Protection of Persons, Animals and PropertyBy Bruce Perez

Why Should You Care?Safety of Employees, bystanders, nearby residentIllness Complaints / Loss of PropertyGrowers, Residents, Environmentalists, MediaInvestigations Takes People, Time, & $$$$$$$$Youre supposed to know this stuff alreadyLaws and Regulations, FACIts what We CAC enforce

What is Pesticide Drift?Drift is the movement of a pesticide through the air away from the intended targetMist, particles, vaporDepends on weather, application site, pesticideOccurs in residential and household pesticide applications tooIsnt limited to period during or immediately after an application

How Drift Can OccurSpray Drift and Post-application DriftSpray DriftDuring shortly afterWind or Application equipmentPost-Application DriftMay be result of illegal applicationAlso may occur with correct applicationsSome drift is unavoidable

Possible measuresExercise a high degree of professionalism in making decisions about applicationsEnsure their equipment and techniques produce a minimum of drift that is below potentially harmful levels. Make sure they dont apply pesticides when conditions exist that make drift more likely, for example, when it is too windy

Is it Illegal?California has strict standards concerning driftCAC direct enforcement activityThe law prohibits applications if there is reasonable possibility to harm people propertyDPR finds drift from legal application an unacceptable risk

Kings County Permit ConditionsGeneralGround Water ProtectionWellhead ProtectionHerbicide Application RestrictionsTemik/ThimetParaquat (Preplant)

Kings County Permit ConditionsDefoliantsPhenoxysMethomyl (Grapes)ThiodanFuradan

Drift Mitigation Strategies

6416. Groundwater Protection Restrictions.(a) A permit is required for the possession or use of a pesticide containing a chemical listed in section 6800(a) when the pesticide is:(1) applied in an agricultural, outdoor institutional, or outdoor industrial use within a runoff ground water protection area or in a leaching ground water protection area, or(2) restricted for purposes other than ground water protection.(b) A permit is not required for the possession or use of a pesticide containing a chemical listed in section 6800(a) when the pesticide is used in a pest eradication program approved by the Department of Food and Agriculture, unless the pesticide is also restricted for purposes other than ground water protection.(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of this article and Article 4, the chemicals listed in section 6800(a) may be applied for research or experimental purposes pursuant to a valid research authorization. The applicant must provide the location of the research or experimental site with the research authorization request. The exemptions found in section 6268 do not apply when a person wishes to use these chemicals for research or experimental purposes.

Dont Do This

6426. Alternatives and Mitigation Measures.(a) Each licensed agricultural pest control adviser and grower, when determining if and when to use a pesticide that requires a permit, shall consider, and if feasible, adopt any reasonable, effective and practical mitigation measure or use any feasible alternative which would substantially lessen any significant adverse impact on the environment.(b) Each licensed agricultural pest control operator shall have available a copy of a written recommendation covering each agricultural use application of a pesticide that requires a permit, and operate in accordance with a pesticide permit issued by the commissioner. The standards for such recommendations are established in Section 6556.

6600. General Standards of Care.

Each person performing pest control shall:(a) Use only pest control equipment which is in good repair and safe to operate.(b) Perform all pest control in a careful and effective manner.(c) Use only methods and equipment suitable to insure proper application of pesticides.(d) Perform all pest control under climatic conditions suitable to insure proper application of pesticides.(e) Exercise reasonable precautions to avoid contamination of the environment.

6601. General Application of Standards.

(a) Whenever pesticide product labeling requires the use of personal protective equipment or specifies other restrictions or procedures be followed, the application of that labeling requirement to an owner or operator of the property to be treated, their families, and others, shall be consistent with any applicable standards for employeesin Subchapter 3, commencing with Section 6700.(b) It is not the intent of these regulations to require separate or duplicate equipment or facilities. Equipment and facilities provided for compliance with the requirements of other agencies may also be used for complying with these regulations provided the equipment and facilities meet the requirements of these regulations.

6609. Wellhead Protection

(a) Except as provided in subsection (b), the following activities shall be prohibited within 100 feet of a well (including domestic, municipal, agricultural, dry or drainage, monitoring, or abandoned wells):(1) mixing, loading, and storage of pesticides.(2) rinsing of spray equipment or pesticide containers.(3) maintenance of spray equipment that could result in spillage of pesticide residues on the soil.(4) application of preemergent herbicides.(b) Wells shall not be subject to the requirements in (a) if they are:(1) sited so that runoff water from irrigation or rainfall does not move from the perimeter of the wellhead toward the wellhead and contact or collect around any part of the wellhead including the concrete pad or foundation; or(2) protected by a berm constructed of any material sufficient to prevents movement of surface runoff water from the perimeter of the wellhead to the wellhead.(c) Application of preemergent herbicides shall be prohibited between the berm and the wellhead.

6614. Protection of Persons, Animals, and Property.

(a) An applicator prior to and while applying a pesticide shall evaluate the equipment to be used, meteorological conditions, the property to be treated, and surrounding properties to determine the likelihood of harm or damage.(b) Notwithstanding that substantial drift would be prevented, no pesticide application shall be made or continued when:(1) There is a reasonable possibility of contamination of the bodies or clothing of persons not involved in the application process;(2) There is a reasonable possibility of damage to nontarget crops, animals, or other public or private property; or(3) There is a reasonable possibility of contamination of nontarget public or private property, including the creation of a health hazard, preventing normal use of such property. In determining a health hazard, the amount and toxicity of the pesticide, the type and uses of the property and related factors shall be considered.

Bees

6650. Pesticides Toxic to Bees.(a) Pesticides toxic to bees are those that include the words "toxic to bees" on the labeling of the pesticide, regardless of modifying words on the label that state "highly" or "moderately."(b) Bees are considered to be inactive from one hour after sunset to two hours before sunrise or when the temperature is below 55 degrees Fahrenheit. The sunset and sunrise times will be those indicated in the local newspaper.(c) Residual toxicity (RT) time is that period of time after completing a pesticide application until there is minimal toxic effect to bees. The RT time is specified on product labeling and is based upon Residual Toxicity25 (RT25) studies. RT25 studies determine 25 percent bee mortality based on the test bee population exposed to the formulated pesticide product applied to foliage.NOTE: Authority cited: Section 29102, Food and Agricultural Code.

6652. Availability for Notification.(a) Each beekeeper who desires advance notice of applications of pesticides shall inform the commissioner of a two-hour period between 6 a.m. and 8 p.m. each day, during which time the beekeeper shall be available for contact, at the beekeeper's expense, to receive advance notice from persons intending to apply pesticide(s). This request for notification shall expire on December 31 each year.(b) This Section shall apply statewide. However, from March 15 through May 15 in a citrus/bee protection area, if there are conflicts between the provisions of this Section and those of Section 6656, Section 6656 shall prevail.

6654. Notification to Beekeepers.(a) Each person intending to apply any pesticide toxic to bees to a blossoming plant shall, prior to the application, inquire of the commissioner, or of a notification service designated by the commissioner, whether any beekeeper with apiaries within one mile of the application site has requested notice of such application.(b) If the person performing pest control is advised of a request for notification, he or she shall notify the beekeeper, at least 48 hours in advance of the application, of the time and place the application is to be made, the crop and acreage to be treated, the method of application, the identity and dosage rate of the application to be applied, and how the person performing pest control may be contacted by the beekeeper. This time may be increased or decreased by the commissioner, or by an agreement of both the beekeeper and the person performing the pest control work.(c) This section shall apply statewide. However, from March 15 through May 15 in a citrus/bee protection area, if there are conflicts between the provisions of this section and those of section 6656, section 6656 shall prevail.

Storage, Transportation and Disposal

6670. General Requirement.Pesticides, emptied containers or parts thereof, or equipment that holds or has held a pesticide, shall not be stored, handled, emptied, disposed of, or left unattended in such a manner or at any place where they may present a hazard to persons, animals (including bees), food, feed, crops or property. The commissioner may take possession of such unattended pesticides or emptied containers to abate such hazard.

6672. Security of Pesticides and Pesticide Containers.(a) No person shall deliver a container that holds, or has held, a pesticide to a property unless he stores it in an enclosure or closure complying with the requirements of this Section or delivers it to a person in charge of the property or his agent, or a pest control operator or his employee. The person receiving the container shall control access to it in accordance with this Section.(b) Each person who controls the use of any property or premises is responsible for all containers or equipment on the property that hold, or have held, a pesticide. Unless all such containers are under his personal control so as to avoid contact by unauthorized persons, he shall:(1) Provide a person responsible to him to maintain such control over the containers at all times; or(2) Store all such containers in a locked enclosure, or in the case of liquid pesticides in a container larger than 55 gallons in capacity, the container shall have a locked closure. Either shall be adequate to prevent unauthorized persons from gaining access to any of the material.

6674. Posting of Pesticide Storage Areas.Signs visible from any direction of probable approach shall be posted around all storage areas where containers that hold, or have held, pesticides required to be labeled with the signal words "warning" or "danger" are stored. Each sign shall be of such size that it is readable at a distance of 25 feet and be substantially as follows:DANGERPOISON STORAGE AREAALL UNAUTHORIZED PERSONS KEEP OUTKEEP DOOR LOCKED WHEN NOT IN USEThe notice shall be repeated in an appropriate language other than English when it may reasonably be anticipated that persons who do not understand the English language will come to the enclosure.

6676. Container Requirements.Except as provided in the Food and Agricultural Code pertaining to service containers, any container that holds, or has held, any pesticide, when stored or transported, shall carry the registrant's label. All lids or closures shall be securely tightened except when the procedure described in Section 6684 has been followed. This Section shall not apply to measuring devices that are not used to store or transport a pesticide.

6678. Service Container Labeling.Service containers, other than those used by a person engaged in the business of farming when the containers are used on the property the person is farming, shall be labeled with:(a) The name and address of the person or firm responsible for the container;(b) The identity of the pesticide in the container; and(c) The word "Danger," "Warning," or "Caution," in accordance with the label on the original container.

6680. Prohibited Containers for Pesticides.In no case shall a pesticide be placed or kept in any container of a type commonly used for food, drink or household products.

6682. Transportation.(a) Pesticides shall not be transported in the same compartment with persons, food or feed.(b) Pesticide containers shall be secured to vehicles during transportation in a manner that will prevent spillage onto the vehicle or off the vehicle. Paper, cardboard, and similar containers shall be covered when necessary to protect them from moisture.

6684. Rinse and Drain Procedures.

6686. Exemptions.(a) Sections 6672, 6674, 6682, and 6684 shall not apply to containers that hold or have held pesticides packaged, labeled, and used for home use when in the possession of a householder on his property.(b) Sections 6670 and 6672(b) shall not apply to exempt materials specified in Section 6402 except where the commissioner, or the director in any county where there is no commissioner, determines that a hazard to public health and safety exists requiring the control specified in sections 6670 and 6672(b).(c) Section 6684 shall not apply to outer shipping containers that are not contaminated with a pesticide.(d) This article shall not apply to sanitizers, disinfectants, or medical sterilants.

Pesticide Contamination Protection

6900. Antifouling Paints or Coatings Containing Tributyltin.Antifouling paints or coatings that contain tributyltin shall have an average release rate of no more than four micrograms of organotin per square centimeter per day as determined by the EPA testing procedure (ASTM Draft 6).

6910. Prohibition of Use and Sale of Pesticide Products Containing Tributyltin.(a) No person shall possess for use or use a pesticide product containing tributyltin for the control of fouling microorganisms (such as bacteria, algae, or fungi) in cooling water systems in the counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, and Sonoma for the control of fouling microorganisms (such as bacteria, algae, or fungi) in cooling water systems.(b) No person in the counties listed in subsection (a) shall sell to users a pesticide containing tributyltin for the control of fouling microorganisms (such as bacteria, algae, or fungi) in cooling water systems.

6920. Prohibition of Use and Sale of Pesticide Products Containing Copper.(a) No person shall possess for use or use a pesticide product containing copper sulfate for the control in sewers and drains, of tree or other plant roots, or fungal slime in the counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano and Sonoma.(b) No person in the counties listed in subsection (a) shall sell to users a pesticide product containing copper sulfate for the control in sewers, and drains, of tree or other plant roots, or fungal slime.

Other Protection StrategeryEmployee TrainingPPEPesticides, labelsMaintenanceLabeling availableInspectorsEmergency InformationNotification/ PostingWhen requiredFarm Labor Contractors

OtherSquirrel BaitEndangered SpeciesPRESCRIBE (DPR)309 Endangered Species in CAStreamside No-Spray Buffer Zones

OtherVOC EmissionsFumigant methyl bromide; 1,3-dichloropropene); chloropicrin; metam-sodium;metam-potassium;etcNonfumigant abamectin, chlorpyrifos, gibberellins, and oxyfluorfenApplications to Alfalfa, Almonds, Citrus, Cotton, Grapes, Pistachio, WalnutsGrowers must obtain PCA recommendation

Loss of property beekeepers

Complaints Have to be investigated and someone always. Thousands of dollars for a couple hundred dollar fineEnvironmentalists vs Farmers One bad apple spoils bunch

DPR collaboraties w/ Cal EPA Air Resources board and Office of Environmental Health

-monitor and study the low-level off site movement-If they find the drift is harmful to health, review pesticide rules and change them to protect people.*Drift is off-site movement

Particles soil contaminated drift

Drift can occur even using pesticides are applied following all the rulesSome pesticides were born to be a drifter

Drift can occur hours, or even days later.

*Spray drift- liquid droplets, dust particles, vapor. Vapor formed as a liquid or oil dries, or it can drift pesticide formulation is already a gas (fumigant)

Illegal application ex. An applicator neglects to follow fumigation application rules. (Fumigants escape quickly from application sites and cause problems)

Correct applications - Days or even weeks after application, pesticides can volatize into gas. Low levels of gas carried long distances by air currents.

Vapor drift from legal applications is difficult to predict. What weather will be like even days after application

Unavoidable applicators are legally required to take all possible measures to make sure that any off-site movement does not reach a level that could harm people or the environment.*Preventing harmful exposure to people or property requires that applicators, before using pesticides, evaluate: Their equipment. The weather. The site to be treated. The surrounding area to decide the likelihood of harm or damage.

After their evaluation, applicators must use available practices to reduce drift that might otherwise occur. Applicators: Must not make an application likely to result in harmful drift Must not proceed with any action likey to result in reasonable possibility of contaminating people/ property

Dont follow the rules, or if result injuring person, property found in violation and penalized*NO

We are enforcement specialists. Look at the facts/circumstances of each incident. If an applicator did not follow rules busted

When DPR learn of post-application problems from legal use, look for cause of problem change laws as necessary to keep residues out of air

**6742. Safe Equipment.The employer shall assure that equipment used for mixing, loading, transferring, or applying pesticides is inspected before each day of use and equipment with any safety defect is repaired or altered to remove the hazard before further use.

(b)(1) All openings on tanks used for mixing or applying pesticides shall be equipped with covers that will prevent splashes and spills.

(2) Flexible hoses carrying liquid pesticides in toxicity categories one or two under pressure shall not pass unshielded through the cockpit of an airplane or helicopter.

(3) Shut-off devices shall be installed on the exit end of all hoses carrying liquid pesticides in toxicity categories one or two from mixing tanks that are adequate to prevent splashes onto the employee doing the loading when filling operations are stopped and the filler hose is removed from the inlet to the tank of the application vehicle. As an alternative, a reversing action pump, or similar system, may be used that will empty the hose and eliminate dripping of liquid from the end of the hose when the filling operation is stopped.

(4) Each tank, with a capacity of more than 49 gallons, that is used to mix or apply any liquid mixture derived from a pesticide in toxicity categories one or two, shall have either:

A properly functioning means to indicate externally the internal liquid level in the tank such as a sight gauge; or

(B) The tank or the filler hose nozzle shall have a device that will automatically stop the filling operation before the pesticide liquid mixture spills over the top.

****Shall vs may*Also measuring pesticides w/ food and beverage containers***Specialized coating applied to hull of hsip/boat to slow growth of organisms that attach

Copper, organotin, and other biocides -- antifouling paints modern formulations

Copper may soon be banned as well**The time someone asked if this applied in this county if you have any questions ask Ag Commissioner (or ask Mario)**Squirrel BaitThis product is toxic to fish, birds, and other wildlife. Bait exposed to soil surfaces may be hazardous to birds and other wildlife. Dogs and other predatory and scavenging animals might be poisoned if they feed upon animals that have eaten this bait. Do not apply directly to water, to areas where surface water is present or to intertidal areas below the high-water mark. Do not contaminate water when disposing of equipment wash water or rinsate.

Endangered Species If you kill it, dont let anyone find out (joke)

Federally Endangered vs Federally Threatened and Rare (Not Listed)

Kit Fox, Kangaroo Rat, Steelhead (fish), Western Snowy Plover(bird) , Swainsons Hawk, Blund-nosed Leopard Lizard

Titmouse(joke)

No spray 60 ft ground applications/ 100ft aerial -> protect Pacific Salmon and Steelhead in CA, Oregon, Washington*VOC contribute to formation of ozone

Inflammation of lungsPremature deaths of elderlyCompromise the immune system

Phasing out of fumigants

Clean Air Act requires DPR to achieve specific pesticide VOC emmission levels and restrictions by 2014

No requirements for low VOC pesticides

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