Surveillance of Personal Protective
Equipment Practices
in Agriculture
Kimberly Faulkner, PhD, MPH
for NIOSH and the National Personal
Protective Technology Laboratory
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Protecting U.S. farm crop workers
 Personal Protective Equipment
 Assess practices and barriers to best practices
over time
 Improve practices to reduce illness
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Personal protective equipment
A critical last line of defense
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Personal protective equipment
practices
It’s only effective when selected and used correctly
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Objectives
 Study planning
 Assessment of existing knowledge and
methods
 Development and administration of a standard
questionnaire/focus groups
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Study Planning
 Study scope: Pesticide handlers, practices and
barriers
 Existing data sources
 FLYER
 PPE regulations
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Study planning: Overview
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Study Planning: Data sources
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Study Planning: FLYER
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Study Planning: PPE regulations
 EPA WPS:
 40 CFR 170.170.7, 170.240(c), 170.232 (a)(2),
170.230.b.1
 Certification of Pesticide Applicators: 40 CFR 171
 Labeling Requirements for Pesticides: 40CFR 156
 OSHA Standard for Agriculture: 29 CFR 1928
 OSHA PPE standards: 29CFR 1910.1321910.136, and 1910.138
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Study Planning: Summary
 Examine existing knowledge and do preassessment work on barriers
 Identify partners and pool resources
 Develop and administer questionnaire/focus
groups
 Develop and administer interventions
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Objectives
 Study planning
 Assessment of existing knowledge and
methods
 Development and administration of a standard
questionnaire
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Assessing existing knowledge
 National Agricultural Workers Study (NAWS)
 NIOSH Sentinel Event Notification System for
Occupational Risk (SENSOR)
 Oregon OSHA Pesticide Emphasis Program
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Assessing existing knowledge: NAWS
 National sample, 1,230 interviews addressing PPE
(1999-2001); 99% complete
 PPE appropriateness not known
 Using PPE correctly not known
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Assessing existing knowledge: SENSOR
 Pesticide illnesses reported in 12 states
 Only OR, WA, MI collected PPE data on at least
79% of cases (2001-05), N=178
 PPE appropriateness not known
 Using PPE correctly not known
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Assessing existing knowledge:
OR OSHA
 Programmed inspection data
 Oregon PPE regulations (EPA WPS & OSHA
respiratory protection standard adopted in 2007)
 Percent of establishments in violation of PPE
regulations
 Most common regulations violated
 Doesn’t tell us about individual practices or
barriers
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Assessing existing knowledge: OR
OSHA/Methods
 348 programmed first inspections (of 375) from
2000 to 2007
 Applicable regulations: 1910.132-138, 170.240
 3 industries = 95% of inspections
 fruit and tree nut farming
 greenhouse/nursery/floriculture production,
 other crop farming
 1-10 employees = 55% of inspections
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Assessing existing knowledge:
OR OSHA/Results (2000-07)
Percent of inspections with PPE violations
100
89
90
80
70
64
60
50
40
36
30
20
11
10
0
Any
None
Serious
No Serious
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Assessing existing knowledge:
OR OSHA/Results (2000-07)
Percent of inspections with 0, 1 and 2 or more
PPE violations
70
64
60
50
40
30
21
15
20
10
0
0
1
2 or more
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Assessing existing knowledge:
OR OSHA/Results (2000-07)
Types and frequency of PPE violations
30
24
25
20
18
15
12
10
10
10
9
6
5
6
5
0
Written RP
Program for
Voluntary use
not... (1910)
PPE not cleaned
PPE not worn
Respirator users
Written RP
Appropriate
Respirator
Respirators not 27 other violations
(170)
according to label not trained (1910) program not
respirator not
cartridges not stored in clean… (15 of 1910 and 12
(170)
developed (1910) provided (1910) replaced at end…
of 170)
(1910)
(1910)
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Assessing existing knowledge: OR
OSHA/Summary
 PPE violations are common and frequent,
many are serious
 Appropriateness of PPE for the establishment
 Proper use of PPE for the establishment
• Individual PPE practices and barriers are not
known
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Objectives
 Study planning
 Assessment of existing knowledge and
methods
 Development and administration of a standard
questionnaire/focus groups
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Develop and administer standard
 Questionnaires and focus groups (as
appropriate)
 Appropriate /inappropriate PPE
 Appropriate use/misuse of PPE
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Develop and administer standard
 Appropriate/inappropriate PPE
 EPA registration number for pesticides
 or manufacturers specific name of pesticide
 Relevant environmental controls
 Duration of exposure
 Type(s) and material(s) of PPE worn when mixing, loading
or applying pesticides
 If respirator used: NIOSH certification number
 If applying pesticides: methods of application
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Develop and administer standard
 Proper use/misuse of PPE
 proper size/fit
 maintenance
 inspection
 storage
 discarding PPE as required
 clean area to put on and remove PPE
 decontamination
 For respirator users: lack of fit testing, medical
evaluation, user-seal check, and proper filter
replacement
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Develop and administer standard
 PPE concerns and barriers
 For each type of PPE and handler group: What are the
concerns, barriers and solutions?
 Handler groups
 commercial certified applicator
 private certified applicator (Hispanic and Non-hispanic)
 non-certified/WPS handler (Hispanic and Non-hispanic)
 Anabaptist/Amish communities
 Flyers: 17 emails and 4 phone calls
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Develop and administer standard:
Surveillance
Employers
2012, 2013, …
Supervisors
2012, 2013, …
Pesticide
handlers
2012, 2013, …
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Develop and administer standard
 Partnerships
 EPA/OR OSHA
 State Cooperative Extension services
 State Offices of Rural Health
 State Departments of Health/Agriculture
 PNASH
 Farmworker Association of Florida
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Develop and administer standard:
Next steps (Apr. 2010-Apr. 2011)
 Expand/strengthen partnerships
 Brainstorm with partners
 Identify PPE concerns and barriers
 Develop gold standard (questionnaire/focus
groups)
 Identify opportunities and challenges
 Identifying and secure resources
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Develop and administer standard:
Summary
 We need your help
 How to access handlers and employers?
 What are critical elements needed to assess practices?
 What are the tools/methods to best be able to assess
practices?
 The benefit to you…
 Results will inform educational and training outreach
 Improved compliance and possibly reduced illnesses
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Contact me
Kimberly Faulkner, PhD, MPH
Epidemiologist/Statistician
NIOSH/National Personal Protective Technology
Laboratory
P.O. Box 18070
Pittsburgh, PA 15236-0070
Tele: 412-386-6609
Email: KFaulkner@cdc.gov
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