SAN LUIS OBISPO/SAN FRANCISCO -- State Compensation Insurance Fund will host a free, day-long, Spanish-language “Train-the-Trainer” pesticide safety workshop in San Luis Obispo on September 27. The workshop will address the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Worker Protection Standard (WPS) for Agricultural Pesticides and is geared to train pesticide handlers and agricultural workers on how to properly handle a number of pesticides.

In 1992 the EPA revised the Worker Protection Standard for Agricultural Pesticides. The revised WPS requires that agricultural workers be given annual training in basic pesticide safety to prevent occupational exposures from agricultural pesticides. The WPS is a federal regulation designed to protect approximately 2.5 million agricultural workers and pesticide handlers that work in over 600,000 agricultural establishments including farms, forests, nurseries and greenhouses.

Featured speaker at the workshop will be Pedro Acero, a State Fund Loss Control Consultant with over twenty years experience in the field of pesticide safety. He is certified by the Department of Pesticide Regulation (California Environmental Protection Agency) in the Train the Trainers Program for Pesticide Handlers and Fieldworkers.

“Pesticide use is a big part of the agricultural industry” said Acero who will be presenting the workshop in Spanish, “However, not all pesticides are the same and its crucial workers and handlers understand the different categories and properties of commonly used pesticides in order to keep them safe. Proper handling of pesticides is paramount and this workshop highlights that.”

Agricultural owners, employers, managers, foremen, supervisors, labor contractors and anyone interested in improving their operation’s pesticide safety program are encouraged to attend the seminar.

Workshop highlights include:

• Learning to understand the requirements for pesticide safety training and use of personal protection equipment.
• Learning about decontamination supplies that should be on-hand and methods of providing emergency medical assistance.
• Participants will receive a certificate of attendance and will be included on the California Department of Pesticide Regulation’s list of qualified instructors.

The workshop is scheduled from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at San Luis Obispo County Farm Bureau, 651 Tank Farm Road, San Luis Obispo. Registration begins at 8:00 a.m. and free parking is available. Complimentary continental breakfast, lunch and refreshments will be served at the event.

To register, please call Wayne Nosler at (805) 988-5241 or Pedro Acero at (805) 988-5248. A faxed form can be sent to (805) 278-5138. To register via email, please email cwnosler@scif.com.

The San Luis Obispo seminar is part of a series of educational programs State Compensation Insurance Fund is holding throughout the state in order to help employers create safe workplaces. State Fund has the largest safety and health services program among California workers’ compensation insurance carriers.

Additional seminars in this series of educational programs are also available.