US EPA Announces Draft Pesticide Label Revisions on Respirators to Ensure Consistency between EPA and NIOSH

EPA is requesting public comment on revised respirator descriptions for pesticide labels.

EPA is making these revisions, with the encouragement of state regulatory agencies, as part of our efforts to:

• Bring the respirator descriptions on pesticide labels into conformance with the current National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NHIOSH) respirator language;
• Ensure that pesticide handlers and their employers have the information they need to identify and buy the respirator required to provide needed protection;
• Delete outdated statements referring to respirators that no longer exist; and
• Clarify and update language to ensure easy compliance with the guidance.

After considering comments, EPA will update Chapter 10, “Worker Protection Labeling,” of the Label Review Manual (LRM). After releasing the revised chapter, EPA will ask registrants submitting labels for other reasons to revise their personal protective equipment (PPE) statements to include the updated descriptions at the same time. Those registrants who wish to revise only the PPE statements to incorporate the new respirator descriptions will be advised to submit a fast-track amendment with the changes. For existing products not otherwise updated, EPA will require the submission of labels with the revised descriptions of respirators during the registration review process.

Please submit comments on the revised respirator section by May 22, 2018, to opprespiratortable@epa.gov. We are requesting comment from regulators, registrants, pesticide users, safety educators and other stakeholders on the revised respirator descriptions for the LRM. 

SOURCE: US EPA Newsletter 23.3.2018