Pesticide Labeling and Safety
What this domain tests
You will read a label excerpt and be asked for the signal word, required PPE, restricted-entry interval (REI), and any statement that limits sites or re-entry.
Signal words
- DANGER-POISON with skull and crossbones: Category I acute oral, dermal, or inhalation toxicity.
- DANGER alone: Category I for eye irritation, skin irritation, or skin corrosion.
- WARNING: Category II. CAUTION: Category III or IV. CAUTION does not mean safe; it means lower acute toxicity than WARNING.
Reading a label in order
Product name and EPA Reg. No.; ingredients; signal word and first aid; PPE; environmental hazards; directions for use (sites, rates, timing, restrictions); storage and disposal. PPE has separate statements for handlers who mix, load, and apply and for early-entry workers; the strictest set applies to mixing and loading.
Worker Protection Standard
- The REI is label-specified; no worker entry during it except permitted early-entry tasks with full label PPE.
- Handlers and workers need annual training, decontamination supplies within a quarter mile of the site, and oral or posted notification.
- Respirator use requires a medical evaluation and an annual fit test; handlers must be at least 18.
Worked example
A label reads DANGER-POISON, 24-hour REI, respirator required for mixing. A worker wants to move irrigation pipe 10 hours after the application. Answer: that is entry during the REI and is prohibited unless the label's early-entry section lists the task and the PPE; otherwise wait out the 24 hours.
Traps
Choosing PPE from the application section instead of mixing/loading; assuming rain ends the REI; ignoring "do not apply within X feet" statements; tank-mixing two products with the same active ingredient at full rates; assuming a lower rate is automatically legal under a 2(ee) recommendation.