New WPS Guide Regarding Respirators Now Available

A new guide has been released for producers who use chemicals that require a respirator be used when handling the chemicals has been released through a partnership of Oregon State University, UC Davis and others.

Deputy Director of PERC, the Pesticide Educational Resources Collaborative, Kaci Buhl said for the most part producers in Oregon and Washington are already following the new requirements.

“We’re trying to create guides that help people comply with those rules in plain English.”

Rules including that people must be cleared as medically capable of handling pesticides or other chemicals, masks must be fitted specifically to the wearer’s face, and they must be trained on how to properly handle and maintain the respirator.

Buhl said with an aging farmer population, it’s critical these steps are understood and followed.

“Our situation changes. The physiology changes and it’s helpful to get a medical evaluation to ask those questions and identify problems before they start. If someone is medically compromised and they put on that respirator, they might be working in a situation where it’s harder to breathe and that might be in hot conditions for eight hours a day; someone could get hurt.”

The guide is free if you access it online at the Pesticide Resources website or you can pay to have it printed and mailed to you.

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