Guidance on Pesticide Hazards – Workplace Health and Safety

Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority have released a review of glyphosate use.

Pesticides, including herbicides, insecticides and fungicides, are hazardous chemicals  and are a health risk if safety precautions are not taken.

Common pesticides include:

• Glyphosate
• Paraquat
• Organophosphates
• Pyrethrin

As with all hazardous chemicals, particularly those which may cause cancer, worker exposure must be minimised, including skin contact, breathing in vapour and mists, and accidental ingestion through poor hand hygiene. Exposure to herbicides and pesticides may cause serious health problems, so check each product’s safety data sheet for possible harmful health effects.

Short term health effects may include:

• irritation to skin, eyes, nose or throat
• nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea
• headache
• loss of consciousness, extreme weakness, seizures or deeath

Long term health effects may include:

• Parkinsons disease
• Asthma or other respiratory illness
• cancers including leukaemia and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma

It is important to get a copy of the safety data sheet SDS for the herbicide or pesticide being used. An SDS Provides comprehensive health and handling information compared with the product label. It is important all workers, especially those involved in decanting and diluting concentrated or full-strength products, follow all safe instructions in the SDS.

Minimise the exposure of workers herbicides and pesticides by:

• obtaining the SDS for hazardous chemicals used
• understanding and following all the safety instructions on the SDS
• using engineering, isolation or substitution as the primary control measures, particularly for decanting and diluting tasks
• providing personal protective equipment (PPE) or respiratory protective equipment (RPE) to use in combination with higher order controls
• ensuring respirators have the appropriate particulate and/or vapour filter (if you need assistance with this talk to your PPE supplier)
• fit testing(PDF, 883 KB) tight-fitting respirators for each worker who is required to wear one
• providing all workers, including mobile workers, with personal hygiene facilities
• training workers to use the product and minimise exposure.

Health monitoring may be required where there is significant risk to workers’ health because of exposure to pesticides such as organophosphates.

The Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) controls and regulates pesticides and herbicides. For more information about the APVMA and its position on glyphosate visit apvma.gov.au