Pesticide spill: emergency contacts and the information to preserve

Pesticide spill: emergency contacts and the information to preserve

For a pesticide spill posing an environmental emergency or sudden public-health threat, call the National Response Center at 1-800-424-8802. Call 911 if a person is unconscious, has trouble breathing or has convulsions. For first-aid advice, call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222. Get immediate help before collecting a detailed record.

Establish the immediate communication route

For non-emergency pesticide-spill questions, contact the product manufacturer or National Pesticide Information Center. Use emergency notification for sudden threats rather than waiting for a technical-information response.

Identify the product without guessing

Record the product name, registration number, location, date and incident description for an exposure report. If a product name comes from a witness rather than a readable container, identify that witness as the source and flag the identification for confirmation.

Separate measured quantity from an estimate

Reporting duties depend on the identified substance’s reportable quantity, applicable exemptions and state requirements. Establish the material and amount released before comparing the incident with a threshold. Distinguish a measured amount from an estimate in the account supplied to responders.

Oil discharges and hazardous-substance releases have different reporting conditions. Give the authority the actual pesticide-mixture ingredients and release circumstances so it can identify the applicable route.

Route suspected misuse and exposure reports correctly

Report suspected illegal pesticide use to the state pesticide regulator. For exposures to people, direct EPA incident reporting and manufacturer reporting are also available. Contact the local OSHA office for a workplace incident. Include the product and incident identifiers with the report.

For non-emergency questions about reporting, NPIC can explain available options. NPIC's incident summaries are not collected for enforcement purposes.

Prepare the information the NRC actually asks for

The National Response Center is staffed around the clock. Give the caller’s name, location, organization and telephone number; the responsible party or carrier; incident date and time; and the incident location. Keep the observer’s contact separate from the party believed responsible.

Also report the source and cause, released materials, quantity, affected land or water, danger posed, injuries or fatalities, weather, evacuation and agencies notified or about to be notified. Do not delay an emergency call while trying to complete a polished internal report: tell the responder what is known and say what is uncertain.

Keep release location and affected medium separate

Write down the incident location and, separately, where you saw the product move: into soil, water or another environment. Do not estimate the extent of an area nobody inspected.

If direct NRC reporting is impossible, contact the EPA regional office for releases to inland areas and waters, or the Coast Guard Marine Safety Office for releases to coastal waters, the Great Lakes, ports and harbors, or the Mississippi River.

What happens to exposure reports

Reports enter the Incident Data System for regulatory analysis.

NPIC summaries sent to EPA exclude personal identifying information. Record information-service contacts separately from complaints to the investigating authority.

Keep carrier identity distinguishable from the farm address

For a transport incident, record available carrier, vessel, railcar or truck identifiers. Connect each identifier to the vehicle or container it describes. Supply the incident location separately from the responsible organization’s office address.

Prepare a pesticide spill kit before handling products

Equip a pesticide spill kit with product labels, SDSs, absorbent material, a shovel, broom and dustpan. Keep the documents for the products you actually use with the kit. Before work, go through the kit contents, protective equipment and response plan with whoever is responsible for safety on your farm, and use the contacts above if an incident happens.

Control, contain and clean up a spill

Use the spill response sequence with the product’s required protective clothing. Control the release first: place a leaking small container inside a larger sound container, or relieve equipment pressure before catching a leaking hose’s solution. Contain liquid on a hard surface with absorbent material such as cat litter or an absorbent pillow. Keep spilled material out of storm sewers, drains and other water.

Cover a dry-formulation spill with a plastic tarp to prevent spreading. Collect used absorbent for proper disposal. On concrete, sweep it into a fiber or steel drum lined with a heavy-duty plastic bag. Use a label-recommended cleaning product, then absorb the cleaning solution as well. Obtain the state’s waste-disposal instructions for the collected pesticide and contaminated cleanup material.

Pesticide drift damage: evidence, reports and inspection request

Report suspected pesticide drift promptly to the state pesticide regulator; a residue result alone cannot establish its source or yield loss. Handle medical emergencies first and call 911 when needed.

Minnesota's inspection deadline

Minnesota statute 18D.201 requires a written, signed request stating the grounds with reasonable particularity. A request alleging pesticide damage to a crop or vegetation must be submitted within 45 days of the application, not 45 days after symptoms are discovered. This is a Minnesota deadline.

For Minnesota pesticide complaints, use the pesticide route on the misuse complaint page. MDA investigates misuse but does not pursue compensation for affected parties.

Collect injury, source and loss evidence

Collect evidence of injury, the suspected source and the amount of loss separately:

• Record both the application date and the date damage was first seen; they establish different parts of the timeline.
• Document wind direction, wind speed and temperature during and after the application.
• Photograph affected and unaffected plants for comparison.
• Consider disease, insects, nutrient deficiency, herbicide carryover and growing conditions as alternative explanations.
• Contact the parties and insurers promptly so field visits can validate the information collected.

Laboratory tests are costly and may not give a definitive answer, because herbicides degrade rapidly in plants and soil and a single analysis can search for only one herbicide.

What testing and yield comparisons establish

Residue testing cannot determine the drift source or quantify yield loss. Initial visual assessments can overestimate actual damage. Preserve the observations and subsequent harvest measurements for comparison.

Compare yields within the same field. Comparisons between fields or years are unreliable. Visible injury, residue detection and measured loss are separate evidence questions.

Pesticide exposure information card for farm emergency plans

Use a pesticide exposure information card to help medical staff quickly find the correct product information. Obtain immediate care before reporting an incident. Use the exposure emergency guide for the official emergency contacts and instructions.

Assemble the information already known

For covered WPS emergency assistance, supply treating medical personnel with the applicable SDS, product names, EPA registration numbers and active ingredients. Add the circumstances of application or use and the circumstances that could have caused exposure.

Emergency transport under WPS

When WPS emergency-assistance conditions are met, promptly make transport available to an operating medical facility. Decide in advance who brings the product information and who coordinates the handover.

Keep the information card where whoever arranges medical transport can reach it, and pass on the product details you know right away.

Report the incident to EPA after urgent care

Send a direct EPA incident report after urgent care. Include product name, registration number, location, date and description. Preserve a copy and any follow-up instructions with the incident file.

Next step

After urgent response, assemble the product and incident details and use the state agency directory for the misuse or exposure report.