall be 

otherwise immediately accessible.

    (c) Location. (1) The decontamination supplies shall be located 

together and be reasonably accessible to and not more than 1/4 mile from 

where workers are working.

    (2) For worker activities performed more than 1/4 mile from the 

nearest place of vehicular access:

    (i) The soap, single-use towels, and water may be at the nearest 

place of vehicular access.

    (ii) The agricultural employer may permit workers to use clean water 

from springs, streams, lakes, or other sources for decontamination at 

the remote work site, if such water is more accessible than the water 

located at the nearest place of vehicular access.

    (3) The decontamination supplies shall not be maintained in an area 

being treated with pesticides.

    (4) The decontamination supplies shall not be maintained in an area 

that is under a restricted-entry interval, unless the workers for whom 

the supplies are provided are performing early-entry activities 

permitted by Sec.  170.112 and involving contact with treated surfaces 

and the decontamination supplies would otherwise not be reasonably 

accessible to those workers.

    (d) Decontamination after early-entry activities. At the end of any 

exposure period for workers engaged in early-entry activities permitted 

by Sec.  170.112 and involving contact with anything that has been 

treated with the pesticide to which the restricted-entry interval 

applies, including, but not limited to, soil, water, air, or surfaces of 

plants, the agricultural employer shall provide, at the site where the 

workers remove personal protective equipment, soap, clean towels, and a 

sufficient amount of water so that the workers may wash thoroughly.



[57 FR 38151, Aug. 21, 1992, as amended at 61 FR 33212, June 26, 1996]