Curdled Tank and a Sick Loader

Diagnosis: physical incompatibility. The EC's solvent/surfactant package and the WP's clay carrier are not staying in suspension together, and the high-pH water (8.6) is not helping - alkaline hydrolysis degrades many EC insecticides and can aggravate the break. Curds plus an oily film on the tank wall is the classic signature.

Do not spray it out. An incompatible mix cannot be kept uniform: you get no control at the top of the field, crop injury or plugged nozzles at the bottom, and a use inconsistent with the label. Do not try to rescue it by dumping in more surfactant unless the product label specifically permits a compatibility agent - and then only as a small test.

Disposal. Drain to a labeled disposal area, triple-rinse the tank and booms per the label, and handle the rinsate as a pesticide waste. Clean the screens and nozzles.

Next load, in order:

1. Jar test with the actual well water and the actual product ratios before anything goes into the tank.
2. Fill the tank at least half full of water.
3. Add a compatibility agent first, if the label allows it.
4. Slurry the WP in a bucket and add it before the EC, with agitation running.
5. Add the EC next, then the nitrogen solution and any adjuvants last.
6. Buffer the water only if the label permits it and specifies a target pH.

Treat it as cholinesterase-inhibiting (organophosphate or carbamate) poisoning until a physician says otherwise. Headache, blurred vision, sweating, and stomach cramps after six hours of unprotected mixing, with soaked coveralls against the skin, is a cholinergic presentation. Expect miosis, salivation, tearing, and muscle twitching as it progresses.

Immediate actions:

1. Stop work and get him out of the mixing area to fresh air.
2. Remove the soaked coveralls and any contaminated clothing; wash skin and hair with soap and water. Do not let him re-dress in the same clothes.
3. Call 911 or poison control; tell them the product name, the EPA registration number, and the exposure route. Bring the label and SDS.
4. Do not let him drive himself, and do not leave him alone - symptoms can worsen rapidly.
5. Do not give anything by mouth to anyone who is unconscious or convulsing, and do not administer atropine yourself. That is the physician's call.

Differential: heat exhaustion is genuinely on the list for a six-hour shift in coveralls. That is exactly why the decision rule is to treat as poisoning and let medical personnel rule heat out. Guessing wrong in the other direction can be fatal.

Failures:

• No gloves. The label for an EC insecticide in this class specifies chemical-resistant gloves; the hands are the highest-exposure route for a mixer/loader.
• Soaked coveralls left on. A leaking pump seal is a stop-work condition, not a nuisance. Wet clothing holds the concentrate against the skin and defeats every layer above it.
• Dust mask against solvent vapor. A disposable particulate mask does nothing for EC solvent vapor; the label's respirator type governs, and it must be fit-tested with a medical evaluation on file.
• Six hours with no break. Fatigue plus repetitive handling plus a known leak is how a loader becomes the most-exposed person on the operation. Mixers and loaders carry the highest exposure of anyone in the program.
• No apron over the coveralls for a pour-and-measure job.

Changes before the next load: repair or replace the pump seal, stock chemical-resistant gloves and an apron, post the label-required PPE at the mixing pad, set a break schedule, keep a change of clothes and a wash station on site, and check whether this product's label requires cholinesterase monitoring for handlers. Record the incident and get the loader a medical follow-up.