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Ohio Laws and Rules
(A) “Carbamates” means a pesticide containing esters of n-methyl carbamic acid which inhibit cholinesterase.
(B) “Direct field supervisor” means that person or persons specifically empowered by the employer or his agent with supervising and overseeing the actions of migrant field workers during the course of their daily field work activities.
(C) “Exposure period” means period of time that the migrant pesticide applicator is exposed to pesticides while mixing, loading, applying (including flagging), maintaining or cleaning contaminated equipment. The exposure period will continue until the migrant pesticide applicator cleans equipment, changes clothing, and thoroughly washes. Exposure period does not include time spent handling dry pesticides packaged in water soluble packets.
(D) “Migrant pesticide applicator” means a non-permanent resident of Ohio hired by the employer or his agent (including a labor contractor) who stores, handles, mixes, or applies pesticides, or works as a flagger for pesticide applications.
(E) “Migrant field worker” means a non-permanent resident of Ohio who is hired by an employer or his agent (including a labor contractor) who is in contact with pesticides following application or who manually handles a pesticide treated product, or who resides in an agricultural labor camp.
(F) “Employer” means any person who hires an employee and may include: (1) the farm operator, (2) a labor contractor, (3) a custom agricultural pesticide operator, (4) any other independent contractor, or (5) the employer’s agent.
(G) “Farm operator” means the person primarily responsible for the control or management of the property.
(H) “Field” means any area upon which one or more crops are grown and includes greenhouses, turf, and similar areas.
(I) “Re-entry interval” means the period of time that must elapse after a field is treated with a pesticide, and before employees are permitted to enter the field to engage in any activity that will result in substantial and prolonged exposure of skin, eyes, and/or normal wearing apparel to treated plants.
(J) “Medical supervision” means occupation health guidance and necessary associated health care by a physician licensed and registered under Chapter 4731. of the Revised Code to practice medicine and surgery or osteopathic surgery in Ohio.
(K) “Organophosphates” means organophosphorus esters which inhibit cholinesterase.
(L) “Pesticide” means any substance or mixture of substances that is a pesticide as defined in the Ohio Revised Code and includes mixtures and dilutions of pesticides.
(M) “Pesticide-treated product” means any food product which has been treated with pesticide within three weeks of employee field operations.
(N) “Protective clothing” means clothing which is used to protect the human body from contact with pesticides and is separate from, or in addition to, normal wearing apparel. Protective clothing may include, but is not limited to, coveralls, waterproof boots, waterproof gloves, waterproof hat, and waterproof apron.
HISTORY: Eff 6-25-85
Rule promulgated under: RC Chapter 119.
Rule authorized by: RC 921.16(B)(6)
Rule amplifies: RC 921.16(B)(6)
119.032 Review Date: 4-21-00; 4-21-05
(A) The following requirements shall be complied with for the safety of migrant pesticide applicators working with pesticides as mixers, loaders, flaggers, ground or aerial applicators.
(1) No employer shall permit any migrant pesticide applicator under eighteen years of age to mix or load a pesticide displaying the signal words “DANGER – POISON” without close supervision by a certified pesticide applicator.
(2) Each employer shall provide to each migrant pesticide applicator working with any pesticide adequate instruction, training and supervision so that the migrant pesticide applicator understands the safety procedures required for the pesticides that he will work with, except as provided below.
(a) This instruction and training for the jobs shall be completed within thirty days after the migrant pesticide applicator is assigned to mix, load, flag or apply pesticides other than those which display the signal words “DANGER – POISON.” Any migrant pesticide applicator assigned to handle a pesticide displaying the signal words “DANGER – POISON” shall be given this training before handling such pesticides. This training shall include the safety procedures to be followed, the safety clothing and equipment to be worn, the common symptoms of pesticide poisoning, the dangers of eating, drinking, or smoking while handling pesticides, and where to obtain emergency medical treatment.
(b) At the completion of training, the employer shall record the date and extent of training given to the migrant pesticide applicator and the job to be assigned. This information shall be verified by the migrant pesticide applicator’s signature or signed initials and be available for examination by the director;
(c) Until training is completed, close supervision consisting of personal observation of each migrant pesticide applicator’s work practice by the employer is required at least every three hours at night and at least every four hours during the day. Paragraph (A) above may be omitted by an employer if a migrant pesticide applicator presents written evidence of pertinent prior training, such as an appropriate license, certificate, or a letter from a previous employer documenting previous training and satisfactory job performance.
(B) For any migrant pesticide applicator whose exposure period exceeds forty hours in any fourteen-day period where any pesticide containing an organophosphate or a carbamate is being used, the employer shall arrange for medical monitoring. Medical monitoring shall include monitoring of each exposed migrant pesticide applicator by means of red cell and plasma cholinesterase determinations to be made on each migrant pesticide applicator as often as recommended by “The College of American Pathology.” Such monitoring results shall be read and interpreted by qualified persons or organizations.
(1) The employer shall have written evidence that such monitoring services are available and shall identify the location where such services are to be provided. All cholinesterase test results and recommendations applicable to this medical monitoring shall be maintained for three years and shall be available for inspection by the director, county health official, or state health official, upon execution of a written release by the migrant pesticide applicator.
(2) The employer shall follow the recommendations of the attending physician concerning matters of occupational health. When, in the attending physician’s opinion, continued exposure to pesticides is likely to injure a migrant pesticide applicator’s health, such migrant pesticide applicator shall be removed from exposure until the attending physician authorizes his return. The attending physician may also limit the exposure period of any migrant pesticide applicator to pesticides when cholinesterase test results and/or poisoning incidents indicate such limitations are necessary to protect the health of a migrant pesticide applicator. If the employer questions the attending physician’s determinations, the employer shall have the option to request a second opinion at his expense. If the recommendations are in conflict the migrant pesticide applicator will be excluded from exposure until an occupational safety and health administration representative can act on the recommendations.
(3) The employer shall post the name, address, and telephone number of monitoring facilities in a prominent place at the locale where the migrant pesticide applicator usually starts the workday or in the application vehicle if there is no locale where the migrant pesticide applicator usually starts the workday.
(C) Migrant pesticide applicators may work alone with classified pesticides under the following circumstances:
(1) A migrant pesticide applicator may work alone with a pesticide which displays the signal words “DANGER – POISON” during daylight hours only when personal radio or telephone contact is made to a responsible adult at intervals not exceeding three hours.
(2) A migrant pesticide applicator may work alone with a pesticide which displays the signal words “DANGER – POISON” during nighttime hours only when personal radio or telephone contact is made to a responsible adult at intervals not exceeding two hours.
(3) A pilot, mixer-loader, and/or flagger team shall be considered as working together. In the case of two ground applicators working in the same field, no additional person is necessary if they can see each other’s application vehicles.
(D) For any migrant pesticide applicator whose exposure period exceeds forty hours in a fourteen-day period with pesticides which display the signal words “DANGER – POISON” or “WARNING,” employers shall provide at the loading site or at the place where migrant pesticide applicators complete their workday, an area where migrant pesticide applicators may change clothes and wash themselves. Clean towels, soap, and adequate water shall be available to allow for thorough washing. Employers or direct field supervisors shall order their migrant pesticide applicators to change into their work clothing and protective equipment at the start of the day’s exposure period, and to remove such clothing and equipment and to wash themselves at the end of each day’s exposure period. The employer shall provide a clean, sanitary place where migrant pesticide applicators may store any personal clothing not in use while they are at work handling pesticides. The employer or direct supervisor shall order migrant pesticide applicators not to take home contaminated clothing or equipment.
(E) Clean water, soap, and paper towels for routine washing of hands and face, and for emergency washing of the entire body, shall be available for all migrant pesticide applicators at the work site where they mix or load pesticides. A minimum of ten gallons of water shall be present at the beginning of each workday for one migrant pesticide applicator and a minimum of twenty gallons for two or more migrant pesticide applicators. This water shall be stored separate from that used for mixing with pesticides unless the tank holding water for mixing with pesticides is equipped with appropriate valves to prevent back flow of pesticides into the water. Any other easily available supply of clean water within one hundred feet of the mixing and loading site is satisfactory for the purposes of this paragraph.
(F) Each employer shall provide clean outer clothing such as coveralls, daily for each migrant pesticide applicator who works as a mixer, loader, flagger, or applicator with any pesticide and shall provide for its cleaning after any day when the migrant pesticide applicator handles such pesticides. The person or firm doing the laundry shall be informed by the employer or the direct field supervisor that if they receive pesticide-contaminated clothing, such clothing shall not be mixed with non-contaminated clothing.
(G) The employer shall provide respirators, goggles and waterproof gloves for each migrant pesticide applicator who works as a mixer, loader, flagger or applicator and provide for cleaning when necessary. The employer or the direct field supervisor shall require that any respirator filler pads and cartridges be changed in a manner with the frequency recommended by the manufacturer. The employer or the direct field supervisor shall require that all personal protective equipment be maintained and kept in a clean, specially designated place or locker when not in use. This clothing and equipment shall remain in the place or locker when not in use. This clothing and equipment shall remain the property of the employer.
(H) Based upon the safety procedures specified in the pesticide labeling, the employer or the direct field supervisor shall advise the migrant pesticide applicator of the protective clothing and equipment he is to use and the safety procedures he is to follow according to the use and the safety procedures he is to follow according to the label requirements and hazards of the job or jobs he will perform. The employer or the direct field supervisor shall order that these provisions are followed.
(I) Whenever natural light in mixing/loading area is not adequate to allow an employee to read the label and work in a safe manner, artificial light shall be provided in such areas which is sufficient to perform these activities.
HISTORY: Eff 6-25-85
Rule promulgated under: RC Chapter 119.
Rule authorized by: RC 901.16(B)(6)
Rule amplifies: RC 921.16(B)(6)
119.032 Review Date: 4-21-00; 4-21-05
(A) For all activities involving migrant laborers and migrant field workers handling of pesticides or pesticide-treated product, the employer shall identify the nearest emergency transport service and treatment facility, shall secure a consent agreement by providers to provide such emergency services and shall post such identification of providers including the name, address and telephone number in a prominent place at the work site or on the application vehicle, if there is no appropriate designated work site.
(B) When the employer has reasonable grounds to suspect that an exposure to a pesticide has occurred that might reasonably be expected to lead to a migrant pesticide applicator or migrant field worker’s illness, the employer shall cause the migrant pesticide applicator or migrant field worker to be examined or tested by a physician in an office, clinic, or hospital emergency room.
(C) Upon request from a physician, an exposed migrant pesticide applicator, or migrant field worker or their representative, or a farm labor contractor, the employer shall immediately furnish the trade and chemical name of the pesticide(s) to which a migrant laborer and migrant field worker may have been exposed.
HISTORY: Eff 6-25-85
Rule promulgated under: RC Chapter 119.
Rule authorized by: RC 921.16(B)(6)
Rule amplifies: RC 921.16(B)(6)
119.032 Review Date: 4-21-00; 4-21-05
(A) Equipment inspection. Equipment used for mixing, loading, or applying pesticides shall be kept in good repair and shall be safe to operate. The director may inspect at any reasonable time equipment used in mixing, loading, and application of pesticides. Equipment with any safety defect shall be repaired or altered to remove the hazard before further use.
(B) Equipment maintenance. Persons who own or operate pesticide mixing, loading or application equipment shall inform each migrant pesticide applicator under their control who may be involved in the cleaning, servicing or repair of that equipment, of the hazards of the pesticide that person may encounter and the methods of protecting against personal injury.
(C) Specifications for equipment used by migrant applicators:
(1) All hatches or doors on aerial or ground applicator vehicle tanks shall be equipped with a cover that will prevent spillage when the vehicle is in motion;
(2) Flexible hoses carrying liquid pesticides which display the signal words “DANGER – POISON” under pressure shall not pass unshielded through the cockpit of an airplane or helicopter;
(3) Shut-off devices shall be installed on the exit end of all hoses carrying liquid pesticides which display the signal words “DANGER – POISON” from mixing tanks that are adequate to prevent splashes onto the migrant pesticide applicator doing the loading when filling operations are stopped and the filler hose is removed from the inlet to the tank of the application vehicle. As an alternative a reversing action pump or a similar system may be used that will empty the hose and will eliminate dripping of liquid from the end of the hose when the filling operation is stopped.
(4) After January 1, 1989, each tank with a capacity of more than sixty U.S. gallons that is used by migrant laborers to mix or apply any liquid mixture derived from a pesticide which displays the signal words “DANGER – POISON” shall have either, (a) a properly functioning means to gauge the liquid level in the tank but in no case shall externally protruding sight gauge be used; or (b) the tank for the filler hose nozzle shall have a device that will automatically stop the filling operation before the pesticide liquid mixture spills over the top.
HISTORY: Eff 6-25-85
Rule promulgated under: RC Chapter 119.
Rule authorized by: RC 921.16(B)(6)
Rule amplifies: RC 921.16(B)(6)
119.032 Review Date: 4-21-00; 4-21-05
(A) Employers shall comply with the following for the personal safety of migrant field workers who may enter areas when exposure to pesticides displaying the signal words “DANGER – POISON” or “WARNING” or their residues may reasonably be expected to be in excess of tolerance level.
(1) At or near the signing in of migrant field workers, employers shall provide all migrant field workers and their families with bilingual educational material supplied by the department of agriculture which outlines reasonable safety measures to be taken by migrant field workers in pesticide treated areas and in migrant labor camps.
(2) Direct field supervisor shall be informed of the usual symptoms of organophosphate and carbamate poisoning, and when pesticide poisoning is reasonably suspected in a migrant field worker, the employer or his designated agent shall cause the migrant field worker to be taken to a medical facility immediately.
(3) Any employee who believes that their person or belongings have been contaminated shall be entitled to leave the area without retaliation by the employer.
(4) Adequate handwashing facilities shall be available for migrant field workers.
(B) No person shall intentionally, recklessly or negligently apply any pesticide in such a manner that it contaminates the body or clothing of any migrant field worker during the application process, except for migrant field workers who are involved in the application process and who are wearing the appropriate protective clothing and/or equipment.
(C) Migrant field workers may re-enter fields after pesticide application under the following circumstances:
(1) Migrant field workers shall not be permitted to enter any area treated with a pesticide until the pesticide spray has dried or the pesticide dust has settled, unless that migrant field worker wears the same protective clothing and equipment specified for the applicator in the labeling of that pesticide. In no case does the waiting period for the drying or settling to occur need to exceed twenty-four hours, unless otherwise required in paragraph (C)(2) of this rule.
(2) A treated area may be entered by migrant field workers without restriction after the pesticide has dried or the pesticide dust has settled, except when the U.S. EPA label instructions of the pesticide specifies a longer re-entry interval. When more than one re-entry interval in this rule is applicable in a given situation, the longer interval shall apply.
(D) Whenever a mixture of two or more organophosphate pesticides having a re-entry interval is applied, the longer of the two re-entry intervals shall be applicable.
(E) When more than one pound per acre of actual parathion, methyl parathion or EPN is applied singly or in combination to any plant, a fourteen-day re-entry interval applies.
(F) The re-entry interval for methomyl on corn is two days.
(G) When there is no foliage on the plant that has been treated by a pesticide, the re-entry interval shall be reduced by fifty per cent, but in no case shall be less than twenty-four hours.
(H) If, after testing by the department, a field is suspected as having been a source of a pesticide-related illness, or of having a reasonable possibility of producing a pesticide-related illness, the director may prohibit entry of migrant field workers into the treated area. If entry is allowed, the director may require the employer to provide medical supervision for migrant field workers who will enter the treated area to engage in substantial and prolonged body contact with the plants. The director or his designee may also specify protective clothing and equipment to be worn by migrant field workers under such circumstances.
(I) Mixing, loading, storage or application of pesticides shall not be allowed within the perimeter of a migrant labor camp.
HISTORY: Eff 6-25-85
Rule promulgated under: RC Chapter 119.
Rule authorized by: RC 921.16(B)(6)
Rule amplifies: RC 921.16(B)(6)
119.032 Review Date: 4-21-00; 4-21-05
(A) There is hereby created a technical advisory committee composed of five individuals appointed by the director of agriculture. Not later than thirty days after the effective date of these rules the director shall make the appointments to the committee subject to section 121.13 of the Revised Code. The members of the committee shall serve at the pleasure of the director of agriculture and may be removed at any time without cause.
(B) The committee shall at all times be composed of the director of the Ohio department of agriculture or his designee, one grower representative, one migrant field worker representative, the director of the Ohio environmental protection agency or his designee and one commercial applicator and the director of the Ohio department of health or his designee. The committee shall meet at least two times annually to review the migrant field worker re-entry periods and other safety standards which are currently in force or which are proposed. It shall have the power to take testimony from any person or group representative who is affected by the implementation of current or proposed re-entry intervals. It may take the testimony of experts from industry, academic institutions or such other individuals as may be knowledgeable in the area of migrant field-worker safety. It shall also have the power to investigate individual cases to determine the effectiveness of the current standards and the director of agriculture shall assist the committee with the full extent of his investigatory authority in pursuit of this end.
(C) After notice to all interested parties and upon review of the testimony, the committee may recommend to the director of agriculture that safety standards or re-entry periods for any or all pesticides be changed. After the committee’s recommendation, the director may change safety standards or the re-entry periods in accordance with the committee’s recommendation in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code.
(D) All travel expenses incurred by the committee or committee members in the performance of their duties shall be paid by the Ohio department of agriculture, except travel expenses incurred by state employees shall be borne by their respective agencies.
(E) At the first meeting of the committee which shall take place within thirty days after the director of agriculture makes the appointments to the committee, the committee shall elect a chairman to a one-year term. Thereafter, a meeting may be called by the chairman, any two members of the committee, or the director of agriculture on seven days’ notice to all committee members. A quorum of three committee members shall be sufficient for the committee to conduct business.
HISTORY: Eff 6-25-85
Rule promulgated under: RC Chapter 119.
Rule authorized by: RC 921.16(B)(6)
Rule amplifies: RC 921.16(B)(6)
119.032 Review Date: 4-21-00; 4-21-05
(A) Where migrant field workers might reasonably be anticipated to enter an area being treated or which has been treated with a pesticide for which the safety interval has not expired, the posting of warning notices in a conspicious area is required. The farm operator or his agent shall post warning notices on bulletin boards required to be kept in labor camps as well as in prominent places at the locale where migrant field workers usually start the workday or the application vehicle.
(B) Posted warning notices shall be of such durability and construction that they will remain clearly legible for the duration of the safety interval, and will read in the English and Spanish languages substantially as follows:
DANGER PELIGRO
(Name of pesticide) Pesticida (Veneno)
DO NOT ENTER NO ENTRE
UNTIL HASTA
Date
_____________________________ ___________________________
Grower’s Name Field Identification If Any
Use of third language is permissible.
(C) The employer or his agent shall give each direct field supervisor actual notice of any spraying schedule and re-entry intervals. If there is no direct field supervisor overseeing field operations, the employer or his agent shall give each migrant field worker actual notice of those spraying schedules and re-entry intervals relevant to each migrant field worker’s operations. If there is no direct field supervisor overseeing field operations, the employer or his agent shall give each migrant field worker actual notice of those spraying schedules or re-entry intervals relevant to each worker’s field operations.
(D) The warning notices shall not be removed during the re-entry interval.
(E) Warning notices shall be removed by the farm operator or his agent within five days after the end of the re-entry interval.
HISTORY: Eff 6-25-85
Rule promulgated under: RC Chapter 119.
Rule authorized by: RC 921.16(B)(6)
Rule amplifies: RC 921.16(B)(6)
119.032 Review Date: 4-21-00; 4-21-05
The director shall have authority to enter and inspect at reasonable times, without prior notification, premises where pesticides are mixed, and/or are loaded for application and the fields, structures, areas, and greenhouses where pesticides are being applied, have been applied, or are presumed to have been applied, in order to determine compliance with the provisions of these rules. The director shall be permitted to examine records concerning pesticide usage, work hours of employees and medical supervision.
HISTORY: Eff 6-25-85
Rule promulgated under: RC Chapter 119.
Rule authorized by: RC 921.16(B)(6)
Rule amplifies: RC 921.16(B)(6)
119.032 Review Date: 4-21-00; 4-21-05
Each employer and each migrant field worker shall comply with each rule which is applicable to his own action and conduct. Nothing in these rules should be construed to limit or extinguish legal remedies available to any person under civil, criminal, or common law. Each person who violates any provision of these rules is subject to appropriate penalty provisions under section 921.25 of the Revised Code.
HISTORY: Eff 6-25-85
Rule promulgated under: RC Chapter 119.
Rule authorized by: RC 921.16(B)(6)
Rule amplifies: RC 921.16(B)(6)
119.032 Review Date: 4-21-00; 4-21-05
Pesticides that are used only as rodenticides, avicides, predacides, or disinfectants are exempt from these rules.
HISTORY: Eff 6-25-85
Rule promulgated under: RC Chapter 119.
Rule authorized by: RC 921.16(B)(6)
Rule amplifies: RC 921.16(B)(6)