Pesticide Safety

For pesticide poisoning, call 911 if the person is unconscious, has trouble breathing, or has convulsions. Otherwise, call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222.

For information about cleaning up or otherwise dealing with non-emergency pesticide spills, contact:

• The National Pesticide Center at 1-800-858-7378
• The pesticide manufacturer. Their contact information is on the product label

The Worker Protection Standard (WPS) is a federal regulation issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and enforeced in Kansas by the Kansas Department of Agriculture (KDA). The WPS applies whenever a pesticide is used in the production of agricultural plants that has an “Agricultural Use Requirements” section on the product label. The rule protects primarily workers (people employed to perform work activities related to the production of agricultural plants) and pesticide handlers (people employed to mix, load, or apply pesticides for use on agricultural establishments in the production of agricultural plants).

The Pesticide Educational Resources Collaborative (PERC) website offers WPS compliance manuals and assistance, English and Spanish training materials, Train-the-Trainer courses, videos, presentations, and fact sheets.