Progress 09/01/11 to 08/31/12
Outputs
OUTPUTS: (1) PESTICIDE APPLICATOR CERTIFICATION AND RECERTIFICATION. (a) Commercial applicators in Right-of-Way, Aquatic, and Forest Pest Control categories achieved recertification in Delaware through attending the Maryland Pesticide Safety Conference. The Conference was organized by Dr. Amy Brown, the PSEP Coordinator for Delaware and Maryland. (b) More than 250 pesticide applicators were trained for recertification through a PSEP presentation at the Delaware Horticultural Industry Expo. (c) More than 150 tree professionals were trained for recertification through a PSEP presentation at the 2nd Annual Arborist and Tree Care Seminar. (d) Applicators also were recertified through attendance at University of Delaware Cooperative Extension Ornamental Horticulture Short Courses. (2) PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT. In-service training on pesticide issues was offered for University of Delaware extension educators. Topics covered included discussion/distribution of new resources for pesticide safety education (18 PowerPoints and other teaching tools; regulatory & policy update; emerging/evolving issues, including Web-distributed labeling, "green" labels, bilingual labels; Agricultural Health Study outreach for applicators; NIOSH Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) barriers project & related issues; illegal use of acephate on watermelons; cancellation of azinphos-methyl uses; arthropod-borne disease transmission & pesticides; and a report on from the First International PPE Symposium in Brazil. PARTICIPANTS: Amy E. Brown, Professor, Department of Entomology, University of Maryland College Park, serves as Coordinator of PSEP for Delaware as well as Maryland. In this role, Dr. Brown provided coordination between Extension educators and federal and state authorities; served as a resource on pesticide safety for Extension educators; developed, distributed, acquired and provided access to pesticide safety teaching materials; offered recertification training opportunities for commercial applicators in certain categories; and developed and maintained an internal website for Delaware Extension educators whose responsibilities include providing pesticide information and education. University of Delaware Extension professionals involved in PSEP during this period included Extension Agents Dot Abbott, Bill Brown, Valann Budischak, Bill Cissel, Brian Kunkel, Carrie Murphy, Phillip Sylvester, Cory Whaley, and Tracy Wootten; and Extension Specialists Bill Mulrooney, Richard Taylor, Mark VanGessel, Joanne Whalen, and Mark Isaacs. TARGET AUDIENCES: (1) The primary target audiences consists of pesticide applicators, including (a.) commercial and private applicators; (b) those working under the supervision of a certified applicator; (c)those whose job-related responsibilities include at least occasional application of pesticides (e.g., employees of schools, day care facilities, parks, restaurants, etc.). (2) A secondary audience is comprised of those whose jobs require them to reenter pesticide-treated areas and thus may be exposed to pesticide residues (primarily workers at farms, forests, greenhouses, and nurseries). (3) Another target audience comprises Delaware residents who may apply pesticide to their own yards or homes, and/or those who have questions about the use of pesticides, residues in food and water, exposure and its implications, etc. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts
In January 2012, a presentation on pesticide safety education, developed and delivered at the Delaware Horticultural Industry Expo by the PSEP Coordinator, was evaluated for impacts. Questions were incorporated into the presentation using audience response system technology (commonly referred to as "clickers"). First, clicker questions were presented to collect baseline data on current use of pesticide safety practices by attendees. The the presenter covered basic principles of exposure including routes of exposure and acute, chronic/delayed, and allergic responses; current research results on pesticide-related illnesses based on data from the Agricultural Health Study, an ongoing large-scale investigation of exposures and outcomes in agricultural pesticide applicators; and best practices to reduce exposure to pesticides. At the end of the presentation, another set of clicker questions queried attendees about their expected adoption of the recommended practices based on what the attendees learned during the PSEP presentation. Current practices were then compared to the intended practices as a measure of the impact of the educational program presented. The following results were obtained (n = 253 applicators); for each pair, the first figure represents self-reported practice; the second figure represents intended adoption of the practice. (1) Use of chemical-protective gloves while applying any pesticide -- 58% before, 78% after; (2) Use of extra personal protective equipment (PPE) during mixing & loading concentrates -- 22% before, 51% after; (3) Washing hands before eating, smoking, or using the toilet -- 73% before, 82% after; (4) After pesticide application, showering before greeting family members -- 50% before, 79% after. (5) Washing PPE separately from household laundry -- 58% before, 100% after. The above-listed figures are for BEST practices, and these results demonstrate a significant increase in their adoption. Smaller shifts were also shown in moving from worst to "better" practices. Practices 1 - 3 provide information about practices that would protect the individual applicator, while numbers 4 - 5 would protect family members from pesticide residue transfer. Overall, this evaluation provides evidence that PSEP information can change the intentions of pesticide applicators and could be expected to have potentially significant effects on protecting and maintaining health of the applicator and his/her family. A current research project by the PSEP Coordinator is investigating the relationship between intended and actual adoption of recommended practices by pesticide applicators.
Publications
- Brown, A.E. 2012. A low-cost method of evaluating outreach-based changes in recommended practices. J. Pestic. Safety Educ. 14:13-22.
- Brown, A.E., C. Ramsay and C. Foss. 2012. Pairing epidemiological research results with a practical message to improve pesticide applicators' personal safety practices. J. Pesticide Safety Educ. 14:23-32.
- Brown, A. E. 2012. Pesticide Resources for Delaware Extension Educators. Internal website at http://pesticide-educators-de.weebly.com/ This password-protected internal website serves the needs of Maryland Extension educators and includes 12 sub-pages.
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