Cholinesterase Monitoring What Washington is Learning

1
Cholinesterase Monitoring What Washington is
Learning

• Margaret Tucker
• WA State Department of Agriculture

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What Will Be Covered

• Program overview
• ChE results to date
• Findings of workplace investigations
• Training focus

3
Program overview

• Began in 2004
• Lawsuit brought by labor advocates
• WA Supreme Court required Labor Industries to
  institute rulemaking for cholinesterase (ChE)
  monitoring program
• Agricultural employers only

4
Program overview

• Who must comply?
• Growers with employees who handle Category 1 or 2
  organophosphate or N-methyl carbamate
  pesticides

5
Program overview

• What must they do?
• Document hours of handling of covered pesticides
• Offer testing to employees who handle covered
  pesticides

6
Program overview

• ChE Testing
• Baseline before handling covered pesticides
• Follow-up testing when exposure threshold met
• 2004 50 hours in consecutive 30 days
• 2005 30 hours in consecutive 30 days

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Program Overview

• If ChE depression gt 20, employer must
• Perform an investigation of
• work practices
• clothes
• respiratory protection
• sanitation
• Keep a record of the investigation
• Record actions taken to correct problems

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Program Overview

• If gt 30 decrease in red blood cell ChE or gt 40
  decrease in plasma ChE
• Work practice investigation by LI
• Employee temporarily removed from exposure
• Covered by medical removal protection benefits
• May return to handling tasks when ChE levels
  within 20 of baseline

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Program Overview

• With ChE depressions, symptoms are generally
  reversed when
• Exposure is stopped
• ChE levels increase
• No pesticide illness cases in WA as a result of
  ChE depressions

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Summary of ChE Monitoring Data
Total
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Preliminary Data from 2005 Research
Investigations

• BACKGROUND INFORMATION
• 27 Employers - all pome fruit growers
• About 75 of the farms gt 500 acres
• About 1/3 had more than 10 handlers
• NOTE ADDITIONAL INVESTIGATIONS ONGOING

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Preliminary Data from 2005 Research Investigations

• ChE-inhibiting pesticides handled by workers with
  significant ChE depressions
• Lorsban
• Sevin
• Guthion
• Carzol

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Preliminary Data from 2005 Research Investigations

• Respiratory Protection
• No respirator cartridge change out schedule or
  overuse of cartridges 13
• Using half-face respirator 17
• Improper fit-tests 3
• Wrong prefilters for oil 2

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Preliminary Data from 2005 Research Investigations

• General Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
• Spray glasses not chemical proof 1
• Cotton caps (7 wearing sweatshirt hoods also) 9
• Wearing bump cap 1
• Cotton gloves under nitrile 2

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Preliminary Data from 2005 Research Investigations

• Decontamination
• PPE decontamination inadequate 11
• Application equipment decon inadequate 3
• PPE removed placed on
  contaminated surface (e.g. tractor) 3

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Preliminary Data from 2005 Research Investigations

• Decontamination
• Adjust respirator without glove decon. 1
• Smoking without washing/decon. 1
• Equipment used for other activities w/o
  decontamination (e.g. tractor used w/o cleaning)
  2

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Preliminary Data from 2005 Research Investigations

• Handling Activities
• Eye flush supplies missing 3
• Eyewash supplies missing or not working 4
• Drift exposure (spray on face reported) 3
• WPS training cited inadequate 4

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Preliminary Data from 2005 Research Investigations

• Change of clothes not provided 2
• Improper respirator storage 1
• No respiratory protection program 1
• Improper respirator maintenance 1

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Preliminary Data from 2005 Research
Investigations

• Preliminary data highlights many factors making
  simple conclusions difficult
• Only evaluating employees with depressions
• How do their practices differ from those without
  depressions?

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Preliminary Data from 2005 Research Investigations

• AREAS OF CONCERN
• Wearing absorbent caps and/or half-face
  respirators when applying Lorsban/oil tank mix
  with airblast sprayers
• Required PPE not available
• Improper use of PPE
• PPE decontamination inadequate or not performed
  at necessary times

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Preliminary Data from 2005 Research Investigations

• AREAS OF CONCERN
• Personal hygiene practices
• Equipment decontamination none or insufficient.
  Multiple users w/varying practices
• Safety standards/best practices not being carried
  down the line

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Training Focus

• At all levels
• Growers
• Safety officers
• Foremen and crew bosses
• Handlers
• Coordinated, partnership effort
• Industry, WSDA, WSU, DOH, LI, PNASH

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Training Focus

• How?
• Train the Trainer
• Hands-On Handler Training
• Spanish/English Recertification Programs
• Washington State Horticultural Association
• Governors Ag Safety Day
• WSDA/WSU sponsored courses
• WSU Decontamination Video
• WSDA focused newsletter to ag employers

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Training Focus

• Growers Handlers
• Emphasize personal, equipment and PPE
  decontamination every time
• Eliminate use of absorbent caps, etc.
• Convert to full face respirators where
  appropriate
• Follow farm safety policies

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Training Focus

• Growers, Safety Officers, Foreman
• Communicate results of LI investigations
• Encourage them to
• Create and nurture a safety culture
• Develop, implement and actively enforce pesticide
  safety policies
• Ensure adequate availability, use and
  decontamination of protective equipment

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More Information

• Go to www.Lni.wa.gov
• Click on the Topics Index at the top of the page
• Find Cholinesterase
• Click on Cholinesterase monitoring
• Call 1-800-4BE-SAFE (423-7233) and select
  pesticide blood testing
• E-mail toug235_at_Lni.wa.gov English
• serp235_at_Lni.wa.gov Spanish

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Thank You!

• Margaret Tucker
• WA State Dept. of Agriculture
• [phone]
• mtucker_at_agr.wa.gov
• agr.wa.gov/PestFert/