Worker Protection Standard

The Worker Protection Standard is intended to protect employees on farms, forests, nurseries, and greenhouses that are occupationally exposed to agricultural pesticides.

This is managed by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and is separate from the Hazard Communication Standard managed by Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

Requirement

The EPA registers pesticides and insecticides as either unclassified or restricted use pesticide (RUP). Unclassified pesticide is available over-the-counter. This program exists in cooperation with the United States Department of Agriculture.

Two items are required by law for all registered pesticides and insecticides.

• Product Label
• Material Safety Data Sheet

The product label describes how to use the product.

The Material Safety Data Sheet provides specific safety and hazard information, and this must be provided to physicians in the event that the product has been misused so that appropriate diagnostic testing and treatment can be obtained in a timely manner.

RUP requires license for purchase. The process required to obtain a pest control licenses is regulated by a combination of state laws, federal laws, common law, and private company policies.

All RUP applications must be recorded to identify the date, location, and type of pesticide applied. Federal law requires a minimum record retention period, which may be three years or longer depending upon state laws.

There are two categories of license: supervisor and applicator. A pest control supervisor license is required to purchase RUP and keep records. The pest control supervisor must ensure pest control applicators are competent to use any restricted use products.

Further information can be obtained from the following organizations.

• AAPCO—Assoc. of American Pesticide Control Officials
• AAPSE—American Assoc. of Pesticide Safety Educators
• CTAG—Certification and Training Assessment Group
• CPARD—Certification Plan & Reporting Database
• POINTS—Pesticide of Interest Reporting Database
• NASDA Pesticide Safety Programs
• Division of Toxicology and Environmental Medicine; Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
• National Toxicology Program

40 CFR Part 170 requires the following in the United States.

• Pesticide Safety Training
• Notification of Pesticide Applications to Employees and between Employers
• Application, Safety & Hazard Communication to Employees & Contract Workers
• Recordkeeping Requirements
• Use of Personal Protective Equipment
• Restricted Entry Intervals (REI) following Pesticide Application
• Decontamination Supplies
• Emergency Medical Assistance
• Application Exclusion Zone (enforcement starts January 1, 2018)

DoD worker protection

The United States Department of Defense manages safety independent of OSHA and EPA. Spills, mishaps, illnesses, and injuries are not normally handled in accordance with local, state and federal law.

Failure to administer discipline for illegal activity occurring within a military command is considered to be dereliction of duty, which is administered under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

Individuals with information about environmental crimes and individuals with environmental injuries involving the military should become familiar with the topic of Whistleblower protection in United States. Government employees, government contractors, and military officers often lack the training, education, licensing, and experience required to understand the legal requirements involving environmental safety. The sophistication required to understand legal requirements is not normally required for promotion and contractor selection within the military.

Because of this, specific rules are documented in orders and directives that need to be written in plain language intended to be understood by people that have a 4th grade reading ability.

Law are enforced is performed by the commanding officer in military organizations. The commanding officer typically has the ability to read and understand written requirements. A Flag Officer is subject to Court-martial action if laws or government policies are violated under their command when the activity is outside the scope of mission orders and rules of engagement. Each commanding officer is responsible for writing and maintaining policies simple enough to be understood by everyone in their command. Each commanding officer is responsible for ensuring that command policy documents are made available to every person in their command (civilian, military, and contractor). The commanding officer is responsible for disciplinary action and public disclosures when policies are violated within their command.

Military agencies operate independent of law enforcement, judicial authority, and common law. Similar exemptions exist for some state agencies.

Potential crimes are investigated by military police. The following is an example of the kinds of policy documents used to conduct criminal investigations.

• Naval Inspector General; Investigations Manual

Because military law enforcement is performed with no independent civilian oversight, there is an inherent conflict of interest. Information and disclosures are obtained through Freedom of Information Act request and not through disclosures ordinarily associated with the EPA and OSHA that have the competency required for training, certification, disclosure, and enforcement. This prevents physicians from obtaining the kind of information needed to diagnose and treat environmental illness, so the root cause for environmental illness typically remains permanently unknown. The following organization may help when the root cause for an illness remains unknown longer than 30 days.

• Office of the Secretary of Defense and Joint Staff; Freedom of Information Act Requester Service Center

Criminal violations, injuries, and potential enforcement actions begin by exchanging information in the following venues when civilian government employees and flag officers are unable to deal with the situation in an ethical manner.

• Local labor union officials
• Freedom of information in the United States
• Office of the Inspector General, U.S. Department of Defense (Hotline)
• United States Secretary of Defense
• President of the United States
• United States Secretary of State
• United States House of Representatives
• United States Senate

US federal laws, state laws, local laws, foreign laws, and treaty agreements may not apply.

Policies are established by Executive Order and not public law, except for interventions by the United States Congress and interventions by US district courts.

• United States Federal Courts

The following Executive Orders establish the requirements for DoD environmental policy for government organizations within the executive branch of the United States.

• Executive Order 12114 - Environmental effects abroad of major Federal actions
• Executive Order 12196 - Occupational safety and health programs for Federal employees
• Executive Order 12291 - Regulatory planning process
• Executive Order 12344 - Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program
• Executive Order 12898 - Federal Actions To Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations
• Executive Order 12958 - Classified National Security Information
• Executive Order 12960 - Amendments to the Manual for Courts-Martial
• Executive Order 12961 - Presidential Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses
• Executive Order 13101 - Greening the Government Through Waste Prevention, Recycling, and Federal Acquisition
• Executive Order 13148 - Greening the Government Through Leadership in Environmental Management
• Executive Order 13151 - Global Disaster Information Network
• Executive Order 13388 - Further Strengthening the Sharing of Terrorism Information to Protect American
• Executive Order 12656 - Assignment of emergency preparedness responsibilities
• Executive Order 13423 - Strengthening Federal Environmental, Energy, and Transportation Management
• Executive Order 13526 - Classified National Security Information Memorandum

The following unclassified documents provide further information for programs managed by the United States Secretary of Defense.

• DoD Directive 3150.08 - DoD Response to Nuclear and Radiological Incidents
• DoD Directive 3222.3 - DoD Electromagnetic Environmental Effects (E3)
• DoD Directive 4715.1 - Environment, Safety, and Occupational Health (ESOH)
• DoD Directive 4715.3 - Environmental Conservation Program
• DoD Directive 4715.5 - Management of Environmental Compliance at Overseas Installations
• DoD Directive 4715.8 - Environmental Remediation for DoD Activities Overseas
• DoD Directive 4715.11 - Environmental and Explosives Safety Management on Operational Ranges Within the United States
• DoD Directive 4715.12 - Environmental and Explosives Safety Management on Operational Ranges Outside the United States
• DoD Directive 6050.07 - Environmental Effects Abroad of Major Department of Defense Actions