Surveillance of Personal Protective Equipment Practices in Agriculture

1. Surveillance of Personal Protective Equipment Practices in Agriculture Kimberly Faulkner, PhD, MPH for NIOSH and the National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory

2. Protecting U.S. farm crop workers • Personal Protective Equipment • Assess practices and barriers to best practices over time • Improve practices to reduce illness

3. Personal protective equipment A critical last line of defense

4. Personal protective equipment practices It’s only effective when selected and used correctly

5. Objectives • Study planning • Assessment of existing knowledge and methods • Development and administration of a standard questionnaire/focus groups

6. Study Planning • Study scope: Pesticide handlers, practices and barriers • Existing data sources • FLYER • PPE regulations

7. Study planning: Overview

8. Study Planning: Data sources

9. Study Planning: FLYER

10. 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 1910.132-1910.136, and 1910.138

11. Study Planning: Summary • Examine existing knowledge and do pre-assessment work on barriers • Identify partners and pool resources • Develop and administer questionnaire/focus groups • Develop and administer interventions

12. Objectives • Study planning • Assessment of existing knowledge and methods • Development and administration of a standard questionnaire

13. Assessing existing knowledge • National Agricultural Workers Study (NAWS) • NIOSH Sentinel Event Notification System for Occupational Risk (SENSOR) • Oregon OSHA Pesticide Emphasis Program

14. Assessing existing knowledge: NAWS • National sample, 1,230 interviews addressing PPE (1999-2001); 99% complete • PPE appropriateness not known • Using PPE correctly not known

15. 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

16. 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

17. 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

18. Assessing existing knowledge: OR OSHA/Results (2000-07)

19. Assessing existing knowledge: OR OSHA/Results (2000-07)

20. Assessing existing knowledge: OR OSHA/Results (2000-07)

21. 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

22. Objectives • Study planning • Assessment of existing knowledge and methods • Development and administration of a standard questionnaire/focus groups

23. Develop and administer standard • Questionnaires and focus groups (as appropriate) • Appropriate /inappropriate PPE • Appropriate use/misuse of PPE

24. 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

25. 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

26. 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

27. Develop and administer standard: Surveillance 2012, 2013, … 2012, 2013, … 2012, 2013, …

28. 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

29. 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

30. 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

31. 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