N.J. Admin. Code § 7:30-12.10

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 21, November 4, 2024

Section 7:30-12.10 - Decontamination

(a) If any worker on an agricultural establishment performs any activity in an area where a pesticide has been applied and who contacts anything that has been treated with the pesticide, including, but not limited to, soil, water, and plants, the agricultural employer shall provide, in accordance with this section, a decontamination site for routine washing and emergency decontamination.

1. If any pesticide with a restricted-entry interval greater than four hours was applied, the decontamination supplies shall be provided from the time workers first enter the treated area until at least 30 days after the restricted-entry interval expires.

2. If the only pesticides applied in the treated area are products with restricted-entry intervals of four hours or less, the decontamination supplies shall be provided from the time workers first enter the treated area until at least seven days after the restricted-entry interval expires.

3. If an agricultural employer directs a worker to perform activities in a treated area where a restricted-entry interval is in effect, the agricultural employer shall provide decontamination supplies in accordance with handler decontamination pursuant to N.J.A.C. 7:30-12.21.

i. The decontamination supplies for early-entry workers shall be outside any area being treated with pesticides or subject to a restricted-entry interval, unless the decontamination supplies would otherwise not be reasonably accessible to workers performing early-entry tasks.

ii. If the pesticide product labeling of the product applied requires protective eyewear, the agricultural employer shall provide at least one pint of water per worker in portable containers for eyeflushing that is immediately available to each worker who is performing early-entry activities.

iii. At the end of any early-entry activities the agricultural employer shall provide, at the site where the workers remove personal protective equipment, soap, single-use towels, and at least three gallons of water per worker so that the workers may wash thoroughly.

(b) The agricultural employer shall provide workers with at least one gallon of water per worker at the beginning of each worker's work period for routine washing and emergency decontamination. At all times when water is available to workers, the employer shall ensure that it is of a quality and temperature that shall not cause illness or injury when it contacts the skin or eyes or if it is swallowed.

1. If a water source is to be used for mixing pesticides, it shall not be used for decontamination, unless equipped with properly functioning valves or other mechanisms that prevent contamination of the water with pesticides, such as anti-backflow siphons, one-way or check valves, or an air gap sufficient to prevent contamination.

2. The agricultural employer shall provide soap and single-use towels for drying at each decontamination site in quantities sufficient to meet workers' reasonable needs. Neither hand sanitizing gels and liquids, nor wet towelettes meet the requirements for soap. Wet towelettes do not meet the requirement for single-use towels.

(c) The decontamination supplies shall be located together and reasonably accessible to where workers are working.

1. For worker activities performed more than one-quarter mile from the nearest place of vehicular access or more than one-quarter mile from any non-treated area:

i. The soap, single-use towels, and water may be at the nearest place of vehicular access.

2. The decontamination site shall not be in an area being treated with pesticides.

3. The decontamination site shall not be in an area that is under a restricted-entry interval, unless the workers for whom the site is provided are performing early-entry activities permitted by N.J.A.C. 7:30-12.4 and involving contact with treated surfaces and the decontamination site would otherwise not be reasonably accessible to those workers.

(d) At the end of any early-entry activities permitted under N.J.A.C. 7:30-12.4 and involving contact with anything that has been treated with a pesticide to which the restricted-entry interval applies, including, but not limited to, soil, water, air, or plants, the agricultural employer shall provide, at the site where workers remove PPE, soap, single-use towels, and at least three gallons of water per worker so that the workers may wash thoroughly.

N.J. Admin. Code § 7:30-12.10

Amended by 52 N.J.R. 756(a), effective 4/6/2020