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The WPS inspection
What to expect when we unexpectedly visit:
The inspector
The Board of Pesticides Control has five districts throughout the State that are routinely monitored by inspectors. They inspect all types of pesticide use and sales, respond to complaints about pesticides, and offer courtesy visits and educational information to help ensure that pesticides are used and distributed properly.
The inspection
If pesticides are applied to plants at your farm, forest, nursery or greenhouse, the federal Worker Protection Standard (WPS) will be one of the things we will inquire about via a thorough interview and checklist process. All of our inspections are designed to check for compliance USING AN "Inspection Checklist", but they are also intended to keep you informed about pesticide laws, including WPS and the protections it provides. Our goal is to have everyone involved with pesticides aware of the rules and doing their best to live up to them.
When
In most cases, our inspectors will come to your business unannounced in order to perform an accurate assessment of your pesticide activities. Inspectors do take into consideration the time constraints of peak growing season when scheduling these unexpected visits throughout the year.
How long
The entire inspection, including WPS, averages about 1 to 2 hours. The WPS portion can range from as little as 5 minutes for a one-person business, to a couple of hours for a complex operation with many employees.
Interview process
During the WPS portion of the inspection, we will first determine if you operate a family or non-family business, and then use the appropriate checklist to determine if you are in compliance. We will ask many detailed questions of the owner or manager with whom we are conducting the inspection, and will also interview workers and pesticide handlers to confirm they are given the required protections.
Compliance
Our inspector will point out violations noted during the inspections (if any) and will tell you how to meet compliance. Occasionally there are additional violations found during later review of inspection data. If violations are noted at either of these times, the inspector will send you a "Compliance Checklist" in the mail. This checklist will be the inspector's written review of violations found and corrective actions needed. In many instances, no additional enforcement action will result from the compliance issues noted. However, you should be aware that whether a more formal enforcement response is warranted is left to the sole discretion of the seven member Board of Pesticides Control.
Our inspectors have direct one-on-one contact with the entire pesticide-using community, as well as with the general public. They have a unique opportunity to provide specific information to keep people and the environment safe, and to promote compliance with pesticide regulations. Our goal is to help keep you and your employees safe and working within the law.
What is WPS?| Duties of both worker and handler employers | Additional duties of worker employers | Additional duties of handler employers | The WPS inspection | WPS Links
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