[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 40, Volume 23]
[Revised as of July 1, 2007]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 40CFR170.150]

[Page 258]
 
                   TITLE 40--PROTECTION OF ENVIRONMENT
 
         CHAPTER I--ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED)
 
PART 170_WORKER PROTECTION STANDARD--Table of Contents
 
                     Subpart B_Standard for Workers
 
Sec. 170.150  Decontamination.

    (a)(1) Requirement. The agricultural employer must provide 
decontamination supplies for workers in accordance with this section 
whenever:
    (i) Any worker on the agricultural establishment is performing an 
activity in the area where a pesticide was applied or a restricted-entry 
interval (REI) was in effect within the last 30 days, and;
    (ii) The worker contacts anything that has been treated with the 
pesticide, including, but not limited to soil, water, plants, plant 
surfaces, and plant parts.
    (2) Exception. The 30-day time period established in paragraph 
(a)(1)(i) of this section shall not apply if the only pesticides used in 
the treated area are products with an REI of 4 hours or less on the 
label (but not a product without an REI on the label). When workers are 
in such treated areas, the agricultural employer shall provide 
decontamination supplies for not less than 7 days following the 
expiration of any applicable REI.
    (b) General conditions. (1) The agricultural employer shall provide 
workers with enough water for routine washing and emergency eyeflushing. 
At all times when the water is available to workers, the employer shall 
assure that it is of a quality and temperature that will not cause 
illness or injury when it contacts the skin or eyes or if it is 
swallowed.
    (2) When water stored in a tank is to be used for mixing pesticides, 
it shall not be used for decontamination or eyeflushing, unless the tank 
is equipped with properly functioning valves or other mechanisms that 
prevent movement of pesticides into the tank.
    (3) The agricultural employer shall provide soap and single-use 
towels in quantities sufficient to meet worker's needs.
    (4) To provide for emergency eyeflushing, the agricultural employer 
shall assure that at least 1 pint of water is immediately available to 
each worker who is performing early-entry activities permitted by Sec. 
170.112 and for which the pesticide labeling requires protective 
eyewear. The eyeflush water shall be carried by the early-entry worker, 
or shall be on the vehicle the early-entry worker is using, or shall be 
otherwise immediately accessible.
    (c) Location. (1) The decontamination supplies shall be located 
together and be reasonably accessible to and not more than 1/4 mile from 
where workers are working.
    (2) For worker activities performed more than 1/4 mile from the 
nearest place of vehicular access:
    (i) The soap, single-use towels, and water may be at the nearest 
place of vehicular access.
    (ii) The agricultural employer may permit workers to use clean water 
from springs, streams, lakes, or other sources for decontamination at 
the remote work site, if such water is more accessible than the water 
located at the nearest place of vehicular access.
    (3) The decontamination supplies shall not be maintained in an area 
being treated with pesticides.
    (4) The decontamination supplies shall not be maintained in an area 
that is under a restricted-entry interval, unless the workers for whom 
the supplies are provided are performing early-entry activities 
permitted by Sec. 170.112 and involving contact with treated surfaces 
and the decontamination supplies would otherwise not be reasonably 
accessible to those workers.
    (d) Decontamination after early-entry activities. At the end of any 
exposure period for workers engaged in early-entry activities permitted 
by Sec. 170.112 and involving contact with anything that has been 
treated with the pesticide to which the restricted-entry interval 
applies, including, but not limited to, soil, water, air, or surfaces of 
plants, the agricultural employer shall provide, at the site where the 
workers remove personal protective equipment, soap, clean towels, and a 
sufficient amount of water so that the workers may wash thoroughly.

[57 FR 38151, Aug. 21, 1992, as amended at 61 FR 33212, June 26, 1996]