Pesticide Management

Purpose

The purpose of this document is to provide guidance for the proper management of pesticides on campus.

Scope and Applicability

This shall apply to all students, staff and faculty on the Knoxville campus of the University of Tennessee. This standard applies to pesticides applied by university employees with worker health protection and compliance with EPA regulations in mind. Employees who are using over-the-counter pesticides shall follow this procedure to the extent required by law. Contact Facilities Services regarding experimental pesticides.

This document does not apply to outside contractors applying pesticides in or on university owned or controlled facilities.

Abbreviations and Definitions

Abbreviations

EHS: Environmental Health and Safety

FIFRA: Federal Insecticide Fungicide and Rodenticide Act

PPE: Personal Protective Equipment

Definitions

Pesticide: for the purposes of brevity and this document the term “pesticide” shall be a collective term meaning a chemical agent designed to kill insects, fungus, rodents, or bacterial.

Roles and Responsibilities

Employees who apply pesticides:

• Complete necessary training
• Maintain certification
• Report any problems that are encountered
• Use appropriate PPE
• Complete all required records as required
• Follow rules of application specific to the pesticide in accordance with the manufacturer’s specifications

Supervisors who have employees who apply pesticides shall:

• Ensure these individuals receive the necessary training and are appropriately certified
• Maintain records as required
• Provide personal protective equipment for employee use
• Follow up on reported problems
• Ensure waste pesticides are properly managed

Program

Application

When the need to apply a pesticide is determined, consideration shall be given to an agent that

• Is effective for the pest
• Will not create a hazard for occupants of the area, unless the area has been vacated
• Potential impact on other buildings, crops, plants or other animals (e.g. honey bees)
• Environmental fate- where will the pesticide be carried by air, water or on land

The need for PPE shall be ascertained before application

Occupant safety, including signage, re-entry times and time of application shall be considered

Storage:

Pesticides shall be stored in an area where:

• It is not subject to vandalism, theft or physical damage
• It is inaccessible to children
• Proper environmental conditions (temperature, humidity, sunlight exposure, etc) are present
• It will not be inadvertently released to the environment
• The manufacturer’s guidelines are met.

Disposal:

Employees who use pesticides while on the job shall properly dispose of the container and any residual in accordance with the manufacturer’s guidelines. These guidelines may be found on the container’s label or SDS (safety data sheet).

If the guidelines are lost or otherwise unavailable, the manufacturer must be contacted.

If the manufacturer is out of business or can’t be located, contact Environmental Health and Safety.

If the label is missing or the contents can’t be identified, EHS shall manage the substance as an “unknown” under the university’s hazardous waste management program.

No waste pesticide may be discarded via the storm sewer system.

Aerosol cans that hold pesticides should be given to EHS for proper disposal.

Recordkeeping

The following records shall be kept in accordance with the Tennessee Department of Agriculture.

• Employee training based on certification requirements
• Certificates for licensed and certified applicators
• Any necessary permits
• Ancillary training for pesticide application – such as personal protective equipment
• Application records
• Material safety data sheets for the pesticides
• Medical records for those individuals who are licensed pesticide applicators

Training and Information

Applicators shall be trained in accordance with applicable rules of the Tennessee Department of Agriculture.

References

40 CFR 170

http://www.epa.gov/compliance/resources/policies/incentives/auditing/apcol-fifra.pdf

 

Disclaimer

The information provided in these guidelines is designed for educational use only and is not a substitute for specific training or experience.

The University of Tennessee Knoxville and the authors of these guidelines assume no liability for any individual’s use of or reliance upon any material contained or referenced herein. The material contained in these guidelines may not be the most current.

This material may be freely distributed for nonprofit educational use. However, if included in publications, written or electronic, attributions must be made to the author. Commercial use of this material is prohibited without express written permission from the author.