Virginia Pesticide Safety Education Program

Non-Technical Summary: <BR>In the United States, pesticides are regulated by the US Environmental Protection Agency and the state lead agencies under authority of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and state pesticide control laws and regulations. FIFRA requires that any applicator applying or purchasing restricted use pesticides (those deemed potentially harmful even when used according to label directions) must be trained and certified to use or purchase those chemicals. This places a burden on farmers, commercial businesses, and other entities to seek training in order to meet these requirements and comply with the law. Based on language in the federal law, the EPA Administrator can seek assistance from the US Department of Agriculture - Cooperative Extension Service, for this training. Funds are provided to assist states and territories to conduct pesticide applicator safety education in an effort to help applicators comply with the law and to protect the environment and the public from harm from potential pesticide misuse. Without pesticide safety education programs the applicators and their employers could not easily comply with the law and would be open to fines for violation. In addition, many pesticides could not be registered for restricted use status and would likely be banned. In addition, pesticide safety education programs offer training for applicators of all pesticides. Any pesticide can do harm if used incorrectly. Addressing safety for all audiences and applicators is an important part of any Extension pesticide safety education program. <P> Approach: <BR> Virginia Tech Pesticide Programs (VTPP) works with the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) to administer training and certification for applicators in Virginia. VDACS and the Virginia Pesticide Control Board set state policy and provide the majority of funding to support the program. Interagency Agreement funds are used to support a portion of a key senior faculty position (assistant PSEP coordinator) critical to program function. VTPP and Virginia Cooperative Extension (VCE) dedicate staff and faculty statewide (9.5 FTEs in over 100 localities, at Virginia Tech, and its agricultural research and Extension centers) to the program. These personnel and the Virginia Extension PSEP operate as a cohesive program with VDACS. VTPP coordinates program function with Extension agents through an annual train-the-trainer (TTT) workshop. Agents receive program procedures, training methods, and training tools from the TTT workshop annually. The program is coordinated through direct contact with agents, the TTT workshop, and a program Intranet that provides ongoing support, program media, and information. Agents conduct all private applicator training in Virginia (certification and recertification). Agents and specialists contribute to the majority of commercial applicator training (certification and recertification). Training also includes a large number of non-certified and registered technician applicators. Most effort goes into meeting the demand for recertification training through classroom and hands-on training. Certification training is conducted through self-study (of 23 different category manuals and the core manual), online training, and classroom training. Expected Outcome: Applicators in Virginia will seek certification, be trained, and succeed in meeting state and federal certification requirements in order to comply with state and federal pesticide control laws and regulations.