United States Office of Enforcement 

& Compliance Assurance 

Washington, DC 20460 

EPA 305-F-01-011 

Environmental Protection August 2001 

Agency www.epa.gov 

Agrichemicals 

WPS – Information Exchange 

Between Commercial Handlers 

and Growers 

Ag Center 

Helping Agriculture Comply with 

Environmental Requirements 

F 

When the Pesticide Is Not 

Applied as Scheduled 

The Agricultural Worker Protection Standard (WPS) is a regulation issued by the U.S. 

Environmental Protection Agency in 1992 and amended in 1995. It covers pesticides that are 

used in the production of agricultural plants on farms, forests, nurseries, and greenhouses. The 

WPS requires you to take steps to reduce the risk of pesticide-related illness and injury if you (1) 

use such pesticides, or (2) employ workers or pesticide handlers who are exposed to such 

pesticides. 

This fact sheet will help you understand how to comply with WPS requirements concerning the 

information that commercial handlers must provide to their customers about pesticide-treated 

areas. These questions were submitted to the Agency by people seeking clarification on this part 

of the regulation, and have been answered by EPA’s Office of Compliance. 

The WPS requires commercial 

handlers (handler employers) to 

provide information to their 

customers -- the farm, forest, 

nursery, or greenhouse 

operators (agricultural 

employers) -- about the pesticide 

before it is applied. [40 CFR 

O C U S O N 

section 170.224]. What 

provisions apply if the pesticide 

cannot be applied as scheduled? 

The WPS requires the commercial 

handler to provide specific information 

to the grower about pesticide 

applications on the agricultural 

establishment before the application has 

taken place. 
How can commercial 

handlers comply with the 

requirement for notifying 

growers in advance about 

pesticide applications? 

This is so the grower can, in turn, 

provide appropriate protection to his/her 

workers and family. The Agency is 

aware, however, that some commercial 

handlers may on occasion not be able to 

perform pesticide applications at a 

previously scheduled time. 

The "How To Comply" manual provided 

some flexibility on this issue, noting that 

"if the pesticide is not applied as 

scheduled, the agricultural employer 

must be informed of the corrected time 

and date of the application. Make the 

correction before the application takes 

place, or as soon as practicable 

thereafter." Questions have arisen 

concerning the notification 

requirements if applications do not take 

place as scheduled, including when and 

how the employer must be notified of 

the change. 

The WPS places certain requirements 

upon growers (agricultural employers). 

One of the most important requirements 

involves keeping workers out of treated 

areas during applications and while the 

restricted entry interval (REI) remains 

in effect. Growers also must provide 

workers with (among other things) 

information, protective equipment, and 

decontamination supplies when they 

enter treated fields within 30 days of 

expiration of the REI. The requirement 

for commercial handlers to notify 

growers before an application takes 

place must be viewed in light of its 

central purpose: to provide growers with 

information they may need in order to 

protect their workers. 

The obligation of growers to assure that 

workers remain out of treated areas 

during applications and while the REI 

remains in effect, and to assure that 

proper protections are provided when 

workers enter treated areas within 30 

days of expiration of the REI, is not 

affected by the notification provision. 

The obligation of the grower continues 

whether or not notification of an 

application occurs. The grower should 

take whatever steps are necessary to 

assure that he/she is informed of an 

application before workers might enter 

treated areas. 

Obviously, notification before 

application is the best way to assure that 

the grower has the necessary 

information to protect the agricultural 

employees. For this reason, the WPS 

requires that notification take place 

before applications. Commercial 

handlers are liable under the WPS if 

they fail to provide such notification. 

EPA recognizes that an application 

sometimes does not take place when 

Ag Center Fact Sheet Series Page 2 

Agrichemicals/WPS – Information Exchange Between Commercial Handlers and Growers 
Agrichemicals

Worker Protection Standard for Information Exchange Between Commercial 

Agricultural Pesticides Handlers and Growers 

The Ag Center 

welcomes 

comments on this 

document and its 

other services. 

scheduled, and that communication 

between commercial handler and grower 

may be difficult to accomplish. The 

Agency is therefore willing to allow 

some rescheduled applications to go 

forward without requiring prior 

notification. This flexibility is available 

only when: 

• an application has been previously 

scheduled (including day, date, and 

time) and agreed upon by the 

commercial handler and grower, 

• the prior notification required by the 

WPS has been provided, and 

• the pre-arranged application 

subsequently does not take place as 

scheduled. 

Commercial handlers and growers must 

keep in mind that growers are still liable 

if their employees enter fields during the 

REI, or within 30 days of expiration of 

the REI if any applicable WPS 

requirements are not met. Notification 

must occur in one of two ways. 

Notification can be received by the 

grower before workers could be exposed 

to pesticide residues resulting from the 

application in violation of the WPS. 

Otherwise, the commercial handler 

must notify the grower with a form of 

notification previously agreed upon by 

the commercial handler and grower, 

which was reasonably calculated to get 

information to the grower before 

workers could be exposed to residues in 

violation of the WPS. 

EPA strongly recommends that 

commercial handlers and growers work 

out in advance between themselves: 

C how notification of regularly 

scheduled applications should be 

accomplished, 

C under what circumstances 

applications may take place without 

prior notification if previously 

scheduled applications do not occur 

on time, and 

C how notification of rescheduled 

applications should be 

accomplished. 

For more information 

To get more facts about compliance, 

contact the Ag Center by phone, fax, or 

mail. Call the toll-free number to ask 

compliance questions or order 

publications. At the Center's web site, 

www.epa.gov/agriculture, you can 

explore compliance information and 

order or download publications. For a 

complete publications list, request 

document 10001, "Ag Center 

Publications." 

National Agriculture Compliance

Assistance Center

901 N. 5th Street

Kansas City, KS 66101

Toll-free: 1-888-663-2155 

Internet: www.epa.gov/agriculture 

Fax: 913-551-7270 

United States Environmental 

Protection Agency 

Washington, DC 20460 

Ag Center Fact Sheet Series Page 3