Pesticide respirator and PPE checklist for farm handlers

Any person who performs handler activities must use the clothing and personal protective equipment (PPE) specified on the pesticide product labeling, and the handler employer must provide the PPE the label requires, clean and in proper operating condition. Herbicide PPE follows the same rule: the label of the herbicide being mixed, applied or cleaned up sets the gloves, eyewear, coveralls and respirator.

Long-sleeved shirts, short-sleeved shirts, long pants, short pants, shoes and socks are not considered PPE, although such work clothing must be worn if the label requires it.

Before the job, put the product label beside the work plan and write down the specific task (mixing, loading, application, equipment cleaning), the required clothing, each PPE item and any engineering-control provision. Keep shirt, pants, shoes and socks on that list too, so they are not assumed to come with the respirator purchase.

Which pesticide respirator the label requires

The respirator specified by the pesticide product labeling must be used. Before a handler performs any activity where that respirator is required, the handler employer must provide fit testing, training in the use of the respirator and a medical evaluation by a physician or other licensed health care professional. The employer keeps records documenting completion of these three requirements for two years, on the establishment. The record inspection guide covers the rest of the file. In each handler's record, write down who the handler is, which respirator was assigned and where the proof of the three steps is kept, so the file can be found quickly.

Respirator types: what a pesticide mask removes

NIOSH sorts workplace respirators into two classes. Air-purifying respirators use filters, cartridges or canisters to remove gases, vapors, aerosols or a combination of contaminants from the air. They include filtering facepiece respirators (the disposable pesticide mask), elastomeric quarter, half and full facepiece respirators, and powered air-purifying respirators.

Atmosphere-supplying respirators provide clean breathing air from a separate source; the types are supplied-air respirators, self-contained breathing apparatus and combination supplied-air/self-contained units.

NIOSH is the federal entity responsible for testing and approving respirators used in the workplace, and the markings on a respirator and the NIOSH approval label help identify whether it is approved. When an employer determines that workers need respiratory protection, OSHA requires NIOSH Approved respirators.

Check what the equipment actually removes. Filters catch particles; cartridges and canisters catch gases or vapors; a disposable mask sold next to spray equipment does not remove vapors just because of where it is sold. Compare the label's requirement with the complete respirator, and ask whether it has a tight-fitting facepiece or a loose-fitting hood, because that decides which fit test applies. Keep the facepiece model, the filter or cartridge designation and the manufacturer's instructions in one place, and photograph the NIOSH approval markings, so a replacement order names the exact part instead of "a new mask".

Medical evaluation comes before fit testing

The employer must provide a medical evaluation of the employee's ability to use a respirator before the employee is fit tested or required to use the respirator in the workplace. The physician or other licensed health care professional uses a medical questionnaire or an initial medical examination that obtains the same information as the questionnaire.

The professional's written recommendation states any limitations on respirator use, the need for follow-up medical evaluations, and that the employee received a copy of the recommendation. If a negative pressure respirator would put the employee's health at increased risk, the employer provides a powered air-purifying respirator when the evaluation finds the employee can use one.

Give the health professional the respirator type and a real description of the work: how heavy it is, how hot, how long. Do not answer the medical questions for the employee. Keep the written clearance where the employer can find it, and keep the medical details themselves within the professional's process.

Fit test: when and how often

An employee using a tight-fitting facepiece respirator is fit tested before initial use, whenever a different facepiece (size, style, model or make) is used, and at least annually. An additional fit test is required when changes in the employee's physical condition could affect fit, such as facial scarring, dental changes, cosmetic surgery or an obvious change in body weight.

A qualitative fit test is a pass/fail test that relies on the individual's response to a test agent; a quantitative fit test numerically measures the leakage into the respirator. A quantitative test is passed at a fit factor of 100 or more for tight-fitting half facepieces and 500 or more for tight-fitting full facepieces.

An employee who reports that the fit is unacceptable after passing gets a reasonable opportunity to select a different facepiece and be retested. The fit-test record holds the employee's name or identification, the type of test, the make, model, style and size of the respirator tested, the date, and the pass/fail result or the fit factor; it is kept until the next fit test.

Compare the tested make, model, style and size with the facepiece actually issued. If the brand or size changes, treat it as a new fit-test job instead of reusing the old result. Before assigning the task, also check that facial hair will not get between the face and the sealing surface or interfere with the valve, and do a user seal check every time the respirator is put on.

Respirator training: what the handler must be able to demonstrate

The training must be comprehensive, understandable to the employee, given before the employee is required to use a respirator, and repeated annually. Each employee must be able to demonstrate knowledge of:

why the respirator is necessary and how improper fit, usage or maintenance can compromise its protection;
the limitations and capabilities of the respirator;
how to use the respirator in emergency situations, including when it malfunctions;
how to inspect, put on and remove, use, and check the seals of the respirator;
the procedures for maintenance and storage;
how to recognize medical signs and symptoms that may limit or prevent effective use.

A signature on a sheet does not show understanding. Ask the handler to show how to put the respirator on, check the seals, inspect it and store it, and to say what to do if it malfunctions mid-job.

Retraining is also required when changes in the workplace or the type of respirator make earlier training obsolete, and when the employee's knowledge or use of the respirator shows the training was not retained.

When to replace filters and pesticide cartridges

A filtering facepiece respirator is replaced when breathing resistance becomes excessive, when the filter element has physical damage or tears, according to the manufacturer's recommendations or the label (whichever is more frequent), and, in the absence of any other instructions or indications of service life, at the end of eight hours of cumulative use.

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Gas- or vapor-removing canisters and cartridges are replaced before further respirator use at the first indication of odor, taste or irritation, when the maximum use time set by a change schedule is reached, when breathing resistance becomes excessive, when the manufacturer or the label requires it (whichever is more frequent), and, absent any other indication of service life, after eight hours of cumulative use.

Write the replacement rule you chose next to the cartridge model. A tick beside "cartridge checked" does not show whether the change was made for odor, resistance or schedule.

PPE for spraying glyphosate

The PPE for glyphosate is the clothing and equipment printed on the label of the glyphosate product you spray; anyone who performs handler activities with a pesticide product must use the clothing and personal protective equipment specified on the pesticide product labeling. Read the PPE statement of that product’s label, not a general glyphosate list.

Pesticide protective gear: gloves, footwear, eyewear, apron, headgear

Gloves must be the type specified on the label. Gloves made of leather, cotton or other absorbent materials may not be worn unless the label lists them as acceptable. Chemical-resistant gloves with non-separable absorbent lining are prohibited.
Glove liners may be worn beneath chemical-resistant gloves unless the label prohibits them. They are discarded after no more than 10 hours of use or within 24 hours of first putting them on, whichever comes first, and immediately if pesticide contacts them directly.
Chemical-resistant footwear is one of: chemical-resistant shoes, chemical-resistant boots, or chemical-resistant shoe coverings worn over shoes or boots.
Protective eyewear is goggles, a face shield, safety glasses with front, brow and temple protection, or a full-face respirator.
A chemical-resistant apron covers the front of the body from mid-chest to the knees.
Chemical-resistant headgear is a chemical-resistant hood or a chemical-resistant hat with a wide brim.
Chemical-resistant material allows no measurable movement of the pesticide through it during use; waterproof material allows no measurable movement of water or aqueous solutions.
A chemical-resistant suit or coveralls are loose-fitting, one- or two-piece garments that cover at least the entire body except head, hands and feet.

Check each issued item against the category the label names. Look at the glove itself for wear and damage, not only at the purchase paperwork. Do not relabel a long-sleeved shirt, ordinary boots or familiar safety glasses as chemical-resistant equipment.

Inspection, cleaning, storage and heat

All PPE is inspected before each day of use for leaks, holes, tears or worn places, and damaged equipment is repaired or discarded. PPE is cleaned according to the manufacturer's or label instructions before each day of reuse; without such instructions it is washed thoroughly in detergent and hot water.

Contaminated PPE is kept separate from other PPE, clothing and laundry and washed separately. Washed PPE is dried thoroughly before storage or reuse, and clean PPE is stored separately from personal clothing and apart from pesticide-contaminated areas. Coveralls or other absorbent materials drenched or heavily contaminated with a pesticide whose label carries the signal word DANGER or WARNING must not be reused and must be disposed of. Treat that as a disposal decision: take the item out of circulation instead of washing it again and again.

Handlers need a place away from pesticide storage and pesticide use areas to store personal clothing, put on PPE and remove it. The employer must not allow or direct a handler to wear home or take home employer-provided PPE contaminated with pesticides. Anyone who cleans or launders PPE must be told that it may be contaminated, how to clean it and protect themselves, and what decontamination to follow.

Where the label requires PPE for a handler activity, the employer must take appropriate measures to prevent heat-related illness. When you talk to the respirator health professional, describe the real work and heat rather than calling every task "light spraying".

OSHA's 2026 proposal

OSHA's notice of June 3, 2026 is a proposed rule: it reopens the comment period on the proposed rule published July 1, 2025 that amends the medical evaluation requirements. It is not a final rule.

Agricultural pesticides and human health: exposure routes and first aid

For an exposure emergency: call 911 if the person is unconscious, having trouble breathing or having convulsions. Call the Poison Control Center at 800-222-1222 for first aid information, and check the label for first-aid directions for that product.

Crop spraying health risks: toxicity and exposure

Start the risk review with the actual product and the task: mixing, loading, application, cleaning or handling contaminated material. Ask both questions, how toxic the product is and how the worker could come into contact with it.

The risk of a pesticide depends on exposure (how much gets in or on your body or into the environment) and toxicity (how poisonous it is). Even products low in toxicity can be hazardous if the exposure is high enough, and as the dose increases, so does the risk.

The signal word on the label reflects toxicity: CAUTION represents the lower toxicity products, WARNING medium toxicity and DANGER the highest. Product labeling sets the conditions, directions and precautions that define who may use a pesticide and how. Read the handling and safety directions on the label for the proposed task before assigning the job.

When someone needs a clinician or a safety adviser, give them the actual product label and the safety data sheet (SDS), not a description from memory.

First aid by exposure route

Swallowed: induce vomiting only if emergency personnel on the phone or the product label tells you to; some petroleum products or caustic poisons cause more damage if the person vomits.
In the eye: eye membranes absorb pesticides faster than any other external part of the body, and damage can occur within minutes. Hold the eyelid open and wash with clean running water for at least 15 minutes, and use no eye drops, chemicals or drugs in the wash water.
On the skin: drench the area with water, remove contaminated clothing, and wash skin and hair thoroughly with soap and water. Discard contaminated clothing or wash it separately from other laundry.
Inhaled: carry or drag the victim to fresh air immediately. If a respirator is needed and none is available, call the Fire Department and wait for emergency equipment before entering the area. Do not improvise a rescue or treatment; follow the emergency service's instructions.

Next step

The product label sets the PPE and respirator for each product; see how to read a pesticide label.