DEFINITIONS OF COMMON TERMS GLOSSARY

Glossary
Acaricide — A pesticide used to control mites.

Active ingredient — Any substance that will prevent, destroy, repel,

or mitigate any pest, or that functions as a plant regulator, desiccant,
defoliant, synergist, or nitrogen stabilizer.

Acute illness — An illness that becomes apparent soon after an

exposure to a pesticide occurs.

Acute onset — The commencement of symptoms of pesticide-related

injury that appear soon after the exposure incident.

Agricultural employer — Any person who is an owner of, or is responsible

for the management or condition of, an agricultural establishment, and
who employs any worker or handler for a salary or wages (financial
compensation).

Agricultural establishment — Any farm, forest operation, or nursery

engaged in the outdoor or enclosed space production of agricultural
plants. An establishment that is not primarily agricultural is an agricultural
establishment if it produces agricultural plants for transplant or use (in
part or their entirety) in another location instead of purchasing the
agricultural plants.

Agricultural plant — Any plant, or part thereof, grown, maintained,

or otherwise produced for commercial purposes, including growing,
maintaining or otherwise producing plants for sale, trade, for research
or experimental purposes, or for use in part or their entirety in another
location. Agricultural plant includes, but is not limited to, grains, fruits
and vegetables; wood fiber or timber products; flowering and foliage
plants and trees; seedlings and transplants; and turf grass produced for
sod. Agricultural plant does not include pasture or rangeland used for
grazing.

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GLOSSARY
Agricultural worker — Any person, including a self-employed person,
who is employed for a salary or wages (financial compensation) and
who is performing activities relating to the production of agricultural
plants on an agricultural establishment. See definitions for worker and
handler.

Agricultural worker training — Specific training mandated by the

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to assist agricultural workers in
protecting themselves from pesticide and pesticide residues when they
work in areas that have received pesticide applications.

Application exclusion zone (AEZ) — The area surrounding the

application equipment that should be free of all persons other than
appropriately trained and equipped handlers during pesticide
applications.

Attractant — A substance that attracts a specific species of

pest. Attractants are considered to be pesticides when they are
manufactured to attract pests for trapping or are used in poisoned bait.

Brand name — The registered or trade name given to a pesticide by

its manufacturer or formulator. A specific pesticide may be sold under
several brand names.

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) — A procedure designed to

restore normal breathing after breathing and heartbeat has stopped.

Caution — The signal word used on labels of pesticides having the least
capacity for hazards.

Certified applicator — A person who is certified to use or supervise the

use of any restricted-use pesticide covered by his certification.

Chemical name — The official name given to a chemical compound to

distinguish it from other chemical compounds.

Chemigation — The process of applying pesticides or fertilizers through

irrigation systems.

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 GLOSSARY
CHEMTREC — A chemical industry-supported organization that provides
assistance and advice on pesticide emergencies. The telephone
number of CHEMTREC is 800-424-9300.

Chronic illness — An illness that will last for long periods of time. Cancer,
respiratory disorders, and neurological disorders are examples of chronic
illnesses that have been associated with exposures to some types of
pesticides.

Chronic onset — The commencement of symptoms of pesticide

poisoning that occur days, weeks, months, or years after the actual
exposure.

Closed system — An engineering control used to protect handlers from

pesticide exposure hazards when mixing and loading pesticides.

Commercial pesticide handler employer (CPHE) — Any person, other

than an agricultural employer, who employs any handler to perform
handler activities on an agricultural establishment. A labor contractor
who does not provide pesticide application services or supervise the
performance of handler activities, but merely employs laborers who
perform handler activities at the direction of an agricultural or handler
employer, is not a commercial pesticide handler employer.

Commercial pesticide handling establishment — Any enterprise, other

than an agricultural establishment, that provides pesticide handler or
crop advising services to agricultural establishments.

Common name — The recognized name of a pesticide, separate from

the brand name and chemical name.

Compatible — When two or more chemicals can be mixed together

without reducing the effectiveness or characteristics of any individual
chemical in the mixture.

Confined area — An area, such as a building or greenhouse that may

have restricted air circulation and, therefore, promotes the buildup of
toxic fumes or vapors from a pesticide application.

Definitions of Common Terms 241

GLOSSARY
Corrosive material — A chemical that reacts with metals or other
materials. Some pesticides are corrosive and special handling
requirements are needed when using these.

Crop advisor — Any person who is assessing pest numbers or damage,

pesticide distribution, or the status or requirements of agricultural plants.

Danger — The signal word used on labels of pesticides that are highly
toxic to people. This signal word is used on pesticides having an oral LD50
less than 50 mg/kg or a dermal LD50 less than 200 mg/kg.

Decontaminate — To remove or degrade a chemical residue from the

skin or on a surface.

Defoamer — An additive that eliminates foaming of a pesticide mixture

in a spray tank.

Defoliant — A pesticide used to remove leaves from target plants, often

as an aid in harvesting the plant.

Dermal — Pertaining to the skin. One of the major ways pesticides can
enter the body to possibly cause poisoning.

Desiccant — A pesticide that destroys target pests by causing them to

lose body moisture.

Designated representative (DR) — Any persons designated in writing by

a worker or handler to exercise a right of access on behalf of the worker
or handler to request and obtain a copy of the pesticide application
information and safety data sheets.

Directions for use — The instructions found on pesticide labels indicating

the proper use of the pesticide product.

Dose — The measured quantity of pesticide. Often the size of the dose
determines the degree of effectiveness, or, in the case of poisoning of
nontarget organisms, the degree of injury.

Drift — The movement of pesticide dust, spray, or vapor away from the
application site.

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 GLOSSARY
Early entry — Entry by a worker into a treated area on the agricultural
establishment after a pesticide application is complete, but before any
restricted-entry interval for the pesticide has expired.

Early-entry worker — An employee who enters a pesticide treated

area on an agricultural establishment after a pesticide application is
complete, but before any restricted-entry interval for the pesticide has
expired, to conduct worker tasks.

Emergency exemption from registration — A federal exemption from

regular pesticide registration sometimes issued when an emergency
pest situation arises for which no pesticide is registered that has a
tolerance on the crop in question.

Employ — To obtain, directly or through a labor contractor, the services

of a person in exchange for a salary or wages, including piece-rate
wages, without regard to who may pay or who may receive the salary
or wages. It includes obtaining the services of a self-employed person,
an independent contractor, or a person compensated by a third party,
except that it does not include an agricultural employer obtaining the
services of a handler through a commercial pesticide handler employer
or a commercial pesticide handling establishment.

Employer — See definitions for agricultural employer and commercial

pesticide handler employer.

Enclosed cab — A cab with a nonporous barrier that totally surrounds

the occupant(s) of the cab and prevents dermal contact with
pesticides that are being applied outside of the cab.

Enclosed space production — Production of an agricultural plant

indoors or in a structure or space that is covered in whole or in part by
any nonporous covering and that is large enough to permit a person to
enter.

Establishment number — A number assigned to registered pesticides by

the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency which indicates the location
of the manufacturing or formulation facilities of that product.

Definitions of Common Terms 243

GLOSSARY
Exposure — Contact with pesticides or pesticide residues by people,
other organisms, or the environment.

Field worker — An employee of a farming operation who engages in

agricultural production tasks. See definition for agricultural worker.

Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) — The

Federal law that governs the registration, sale, and use of pesticide
products in the U.S.

First aid — The immediate assistance provided to someone who has

been exposed to a pesticide. First aid for pesticide exposure usually
involves removal of contaminated clothing and washing the affected
area of the body to remove as much of the pesticide material as
possible. First aid is not a substitute for qualified medical treatment.

Foliage — The leaves of plants.

Formulation — A mixture of active ingredient combined with inert

materials during the pesticide manufacturing process. Inert materials
are added to improve the mixing and handling qualities of a pesticide.

Fumigant — Vapor or gaseous form of a pesticide used to penetrate

porous surfaces for control of soil dwelling pests or pests in enclosed
areas or storage.

Fungicide — A pesticide used for control of fungi.

Fungi (Fungus) — A multicellular lower plant lacking chlorophyll, such as

a mold, mildew, or plant rust.

Hand labor — Any agricultural activity performed by hand or with

hand tools that causes a worker to have substantial contact with
plants, plant parts, or soil or other surfaces that may contain pesticide
residues, except that hand labor does not include operating, moving,
or repairing irrigation or watering equipment or performing crop advisor
tasks.

Handler — Any person, including a self-employed person, who is

employed by an agricultural employer or commercial pesticide handler
employer and performs any of the following activities:

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 GLOSSARY
• Mixing, loading or applying pesticides,

• Disposing of a pesticide,

• Handling opened containers of pesticides, emptying, triple-rinsing,

or cleaning pesticide containers according to pesticide product
labeling instructions or disposing of pesticide containers that have
not been cleaned,

• Acting as a flagger,

• Cleaning, adjusting, handling, or repairing the parts of mixing,

loading or application equipment that may contain pesticide
residues,

• Assisting with the application of pesticides,

• Entering an enclosed space after the application of a pesticide

and before the inhalation exposure level listed in the labeling
has been reached or one of the ventilation criteria established
by WPS or the labeling has been met to operate ventilation
equipment, monitor air levels, or adjust or remove coverings used
in fumigation,

• Entering a treated area outdoors after application of any soil

fumigant during the labeling-specified entry-restricted period to
adjust or remove coverings used in fumigation, and

• Performing tasks as a crop advisor during any pesticide

application or restricted-entry interval, or before the inhalation
exposure level listed in the pesticide product labeling has been
reached or one of the ventilation criteria established by WPS or
the pesticide product labeling has been met.

Handler employer — Any person who is self-employed as a handler or

who employs any handler.

Herbicide — A pesticide used to control weeds.

Hygiene — As it applies to pesticide exposure, hygiene involves washing

exposed body areas promptly to remove pesticide residues.

Definitions of Common Terms 245

GLOSSARY
Incompatible — Two or more materials that cannot be mixed or used
together.

Immediate family — Is limited to the spouse, parents, stepparents,

foster parents, father-in-law, mother-in-law, children, stepchildren, foster
children, sons-in-law, daughters-in-law, grandparents, grandchildren,
brothers, sisters, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, aunts, uncles, nieces,
nephews, and first cousins. “First cousin” means the child of a parent’s
sibling, i.e., the child of an aunt or uncle.

Inert ingredient — Any substance other than an active ingredient that is

intentionally added to a pesticide product, such as solvents, stabilizers,
spreaders or stickers, preservatives, surfactants, defoamers, etc.

Insect growth regulator (IGR) — A type of pesticide used for control of

certain insects. Insect growth regulators disrupt the normal process of
development from immature to mature life stages.

Insecticide — A pesticide used for the control of insects. Some

insecticides are also labeled for control of ticks, mites, spiders, or similar
pests.

Labeling — The pesticide label and all associated materials, including

supplemental labels, and manufacturer’s information.

Labor contractor — A person, other than a commercial pesticide

handler, who employs workers or handlers to perform tasks on an
agricultural establishment for an agricultural employer or a commercial
pesticide handler employer.

LC50 — The lethal concentration of a pesticide that will kill half of a test
animal population. LC50 values are given in micrograms per milliliter of
air or water (mg/ml).

LD50 — The lethal dose of a pesticide, applied to the skin or taken

internally, that will kill half of a test animal population. LD50 values are
given in milligrams per kilogram of test animal body weight (mg/kg).

Long-term health problem — A pesticide-related illness or disease which

may extend over months, years, or a lifetime.

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 GLOSSARY
Medical facility — A clinic, hospital, or physician’s office where
immediate medical care for pesticide-related illness or injury can be
obtained.

Miticide — A pesticide used to control mites.

Mitigate — The process of making a problem less severe.

Mouth-to-mouth resuscitation — Rescue breathing, given mouth-to-

mouth, to assist or restore breathing to a person who is not breathing or
is experiencing breathing difficulty.

Nematicide — A pesticide used to control nematodes.

Nematode — Elongated, cylindrical, nonsegmented worms. Nematodes

are commonly microscopic; some are parasites of plants or animals.

No observable effect level (NOEL) — The NOEL is the maximum dose or

exposure level of a pesticide that produces no noticeable toxic effect
on test animals.

Ocular — Pertaining to the eye. This is one of the routes of entry of

pesticides into the body.

Oral — Pertaining to the mouth. This is one of the routes of entry of

pesticides into the body.

Offsite movement — Any movement of a pesticide from the location

where it was applied. Offsite movement occurs through drift, water
runoff, crop harvest, blowing dust, and by being carried away on
people, animals, or equipment.

Outdoor production — Production of an agricultural plant in an outside

area that is not enclosed or covered in any way that would obstruct the
natural airflow.

Owner — Any person who has a present possessory interest (fee,

leasehold, rental, or other) in an agricultural establishment. A person
who has both leased such an agricultural establishment to another
person and granted that same person the right and full authority to
manage and govern the use of such an agricultural establishment is not
an owner under the WPS.

Definitions of Common Terms 247

GLOSSARY
Personal protective equipment (PPE) — Devices and garments that
protect handlers from exposure to pesticides. These include coveralls,
eye protection, gloves and boots, respirators, aprons, and hats.

Pesticide — Any substance or mixture of substances intended for

preventing, destroying, repelling, or mitigating any insects, rodents,
nematodes, fungi, bacteria, or weeds, or any other forms of life
declared to be pests; and any other substance or mixture of substances
intended for use as a plant regulator, defoliant, or desiccant.

Pesticide use hazard — The potential for a pesticide to cause injury or

damage during handling or application.

Plant growth regulator (PGR) — A pesticide used to regulate or alter the

normal growth of plants or development of plant parts.

Posting — The placement of warning signs around a pesticide treated

area, if required by the pesticide label or by the WPS based on the
length of the REI. This serves to provide information about treated areas
under an REI.

Precautionary statement — The section on pesticide labels where

human and environmental hazards are listed. Personal protective
equipment requirements are listed here, as well as first aid instructions
and information for physicians.

Protective clothing — Garments that cover the body, including arms

and legs.

Registration number — Identification numbers assigned by the U.S.

Environmental Protection Agency and found on pesticide labels.

Repellent — A pesticide used to keep target pests away from a treated

area by saturating the area with an odor that is disagreeable to the
pest.

Residue — Traces of pesticide that remain on treated surfaces after a

period of time.

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 GLOSSARY
Respiratory equipment — A device that filters out pesticide dusts, mists,
and vapors to protect the wearer from respiratory exposure during
mixing and loading, application, or while entering treated areas before
the restricted-entry interval expires.

Restricted-entry interval (REI) — A period of time that must lapse

between application of an agricultural pesticide and when it is safe to
allow agricultural workers into the treated area without requiring they
wear personal protective equipment and receive early-entry worker
information.

Restricted-use pesticide (RUP) — A highly hazardous pesticide that can

only be purchased, possessed or used by a person who is a certified
applicator or under the supervision of a certified applicator.

Restricted-use statement — A statement on a pesticide label that

restricts the use of that pesticide to specific areas or by designated
individuals.

Rodenticide — A pesticide used for control of rats, mice, gophers,

squirrels, and other rodents.

Route of exposure — The way a pesticide gets onto or into the body.
The four routes of exposure are dermal (on or through the skin), ocular
(on or in the eyes), respiratory (into the lungs), and oral (through
swallowing).

Runoff — The liquid spray material that drips from the foliage of treated
plants or from other treated surfaces. Also the rainwater or irrigation
water that leaves an area.

Safety data sheet (SDS) — A document available from the manufacturer

that provides information on chemical properties, toxicity, first aid,
hazards, personal protective equipment, and emergency procedures to
be followed in the event of a spill, leak, fire, or transportation crisis.

Sensitization — An allergic reaction to pesticides.

Definitions of Common Terms 249

GLOSSARY
Signal word — One of three words (danger, danger-poison, warning, or
caution) found on pesticide labels to indicate the relative hazard of the
chemical.

Skin absorption — The passage of pesticides through the skin into the
blood stream or other organs of the body.

Supplemental label — Additional instructions and information that are

not found on the pesticide label but is considered to be part of the
pesticide labeling.

Symptom — Any abnormal condition that can be caused by a

pesticide exposure that can be seen or felt or can be detected by
examination or laboratory tests.

Tolerance — The maximum amount of pesticide residue that may

legally remain on or in food or feed commodities at harvest or slaughter;
established by the EPA for each crop and every pesticide used on a
specific crop.

Toxicity — The potential the pesticide has for causing harm.

Toxicity testing — A process in which known doses of a pesticide are

given to groups of test animals and the results observed.

Training record — A document intended to record the date, type of

pesticide safety training, and names of the attendees. This requirement
varies from state to state; contact state and local pesticide regulatory
agencies for guidance.

Treated surface — The surface of plants, soil, or other items that were
treated with pesticides.

Treated area — Any area to which a pesticide is being directed or has

been directed. In some places, the manual further limits the definition of
a treated area as any site where a pesticide has been applied and a
REI has been in effect within the last 30 days.

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 GLOSSARY
Use — As in “to use a pesticide” means any of the following:

• Pre-application activities, including, but not limited to:

• Arranging for the application of the pesticide,

• Mixing and loading the pesticide,

• Making necessary preparations for the application of the

pesticide, including responsibilities related to worker notification,
training of workers or handlers, providing decontamination
supplies, providing pesticide safety information and pesticide
application and hazard information, use and care of personal
protective equipment, providing emergency assistance, and
heat stress management.

• Application of the pesticide.

• Post-application activities intended to reduce the risks of illness and

injury resulting from handlers’ and workers’ occupational exposures
to pesticide residues during and after the restricted-entry interval,
including responsibilities related to worker notification, training of
workers or early-entry workers, providing decontamination supplies,
providing pesticide safety information and pesticide application and
hazard information, use and care of personal protective equipment,
providing emergency assistance, and heat stress management.

• Other pesticide-related activities, including, but not limited to,

transporting or storing pesticides that have been opened, cleaning
equipment, and disposing of excess pesticides, spray mix, equipment
wash waters, pesticide containers, and other pesticide containing
materials.

Warning — The signal word used on labels of pesticides having an oral

LD50 between 50 mg/kg and 500 mg/kg and a dermal LD50 between 200
mg/kg and 2000 mg/kg.

Worker — Any person, including a self-employed person, who is

employed for a salary or wages (financial compensation) and performs
activities directly relating to the production of agricultural plants on an
agricultural establishment. See agricultural worker.

Definitions of Common Terms 251

GLOSSARY
Worker housing area — Any place or area of land on or near an
agricultural establishment where housing or space for housing is
provided for workers or handlers by an agricultural employer, owner,
labor contractor, or any other person responsible for the recruitment or
employment of agricultural workers.

Worker Protection Standard (WPS) — Regulation in 40 CFR Part 170

which contains a national standard designed to reduce the risks of
occupational illness or injury resulting from worker and handler exposure
to pesticides used in the production of agricultural plants on farms or
in nurseries, greenhouses, and forests and also from the accidental
exposure of workers and other persons to such pesticides. It requires
workplace practices like the pesticide safety training of agricultural
workers and pesticide handlers, central information postings, and
procedures for responding to exposure-related emergencies.

T​ his work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike

4.0 International License. © 2016 The Regents of the University of California, Davis campus.
For information contact [email protected].

252 National WPS Trainer Manual

Pesticide Educational Resources Collaborative U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
UC Davis Extension Office of Pesticide Programs (MC 7506C)
1333 Research Park Dr. 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Davis, CA 95618 Washington, DC 20460
pesticideresources.org epa.gov/pesticides
EPA 730-B-16-001
Publication date:
November 2016