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The Pesticide Safety Education Program (PSEP) in West Virginia seeks to provide education materials and training to applicators in all 55 counties in order to improve pesticide use practices. <P>The specific objectives of the PSEP provided by WVU Extension Service are to provide education and training in the following areas: 1) worker protection, 2) application, storage, and disposal of pesticides, 3) pesticide recordkeeping, 4) protection of water quality and endangered species, 5) Integrated Pest Management (IPM), and 6) food safety. <br/>Education materials and training will be in the form of digital videos, which will contain presentations covering various topics in the above priority areas. Digital videos will be copied for each of the 55 counties and distributed by early November 2012.
Non-Technical Summary:<br/>
Pesticides have contributed greatly to agricultural productivity, but at the same time their use has contributed to health and environmental problems. The primary objective of the Pesticide Safety Education Program (PSEP) in West Virginia is to protect the environment and the public health of its residents from pesticide hazards that may occur due to improper handling and application of pesticides by applicators. The PSEP is designed to provide educational support to pesticide applicators who seek training in order to comply with federal and state pesticide recertification and licensing requirements. The specific objectives of the PSEP provided by West Virginia University Extension Service are to provide education and training that covers a broad range of human safety and environmental issues including worker safety, Integrated Pest Management (IPM), and best pesticide handling practices from application of pesticides to storage and disposal.
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Approach:<br/>
The Pesticide Safety Education Program (PSEP) will be conducted in all 55 counties in the state of West Virginia using electronic audio visual media as training aids. Extension specialists and experienced county agents will give presentations on relevant pesticide safety topics that will be digitally recorded and edited by county personnel entrusted with this duty under the direct supervision of the project director (PD). Digital videos containing these presentations will be copied for each of the 55 counties and distributed by early November 2012. County agents will notify potential pesticide applicators needing recertification credits about the arrival of the new education and training materials. In addition, county agents will organize a meeting in each of their respective counties for specific PSEP agendas that will include the showing of these videos. To obtain recertification credits the attendees will be required to take a pre- and post-test concerning their knowledge of each particular topic covered in the video. The PD, who is also an extension entomologist for WVU, will coordinate with county agents so that meetings can be held within a stipulated time. During meetings, county agents will answer any questions from attendees. The PD will also be available via telephone or in person to answer any questions that may fall outside the expertise of county agents, or that require more clarification. The success of PSEP education and training videos to cause a change in knowledge, actions, or conditions of the target audience will be evaluated based on responses in the pre- and post-tests. In addition, the target audience will be given the opportunity to give constructive feedback regarding the content of the videos as well as give their voice to potential topics that should be covered in future videos.