39'077 Weed Management

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39.077Weed Management

• Safety Issues on
• Weed Management

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Safety First Where to begin

• Read the label
• Understand the hazard symbol
• Use the appropriate safety equipment
• If more information is needed
• obtain a Material Safety Data Sheet
• contact an agricultural extension officer
• contact the manufacturer representative
• Keep 5 gallons of clean water
• at the mixing site
• on the sprayer

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Classification of Herbicides, Fungicides, and
Insecticides
Are classified according to the use hazard and
risk involved The categories of hazard are
Toxicity / Poison Explosive
Potential Flammability Corrosive The
categories of risks are
Danger Warning Caution
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Toxicity of pesticides!

• The LD50 refers to the dose of pesticide (in mg
  per kg of the test animals body weight) that is
  lethal to 50 of the group of test animals.
• Example If a pesticide has an LD50 value of
  10mg/kg, and the test animals each weight 1kg,
  then 50 of the animals will die if they each
  ate 10 mg of the pesticide
• Oral LD50 values as they relate to the Risk /
  Hazard Symbols

Danger Poison LD50 less than 500 mg/kg
indicates high toxicity
Caution Poison LD50 1000-2500 mg/kg indicates
low toxicity
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How Chemicals enter the body

• 1. Absorption
• Through skin, eyes, ear canals
• Most vulnerable areas
• eye
• groin area
• absorbs 10x faster than forearm
• 95 absorb through skin

Body Part Amount Absorbed Eye 100 Groin
area 100 Ear canal 47 Scalp
32 Abdomen 19 Foot 14 Palm of hand
12 Forearm 9
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How Chemicals enter the body(continued)

• 2. Inhalation
• Breathing in dusts, mists, fumes
• 3. Ingestion
• Through the mouth
• smoking, eating, licking lips, blowing out
  nozzles
• 4. Injection
• By veterinary needles, staples, nails,
• High pressure fluids forced under the skin

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Special Precautions when handling chemicals
1. Be aware of children 2. Take protective
clothing to the field 3. Best to use layers of
clothing 4. Wear a water resistant hat - no
baseball caps or leather hats 5. Wash clothes
daily 6. Wash your hands before eating,
smoking, using bathroom
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Special Precautions when handling
chemicals(continued)
Unsafe Practices
7. Choose a lapped zipper coverall 8. Wear
tightly woven clothing 9. Always pull sleeves
over gloves pants legs over rubber boots 10.
Store personal protective equipment outside a
chemical storage area 11. Dont wear
contact lenses - absorb chemical fumes 12.
Shower immediately after spraying - put on clean
clothes
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Pesticide Poisoning

• Occurs depending on level of exposure to
  chemicals
• Proper safety equipment is not worn
• Cholinesterase levels are low
• Cholinesterase is an enzyme in the body
  essential for the proper functioning of the
  central nervous system.
• Insecticides (organophosphates, carbamates) can
  interfere with the production of cholinesterase.
• Once symptoms occurs, avoid these insecticides
• Use these insecticides again until
  cholinesterase levels are
• normal

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Symptoms of Pesticide Poisoning
1. Headache 12. Diarrhea 2. Fatigue 13.
Vomiting 3. Excessive sweating 14. Twitching of
eyelids 4. Muscle weakness 15. Joint and muscle
pain 5. Nervousness 16. Slow heart rate 6.
Nausea 17. Constricted pupils 7. Blurring of
vision 18. General muscle twitching 8. Excessive
salivation 19. Loss of bladder and bowel
control 9. Tightness in chest 20. Convulsion 10.
Difficulty breathing 21. Coma 11.
Confusion 22. Respiratory failure
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Spill Response
1. Check the label for recommended spill clean
up 2. Use absorbent materials (kitty litter,
sawdust, sand) to absorb chemical 3.
Shovel to be used only for spill cleanup 4.
Plastic tarps or bags - to enclose absorbent
material
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Chemical Storage
1. Store in locked and well marked areas 2.
Away from human and animal feed 3. At least 150
feet from wells 4. At least 200 feet from
surface water 5. Store in original containers
ie. transfer chemical name safety
information from label
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Chemical Storage
6. Never store in beverage containers 7. Away
from childrens play and farm animal areas 8.
Keep a fire extinguisher close at hand 9. Keep
personal protective equipment separated
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Personal Protective Equipment

• Head Protection
• Eye Safety
• Respiratory Protection
• Hearing Protection
• Hand Protection
• Body Coverings
• Foot Protection
• First Aid

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Head Protection

• Hard hats
• Prevents many on-farm injuries
• - impacts, falling or flying objects
• cutting or trimming trees
• blasting repairs in enclosed places with low
  ceiling
• electrical work
• working with chemicals
• - best head protection
• dont wear baseball caps
• (cotton baseball caps absorb chemicals)

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Eye Safety

• You need eye protection when
• handling or applying pesticides
• working in dust, chaff or other flying
  particles
• working around trees
• specially under low hanging branches
• working in the workshop
• drilling
• grinding
• sawing or lathing

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Eye Safety(continued)

• 1. Safety glasses
• can be fitted with prescription and
  non-prescription lenses
• side shields can be attached to the frames
• 2. Goggles
• gives front and side protection
• fit over street glasses
• 3. Clear plastic face shields
• best protection against
• chemical splashes
• flying particles
• unexpected heavy impacts

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Basic Eye First Aid

• Depends upon the type of injury sustained
• let natural tears wash out specks in the eye
• dont rub the eye, if possible
• 1. Blows to the eye
• apply cold compresses for 15 minutes
• reduce pain and swelling
• if discoloration
• see a physician

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Basic Eye First Aid(continued)

• 2. Cut and Punctures to the Eye
• bandage the eye lightly
• see a physician at once
• 3. Chemical Burns to the Eye
• have fresh water available for washing the eyes
• continuously flush with water for about 15
  minutes
• dont apply anything else
• see a physician
• take the container or label of the chemical
  involved

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Respiratory Protection
Type of hazards 1. Particulates 2. Gases 3.
Vapors
respirators must be NIOSH (National Institute of
Occupational Safety and Health) approved
The respirator must be selected for the specific
contaminant(s) and it must fit properly
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Particulates

• Are particles of solid material and droplets of
  liquids that can be easily filtered from the air
• 1. Dusts and mists
• present in the air
• carried by wind for a considerable distance
• - may be small enough to be carried deep into
  the lungs
• - they may be toxic and carry bacteria and
  fungi with them
• grain and feed dust
• mold
• silica dust
• pesticides

Mechanical filter respirators approved for toxic
dusts and mists provide adequate protection
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Particulates(continued)

• 2. Asbestos-containing dusts
• Harmful - sharp asbestos fibers can penetrate
  lung cells
• - lung cancer could result from asbestos
  exposure
• 3. Fumes
• Solid particles of burned or evaporated metal
• - clump together to form smaller particles than
  dusts and mists
• (welding fumes are the most common fumes on the
  farm)

mechanical filter respirators with approval for
asbestos-containing dusts are required
mechanical filter respirators with approval for
fumes must be used
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Gases

• 1. Toxic gases (one breath can cause instant
  respiratory arrest and death)
• Hydrogen sulfide (manure gas)
• Nitrogen dioxide (silo gas)
• 2. Irritant gases (exposure cause burns and
  irritation to body tissues)
• Ammonia (anhydrous ammonia)
• 3. Poisonous gases (causes death by asphyxiation,
  absorbed by blood 200x more
• readily than oxygen)
• Carbon monoxide

use only respirators approved for the toxic
gases and concentrations that will be encountered
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Common Vapors on the Farm

• Organic vapors
• Solvents
• Pesticides
• Lacquer thinner
• Spray painting
• Adhesives
• Gasoline

Mechanical filter respirators will trap the
particles, but the vapors will still enter the
body Chemical cartridge respirators must be
used to remove vapors from the air Cartridges
approved for organic vapors are color coded with
a black band or label
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Hearing Protection

• Over exposure to high levels of noise
• damage your hearing
• aggravates fatigue and stress
• major cause of accidents on the farm
• Noise production on the farm are cause by
• farm machinery
• chain saws
• power mowers
• blowers
• conveyors
• hogs screaming at feeding time

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Types of hearing protection
1. Formable plug (a) - compressed prior to
insertion, expandable to provide snug fit 2.
Premolded plug (b) - flexible material
performed to fit the ear, have a joining cored to
prevent loss 3. Earmuffs (c) - adjustable head
band with rigid cups and cushions that seal
around the ear
do not use cotton balls, they dont reduce the
damaging sound levels if noise can drown out
a person speaking to you from arms length, you
need hearing protection
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• Sound intensity is measured in decibels
• 90 decibels (dB) is the loudest sound that
  workers should be
• exposed to for 8 hours or more
• farmers work longer than 8 hr/day during the
  crop production
• season
• - should be exposed to less than 90 dB at
  any given time
• - need ear protection

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Decibel readings for various types of equipment

• Examples
• Normal conversation 60 dB
• Small chicken coop 70 dB
• John Deer 8560 tractor 76 dB
• Chore Time 18 RLX vent. fan 77 dB
• Massey Ferguson 750 combine 90 dB
• International 230 swather 95 dB
• Farm King 841 (12 Hp) auger 102 dB
• Adams grain dryer 107 dB
• Chainsaw 115 dB
• Swine confinement at feeding 133 dB

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Hand Protection

• Gloves protects the hands from
• rough or sharp-edged objects
• chemicals
• dirt
• greases
• solvents
• fuels
• paint

The best method to protect the hands and prevent
dermatitis thoroughly wash your hands with soap
and water and dry them with a single-use towel
(if possible)
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Type of Gloves
1. Fabric - inexpensive and suitable for many
tasks, breath well, minimizes perspiration
buildup - could be laundered to extend its
life - protects from minor cuts and scrapes 2.
Leather - best choice for protection -
protects from cuts, scrapes, friction and other
hazards - inexpensive, breathable, tough and
flexible - treat with leather care product
(mink oil) to extend its life
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Type of Gloves(continued)
3. Rubber - protects from the use of chemicals
on the farm, shop, and at home - choose the
appropriate rubber glove material for the task
butyl . used to work with gases and
vapors neoprene .. used to work with
chemicals nitrile ... used to work
with solvents, harsh fats, and petroleum -
while still on, wash with warm water and soap,
hang to dry 4. Cut-resistant - protects from
handling glass and sharp objects
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Body Covering

• 1. Leather aprons
• - used when welding to prevent burns from
  splattering molten metal and
• slag
• 2. Rubber aprons
• - needed when handling liquids or
  concentrated chemicals
• - wear them even if other protective clothing
  is worn
• protects the groin area from chemical
  splashes
• this area absorbs chemical 10x faster than
  through the forearm
• 3. Chain saw safety chaps
• - minimize the risk of cutting the legs
• - when handling square bales
• reduce the number of scratches and
  scrapes on the legs

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Body Covering(continued)
4. Chemical resistant coveralls - Standard tyvek
non porous, provides excellent protection
from pesticide dusts and mists splashes of
liquid may penetrate the fabrics, still wear a
rubber apron - Polylaminated Tyvek
features a plastic film bonded fabric, provides a
tougher, more liquid resistant resist
tearing better than standard tyvek, are good
emergency rain suit - Perforated Tyvek
not recommended for pesticide application
excellent for dirty tasks equipment maintenance,
painting, insulating
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Foot Protection
1. Steel toed safety shoes protects you from
- sharp objects - dropped heavy objects -
heavy livestock stepping on your feet 2. Steel
toed rubber boots protects you from -
exposure to hazardous chemicals - getting your
feet wet involving prolonged contact with water
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CSA approved safety equipment could be purchase
at
1. Implement dealerships 2. Farm supply
stores 3. Safety supply companies 4. Pharmacies
5. Agriculture chemical dealers 6. Hardware
stores
Check the yellow pages under SAFETY EQUIP
CLOTHING
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First Aid

• First response to an accident
• Know what to do, stay calm
• Keep a shock victim covered to reduce heat loss
• Try to stop bleeding by applying pressure to a
  wound
• Do not remove a victim with a spinal injury
• do it only if further danger is imminent
• All vehicles and buildings should have a first
  aid kit

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First Aid Kit 1. Keep a small first aid kit in
all vehicles 2. Larger first aid kit should be
kept at home and machinery shop 3. Check the kit
regularly to ensure all contents are replenished,
sealed and usable
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Preparation to put together a farm emergency/
first aid kit
1. Get appropriate first aid training - renew it
periodically 2. Dont rely upon day-to-day minor
injuries - select items to help you handle major
traumas 3. Pack items for individual needs -
personal medical information and supplies - name
and telephone numbers of the family doctors
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Preparation to put together a farm emergency/
first aid kit(continued)
4. Always include emergency telephone numbers 5.
Pack Red Cross manual of first aid chart 6. Check
first aid kit every three months - re-stock if
necessary 7. Label all first aid kits
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Preparation to put together a farm Emergency/
First Aid kit(continued)
8. Remember communication and heat - if caught
in the dark flashlight, matches, and flares -
flashlight - helps to signal for help -
waterproof matches - generates heat - flares -
generates heat and signal for help
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What to pack in your first aid kit?
For more information visit the NASD (National Ag
Safety Database) (National Ag Safety
Database) http//www.cdc.gov/nasd/menu/topic/first
aid.html For emergencies call 911 Poison
Control Center Winnipeg [phone]
Regina [phone] Toll free
1-800-667-4545 Manitoba Environment Spills
944-4888