OREGON OSHA 

PESTICIDE EMPHASIS PROGRAM 

ANNUAL REPORT 

Federal Fiscal Year 2010 

Garnet R Cooke, Pesticide Coordinator 

Stanton E Thomas, Health Enforcement Manager 

Chris Ottoson, CIH, Health Field Operations Manager 

Trena VanDeHey, Health Enforcement Analyst 
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Oregon OSHA 

Pesticide Emphasis Program 

FFY 2010 Annual Report 

Introduction 

Oregon OSHA (OR-OSHA) and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Region 10 

Pesticides and Toxics Unit, have worked together on pesticide safety issues since 1993. OR-OSHA enforces 

the Worker Protection Standard, which is supplemented with a pesticide emphasis program. The Pesticide 

Emphasis Program has been in effect since 2000. This report is the annual review of the pesticide emphasis 

program for federal fiscal year 2010 (FFY 2010). The data elements and analysis are presented, along with 

recommendations for program improvements for the coming year. 

Data Elements 

The data elements examined in this report are based on OR-OSHA’s Program Directive A-235, entitled “Local 

Emphasis Program for Pesticides.” Inspections were completed from a programmed list selected from the 

following list of North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) codes they will be referred to as 

“selected NAICSs” for the purposes of this report. 

NAICS 111998 General farming, field Crops, except Cash Grains, Not Elsewhere Classified 

 NAICS 111339 Deciduous Tree Fruits 

 NAICS 111421 Nursery & Tree Production 

 NAICS 111422 Floriculture Production 

 NAICS 115112 Crop preparation including pesticide spraying 

Other NAICSs inspected as a result of complaints, referrals or programmed Agricultural Health inspections are 

included in this report if the inspection addressed pesticide-related issues. 

Data Summary

Pesticide exposures occur throughout the handling process, from purchase to disposal. The goal of the Pesticide 

Emphasis Program is to reduce occupational exposures to pesticides in agriculture through enforcing the 

pesticide- related standards such as the Worker Protection Standard, Hazard Communication, Respiratory 

Protection, Pesticide Storage, Fumigation and supervision. Implementation of these requirements can reduce 

the likelihood of exposures resulting in acute or chronic effects. The Pesticide Emphasis Program continues be 

an effective tool for disseminating information, education, and compliance assistance and enforcement activities 

to reduce occupational exposures to pesticides in the agriculture industry. 

The following is a brief summary of the findings resulting from the evaluation of FFY 2010 activity. 
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Inspection Activity 

In FFY 2010, 86 inspections were completed which identified 385 pesticide-related violations. Shown in the 

table below are the inspections attempted, whether they were Complaint, Referral or Program Planned 

inspections. A Program Planned inspection means it was a scheduled Pesticide Emphasis inspection from the 

emphasis list. 

Summary tables show previous inspection data for 2002 thru 2009 and are included as a reference. 

Attempted and Completed inspections by inspection type 

 Source: Information Management Division, Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services, January 2011 

The table below denotes whether the completed inspections were Tier 1* or Tier 2** inspections, with further 

discussion on the following page. 

Completed inspections by WPS/emphasis type

*Tier 1 Inspections: Pesticides used within the preceding 30 days plus the restricted entry interval 

**Tier 2 Inspections: Pesticides NOT used within the preceding 30 days plus the restricted entry interval. 
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Violation characteristics 

Of the 385 pesticide-related violations in FFY 2010, 19% (72/385) were cited as serious. Within the Selected 

NAICS, 84% (61/72) violations were classified as serious. These included violations of the Worker Protection 

Standard (WPS) and other occupationally-related standards pertaining to pesticides. Pesticide-related violations 

include the Oregon OSHA standards addressing hazard communication, respiratory protection, emergency 

eyewash, supervision, pesticide storage and fumigation. From the previous tables, WPS Tier 1 inspections 

accounted for 81% (70/86) of the pesticide emphasis inspections, and 19% (16/86) were Tier 2. Sixty-three of 

the 86 inspections were programmed planned. In FFY 2010, there were 3 repeat violations. A violation is 

termed a repeat when a specific standard is violated, is corrected, and occurs again within a three-year period. 

To encourage employers to maintain diligence in preventing the reoccurrence of previously cited violations, 

repeat violations carry higher penalties. These data support the continued focus of our inspection resources 

within the Selected NAICS as an effective means to address worker protection and pesticide safety. 

Pesticide violations and penalties in FFY 2010

Source: Information Management Division, Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services, January 2011. 

If a WPS violation is grouped with another violation, the WPS and non-WPS violations are counted separately, but the 

penalty amount for the whole group is retained with the WPS violation.
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Summary of previous years: 

The tables below summarize inspections, violations and penalties for federal fiscal years 2002 through 2010. 

Stats for completed inspections by federal fiscal year

Pesticide violations and penalties, FFY totals

Source: Information Management Division, Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services, January 2011 

If a WPS violation is grouped with another violation, the WPS and non-WPS violations are counted separately, but the 

penalty amount for the whole group is retained with the WPS violation. 
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The violations below are divided up into either handler or worker related, showing the categories of issues for 

each group. 

Pesticide violations cited in FFY 2010

While the violations for many of the above topics have remained relatively stable, one area has seen a 

significant decrease. The requirement for a 15-minute emergency eyewash became effective in fall of 2006 

(FFY 2007 Pesticide Emphasis Report) and was cited 23 times that year, and the following year it was cited 25 

times. In FFY 2010, the lack of a 15-minute emergency eyewash was only cited 5 times. 
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Inspection History for WPS Inspections: 

Source: Information Management Division, Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services, January 2011 

If an employer was inspected more than once in FFY 2010 they were categorized only once based on inspection type in 

the following order of precedence: WPS tier 1; WPS tier 2; non-WPS. 

If an employer was inspected more than once in FFY 2010 their current inspection results were categorized based on 

the following order of precedence: WPS violations; other pesticide violations; non-pesticide violations; Ag Exempt; in 

compliance. 

If an employer had more than one inspection prior to FFY 2010 they were categorized based on the following order of 

precedence: health inspection; other than health inspection; no previous inspections. 

 
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Pesticide Analytical Response Center (PARC) Cases 

In FFY 2010, there were two occupationally-related pesticide exposure cases referred to Oregon OSHA from 

PARC which represented six symptomatic individuals. 

The first case involved 5 workers, employees of a seed company, pulling ‘off types’ of grass in a 5-acre grass 

seed field. The workers were at the south end of the field when a commercial applicator showed up and began 

spraying the same field. The workers ran to the next field, with the applicator spraying 20 feet from them. Four 

of the 5 workers experienced symptoms ranging from nose and throat irritation, to nausea, and intense 

headaches which lasted the rest of the day. The active ingredient of the pesticide involved was 2, 4-D amine. 

The workers’ employer failed to make contact with the grower of the fields the workers enter to identify if any 

pesticide applications had taken place, or were scheduled to take place. The commercial applicator failed to 

notify the employer of the workers in the field when he would be making an application. The applicator stated 

if there were irrigation pipes in the field he would contact the grower; however, he did not follow this same 

protocol if people were present. 

The second case involved a Christmas tree grower who, together with his son, mixed Warhawk (Chlorpyrifos) 

without wearing any personal protective equipment, and had two teenage (16 and 17 years old) boys spray the 

pesticide on the Christmas trees using a backpack power mister. The boys would take turns donning the power 

mister and would walk down a row of Christmas trees, spraying on either side while walking through the mist, 

returning by walking and spraying down another row. They continued applying in this manner for three hours. 

The teens were not provided with any personal protective equipment as required by the pesticide label. The 

label required: long sleeve shirt, long pants, chemical resistant gloves, coveralls, chemical resistant footwear, 

chemical resistant headgear and a dust/mist respirator. Upon completion the teenagers were instructed to go 

home and shower. There were no decontamination supplies at the application/mix site. Each drove home in their 

personal vehicle. The 17 year old took three showers before his skin stopped burning and flushed his eyes with 

contact solution before his eyes stopped burning. He indicated he had slight difficulty breathing in addition to 

the burning skin and eyes. He threw away his contaminated clothing. The 16 year old took a quick shower and 

changed clothes, but wore the same boots and went to work baling straw for another employer. At 7 p.m. his 

breathing was short, his chest felt tight and had stomach cramps. Twenty minutes later the 16 year old was 

feeling dizzy and his employer took him to the emergency room. The 17 year old was notified to report to the 

emergency room as well. In the emergency room the symptoms the 16 year old experienced progressed to 

include numbness in hands and face, burning eyes, and significant difficulty breathing. 

 
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External Training 

External training consists of two parts, workshops put on by the OR-OSHA Public Education Section, and 

speaking requests performed in conjunction with Oregon Department of Agriculture events. External speaking 

requests were conducted mostly in conjunction with day long multi-program agendas put on by grower groups, 

the Oregon Department of Agriculture, or the Oregon State University Extension Service for the purpose of 

maintaining credits for pesticide licenses. These multi-program events carried the greatest attendance numbers. 

Oregon OSHA speaking requests in FFY 2010

Pesticide Related Interventions – External Training, FFY 2010

Pesticide Inspectors Forum—Multi-Agency Annual Meeting 

The joint Oregon-OSHA – ODA Pesticide Inspectors Forum garnered continuing education units for attendees 

in a multi-agency gathering featuring NIOSH Personal Protective Equipment Testing Laboratory, EPA Region 

10 and EPA Headquarters, the National Pesticide Information Center (NPIC), CROET/OHSU, Oregon State 

University and the Salem-Keizer School District. Topics included an overview of NIOSH’s Personal Protective 

Equipment Testing Laboratory and their new agriculture initiatives; EPA’s container containment regulations; 

Integrated Pest Management Programs in schools; NPIC initiatives and resources; the new soil fumigation 

requirements; and what Oregon OSHA staff look for during pesticide emphasis inspections for the benefit of 

other agencies present to aid their understanding of Oregon OSHA requirements, and to assist them in their 

outreach efforts. 
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The work of Oregon OSHA’s Pesticide Emphasis Program was highlighted in two poster presentations at the 

joint Agricultural Safety and Health Council of America/NIOSH Conference in Dallas, Texas. Garnet Cooke, 

Pesticide Coordinator presented: “Preventing Pesticide Exposure: The Oregon OSHA Experience.” The second: 

“Non-Compliance with Personal Protective Equipment Regulations in Agriculture are Common” was presented 

by Kim Faulkner, PhD., of the NIOSH National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory, et al. The latter 

used Oregon OSHA data from the Pesticide Emphasis Program inspections. Both abstracts were published in 

the conference proceedings in the summer 2010 issue of the Journal of Agromedicine. 

Conclusions 

OR-OSHA enforcement and voluntary compliance activities continue to provide effective means for addressing 

worker protection and pesticide safety in various ways. The annual meeting among multiple agencies affords 

opportunities for developing strategies that enhance and improve worker protection. This collaboration and 

coordination makes for more effective use of limited resources towards enhancing pesticide safety. 

Accomplishments 

♦ A brochure was developed by Oregon OSHA on selection, care and use of personal protective equipment 

related to pesticides. It is available on-line at http://www.orosha.org/pdf/pubs/1018.pdf. 

♦ The OR-OSHA poster, “Protect Yourself From Pesticides,” targeting pesticide safety in forest activities, has 

been used by the Pacific Northwest Agricultural Safety and Health (PNASH) Center, which is affiliated 

with the University of Washington, in their own outreach activities. 

♦ External trainings exceeded last year, even though there were significant reductions within the public 

education section. 

♦ Developed an effective multiagency format for the Pesticide Inspector’s forum, which was extremely well 

received by attendees. 

Goals for the coming year 

♦ Conduct referral inspections where pesticide applications are documented during OR-OSHA silviculture 

inspections. 

♦ Provide continued assistance to the NIOSH NPPTL program in addressing barriers to the use of personal 

protective equipment used by pesticide applicators. 
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Oregon OSHA publications in FFY 2010

Pesticide Related Interventions – Consultative Services – Booth 

shows, FFY 2010

 
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Oregon OSHA consultations by NAICS in FFY 2010 

 *Does not include pesticides, but identifies outreach potential 

Oregon OSHA resource center pesticide related videos, FFY 2010