Personal Protective Equipment

Introduction

Personal protective equipment (PPE) is clothing and devices that are worn to protect the human body from contact with pesticides or pesticide residues. To prevent or reduce exposure to pesticides, you need to wear personal protective equipment. You are legally required to follow all personal protective equipment instructions that appear on the label or in labeling. Personal protective equipment includes such items as coveralls or protective suits, footwear, gloves, aprons, respirators, eyewear, and headgear. Ordinary shirts, pants, shoes and other regular work clothing usually are not considered personal protective equipment, although the pesticide labeling may require you to wear specific items of work clothing during some activities.

Pesticide labeling lists the minimum personal protective equipment you must wear while handling the pesticide. Sometimes the labeling lists different requirements for different activities. For example, more personal protective equipment may be required for mixing and loading than for application.

Chemical-Resistant Personal Protective Equipment

Some pesticide labeling requires you to wear chemical-resistant personal protective equipment. You must select a material that will be resistant for the period of time that you will be exposed to the pesticide. Most chemical-resistant personal protective equipment items are made of plastic or rubber, but these materials are not equally resistant to all pesticides and in all circumstances.

Choosing Chemical-Resistant Materials

Always read the pesticide labeling to see if it tells you what materials are resistant to the pesticide product. When you must select a chemical-resistant material, there are some general guidelines to follow. Cotton, leather, canvas, and other absorbent materials are not chemical resistant, even to dry formulations. Powders and dusts sometimes move through cotton and other woven materials as quickly as wet formulations and may remain in the fibers even after three launderings. Do not use hats that have a cloth or leather sweatband, and do not use cloth or cloth-lined gloves, footwear, and aprons. These materials are difficult or impossible to clean after pesticide gets on them, and they are too expensive to be disposed of after each use.

Chemical-resistant suits and hoods -- The best choice of materials for chemical-resistant suits and hoods is generally:

Read the packaging for the suits carefully to be sure that they are "chemical resistant," "chemical protective," or "liquid proof."

Other chemical-resistant items -- For other chemical-resistant items, such as gloves, footwear, aprons, and hats, you can choose from many types of materials. Any plastic or rubber material is resistant to dry pesticides and to water-based pesticides. Dry pesticides include dusts, granules, pellets, and some baits. Water-based pesticides include wettable powders, soluble powders, some solutions, dry flowables (water-dispersible granules), and microencapsulated pesticides.

The type of material that is resistant to non-water-based liquid pesticides depends on the type of solvent used. Watch for signs that the material is not chemical resistant. Sometimes it is easy to see when a plastic or rubber is not resistant to a pesticide. The material may:

If any of these changes occur, discard the items and choose another type of material.

Protecting Your Skin

The skin is the part of your body that usually gets the most exposure while you are handling pesticides. Pay particular attention to covering as much of your skin as possible. Remember that personal protective equipment protects you only if the pesticide remains on the outside of the material. Once the pesticide gets on the inside and next to your skin, the material works against you. It holds the pesticide tightly next to your skin for as long as it is worn. When this happens, more pesticide will get on your skin and cause irritation or will go through your skin and into your body.

Body Protection

Any time you handle pesticides, wear at least a long-sleeved shirt and long-legged pants. In some instances the pesticide labeling will require you to wear a coverall, a chemical-resistant suit, or a chemical-resistant apron.

Hand and Foot Protection

Pesticide handlers get by far the most pesticide exposure on their hands and forearms. As a result, most pesticide labeling will require you to wear chemical-resistant gloves at all times while handling the pesticide. Wear chemical-resistant gloves any time you may get pesticides on your hands.

Pesticide handlers also often get pesticides on their feet. Sturdy shoes and socks are sufficient to protect your feet during a few pesticide handling activities. Canvas, cloth, and leather are difficult or impossible to clean adequately, however. Consider using chemical-resistant materials when pesticides or pesticide residues, especially concentrates, may get on your footwear.

Avoid contaminating the inside of gloves and footwear -- Even when you are wearing gloves and footwear, you can get pesticides on your hands and feet unless the gloves and footwear are:

Contamination often happens when handlers remove their gloves briefly to adjust their equipment, open a pesticide container, wipe their face, etc., and then put the gloves on again over their contaminated hands. If you must remove your gloves during a handling activity, wash your gloves thoroughly before taking them off, and wash your hands thoroughly and dry them before you put the gloves on again.

Handlers also sometimes make the mistake of putting on footwear with contaminated hands. This may transfer the pesticide from your hands to your socks and feet.

You must keep pesticides from running down your sleeves or pants legs and into your gloves and footwear. For many jobs, you will be working some of the time with your arms raised and some of the time with them lowered. Close the glove cuff tightly outside the sleeve and put heavy-duty tape or an elastic band around the end of the glove where it meets the sleeve. Some gloves have a method of tightening the cuff to your sleeve so the pesticide cannot run down into the glove.

For jobs where your arms are mostly lowered, place sleeves outside the gloves to keep pesticides from running down the sleeves and into the gloves. Use gloves that go up over your wrist and at least half way to your elbow. If you will be raising your arms most of the time, you may leave your gloves outside your sleeves. Fold the cuff of your gloves up towards your fingers an inch or two to catch the pesticide before it runs down your arm.

For jobs when you will be exposed to pesticides on your legs, put your pants legs outside the boots so the pesticide will not travel down your leg and collect in the boots or shoe covers.

Head and Neck Protection

If you will be exposed to pesticides from above, wear something to protect your head and neck. A chemical-resistant hood or wide-brimmed hat will help keep pesticides off your head, neck, eyes, mouth, and face. Plastic "safari" hats with plastic sweatbands are a good choice. They are relatively cool in hot weather. Other more flexible hats and hoods are also available in chemical-resistant materials. Many chemical-resistant jackets or coveralls can be purchased with attached protective hoods.

Protecting Your Eyes

When the pesticide labeling requires you to wear protective eyewear, wear goggles, a face shield, or safety glasses with shields at both the brow and sides. Eyes are very sensitive to the chemicals in some pesticide formulations, especially concentrates, and temporary blindness caused by an accident may delay or prevent self-treatment. Eyes also readily absorb some pesticides.

Shielded safety glasses are a good choice in many handling situations, because they are comfortable, do not cause fogging or sweating, and give good eye protection for many exposure situations. However, if you will be applying mists, fogs, or aerosols indoors, or in any other situation where you will be enveloped in a spray, mist, or dust, wear goggles that fit tightly against your face.

Either goggles or shielded safety glasses can be worn with a half-face respirator. Full-face respirators are supplied with their own face shield, so additional eye protection is not required.

Protecting Your Respiratory Tract

The respiratory tract -- the lungs and other parts of the breathing system -- is much more absorbent than the skin. You must wear a respirator when the pesticide labeling directs you to do so. Even if the labeling does not require it, you should consider wearing a respiratory protective device:

Some pesticide labeling lists the type of respirator you should wear when handling the product. Other labeling requires the use of a respirator, but does not specify the type or model to be used. When the pesticide labeling requires you to use a respirator, you must wear one that is approved by NIOSH and MSHA.

Studies have shown that many pesticide handlers do not use respirators correctly and so are not being well protected. Before you use a respirator, you should be trained in the correct procedures for selecting, fitting, cleaning and sanitizing, inspecting, and maintaining respiratory protective equipment.

Air-Purifying Respirators

In most situations where pesticide handlers need to use a respirator, some type of air-purifying respirator provides enough protection. Air-purifying respirators will not protect you from fumigants, from extremely high concentrations of vapor, or when the oxygen supply is low.

Functions of air-purifying respirators -- Air-purifying respirators remove contaminants from the air in two ways:

Sometimes you will need only a respirator that filters dusts and mists from the air; at other times, you will need one that removes gases and vapors as well.

Wear a dust/mist-filtering respirator if the pesticide labeling tells you to or if you will be exposed to pesticide dusts, powders, mists, or sprays in your breathing zone. Wear a respirator that also removes vapors if the pesticide labeling tells you to or if you will be exposed to gases or vapors in your breathing zone.

Styles of air-purifying respirators -- Air-purifying respirators are of three basic styles:

Cartridges may contain either dust/mist-filtering material or vapor-removing material. For pesticide handling tasks where vapor removal is needed, a prefilter must be used with the vapor-removing cartridge. The prefilter removes dusts, mists, and other particles before the air passes through the vapor-removing cartridge.

A canister contains both dust/mist filtering and vapor-removing material. Canisters contain more air-purifying material than cartridges. They last much longer and may protect you better in situations where the concentration of gas or vapor in the air is high. They are also much heavier and more uncomfortable to wear.

Selecting and using dust/mist-filtering devices -- Dust/mist filtering masks and cartridges are approved by NIOSH and MSHA. You must wear one that has their stamp of approval. Nonapproved filters are not as protective and are not acceptable.

Pesticide handlers must wear dust/mist filtering masks or cartridges with NIOSH/MSHA approval number prefix TC-21C.

When you wear a dust/mist-filter -- either a mask, cartridge, or prefilter -- you will have more trouble breathing as more dusts, mists, and other particles become trapped in the filter material. When breathing becomes too difficult, replace the filter. Eight hours of use is usually the limit for these filters. During continual use, you may need to change filters twice a day, or even more often in dusty or dirty conditions. Do not use a dust/mist mask when the pesticide will completely soak the mask and be held close to the skin and breathing passages. Replace the mask if it gets soaked or loses its shape.

Selecting and using vapor-removing devices -- Vapor-removing devices are rated by NIOSH for the types of gases and vapors they will remove. For pesticide handling tasks where vapor protection is needed, NIOSH requires that an organic-vapor-removing material and a pesticide prefilter be used.

Pesticide handlers must use either:

When you wear a vapor-removing respirator, remember that vapor-removing materials gradually lose their ability to hold more gases and vapors. The instructions on some other materials will tell you to replace them after a specific number of hours of use. If there are no instructions about replacement, change the cartridge or canister after about 8 hours of use. If you notice an odor, taste, irritation, or dizziness, that is a signal that you are no longer being protected.

Fitting air-purifying respirators -- Respirators fit wearers in one of two ways. Most must seal tightly to the face; others are loose-fitting.

Face-sealing respirators must form a tight seal against your face to be effective. Otherwise, pesticides can leak in around the edges. People with beards cannot wear this style of respirator because a tight seal cannot be formed through the hair. These respirators must be fitted to each wearer and are not interchangeable among handlers.

Dust/mist masks are face-sealing respirators. They fit over your nose and mouth and have a clip that you press around the bridge of your nose to help form a seal. Most cartridge and canister respirators are also face-sealing respirators. Full-face styles form and keep a tight seal better than half-face styles.

Many pesticide handlers are not being adequately protected while wearing face-sealing cartridge and canister respirators, because they often break the seal by pulling the respirator away from their face to get temporary relief from the heat, sweat, itching, or difficult breathing. Once the seal is broken in the exposure area, the respirator's ability to protect you is greatly reduced. Face-sealing cartridge and canister respirators are most useful for short-term tasks.

Disposables and Reusables

Personal protective equipment items either should be disposable or should be easy to clean and sturdy enough for repeated use.

Disposables

Disposable personal protective equipment items are not designed to be cleaned and reused. Discard them when they become contaminated with pesticides.

Reusables

Some personal protective equipment that you buy may be designed to be cleaned and reused several times. However, do not make the mistake of reusing these items when they are no longer protecting you. Most protective eyewear and respirator bodies, face pieces and helmets are designed to be cleaned and reused. These items may last many years if they are good quality and are maintained correctly.

Maintaining Personal Protective Equipment

When you finish an activity where you are handling pesticides or are exposed to them, remove your personal protective equipment right away. Wash the outside of your gloves with detergent and water before you remove them. Consider washing the outside of other chemical-resistant items before you remove them also. This helps you avoid contacting the contaminated part of the items while you are removing them and helps keep the inside surface uncontaminated. If any other clothes have pesticides on them, change them also. Determine whether the items should be disposed of or cleaned for reuse.

Place reusable items in a plastic bag or hamper away from your other personal clothes and away from the family laundry. Place disposables in a separate plastic bag or container. The pesticides remaining on your personal protective equipment, work clothing, and other work items could injure persons who touch them. Do not allow children or pets near them. Do not allow contaminated gloves, boots, respirators, or other equipment to be washed in streams, ponds, or other bodies of water.

Clean all reusable personal protective equipment items between uses. Even if they were worn for only a brief period of exposure to pesticides during that day, wash them before you wear them again. Pesticide residues that remain on the personal protective equipment are likely to continue to move slowly through the personal protective equipment material, even chemical-resistant material. If you wear that personal protective equipment again, pesticide may already be on the inside next to your skin. Also, personal protective equipment that is worn several times between laundering may build up pesticide residues. The residues can reach a level that can harm you, even if you are handling pesticides that are not highly toxic.

Washing Personal Protective Equipment

Wash pesticide-contaminated items separately from uncontaminated clothing and laundry. Otherwise, the pesticide residues can be transferred onto the other clothing or laundry and can harm you or your family.

Washing procedure -- Follow the manufacturer's instructions for cleaning chemical-resistant items. If the manufacturer instructs you to wash the item but gives no detailed instructions, or offers no cleaning instructions at all, follow the procedure below. Some chemical-resistant items that are not flat, such as gloves, footwear, and coveralls, must be washed twice -- once to thoroughly clean the outside of the item and a second time after turning the item inside out. Some chemical-resistant items, such as heavy-duty boots and rigid hats or helmets, can be washed by hand using hot water and a heavy-duty liquid detergent. They should be dried and aired as directed below.

The best procedure for washing non-chemical-resistant items, such as cotton, cotton/polyester, denim, canvas, and other absorbent materials, and most chemical-resistant items is:

Drying procedure -- Hang the items to dry, if possible. It is best to let them hang for at least 24 hours in an area with plenty of fresh air. Even after thorough washing, some items still may contain pesticides. When the items are exposed to clean air, remaining pesticide residues move to the surface and evaporate. You may wish to buy two or more sets of equipment at a time so you can leave one set airing in a clean place while you are using the other set. Do not hang items in enclosed living areas, because pesticides that remain in the items may evaporate and expose people or animals in the area.

Using a clothes dryer is acceptable for fabric items, if it is not possible to hang them to dry. However, over a period of time, the dryer may become contaminated with pesticide residues.

Maintaining Eyewear and Respirators

Wash goggles, face shields, shielded safety glasses, and respirator bodies and facepieces after each day of use. Use a detergent and hot water to wash them thoroughly. Sanitize them by soaking for at least 2 minutes in a mixture of 2 tablespoons of chlorine bleach in a gallon of hot water. Rinse thoroughly to remove the detergent and bleach. Dry thoroughly or hang them in a clean area to dry.

Pay particular attention to the headbands. Headbands made of absorbent materials should be replaced with chemical-resistant headbands. After each day of use, inspect all headbands for signs of wear or deterioration and replace as needed.

Store respirators and eyewear in an area where they are protected from dust, sunlight, extreme temperatures, excessive moisture, and pesticides or other chemicals. A zip-closable sturdy plastic bag works well for storage.

Respirator maintenance is especially important. Inspect your respirator before each use. Repair or replace it whenever any part shows sign of wear or deterioration.

If you remove your respirator between handling activities:

At the end of any work day when you wore a reusable respirator:

Discard disposable respirators according to manufacturer's instructions. Do not try to clean them.

Authors:
Philip G. Koehler, University of Florida
Robert A. Belmont, Florida Pest Control Association

This file is part of the UF/IFAS Basic Pesticide Training manual (SM-59) which is intended to provide intermediate training to pest control operators. The manual was adapted from a larger manual, Applying Pesticides Properly, which was developed by Ohio State University in cooperation with the Cooperative Extension Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Office of Pesticide Programs, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Published: March, 1998