WAC 296-307-12050   Decontamination -- Standards for workers -- 40 CFR, § 170.150.  (1) Requirements. The agricultural employer must provide decontamination supplies for workers in accordance with this section whenever:

     (a) 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 thirty days; and

     (b) The worker contacts anything that has been treated with the pesticide including but not limited to soil, water, plants, plant surfaces, and plant parts;

     (c) Exception. The thirty-day time period established in (a) of this subsection shall not apply if the only pesticides used in the treated area are products with an REI of four 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 seven days following the expiration of any applicable REI.

     (2) General conditions.

     (a) The agricultural employer shall provide workers with adequate 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.

     (b) 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.

     (c) The agricultural employer shall provide soap and single-use towels in quantities sufficient to meet workers' needs.

     (d) To provide for emergency eyeflushing, the agricultural employer shall assure that at least one pint of water is immediately available to each worker who is performing early entry activities permitted by WAC 296-307-12020 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.

     (3) Location.

     (a) The decontamination supplies shall be located together and shall be reasonably accessible to and not more than one-quarter mile from where workers are working.

     (b) For worker activities performed more than one-quarter 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.

     (c) The decontamination supplies shall not be in an area being treated with pesticides.

     (d) The decontamination supplies shall not be maintained in an area that is under a restricted-entry interval, unless the workers for whom the decontamination supplies are provided are performing early entry activities permitted by WAC 296-307-12020 and involving contact with treated surfaces and the decontamination supplies would otherwise not be reasonably accessible to those workers.

     (4) Decontamination after early entry activities. At the end of any exposure period for workers engaged in early entry activities permitted by WAC 296-307-12020 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 adequate amount of water so that the workers may wash thoroughly. At least ten gallons of water for one employee and twenty gallons of water for two or more employees shall be provided at early entry sites that do not have running water.



[Statutory Authority: RCW 49.17.040. 98-24-096, § 296-307-12050, filed 12/1/98, effective 3/1/99. 97-09-013, recodified as § 296-307-12050, filed 4/7/97, effective 4/7/97. Statutory Authority: RCW 49.17.040, [49.17.]050 and [49.17.]060. 96-20-082, § 296-306A-12050, filed 9/30/96, effective 11/1/96.]