Proper use of pesticides for water quality on small acreage

WHY SHOULD i BE CONCERNED?

The same chemicals that are useful in controlling garden and household pests can also contaminate our water, causing expensive and long term hazards to beneficial plants and animals and to humans. Protect your family and your acreage by using, storing or disposing of pesticides properly!

STORE PESTICIDES TO PROTECT YOUR WATER

PESTICIDE STORAGE PRACTICES

Pesticides that are stored safely pose little danger to water quality.

Pesticides should be stored in a separate facility
Never store pesticides with other products, inside a well house or a facility containing an abandoned well.

At the time of purchase, always check the label, ask the chemical distributor, or check the Utah Department of Agriculture and Foods or Environmental Protection Agency about legal requirements associated with the pesticides.
Click on the spill clean up tab for information on reporting requirements, and on best practices to to store and use pesticides safely.

TAKE ACTION TO STORE PESTICIDES SAFELY

> > TAKE ACTION!
store pesticides safely

Pesticides that are stored safely pose little danger to water quality. Whenever possible, store pesticides in a facility constructed just for pesticides. Use the tips to the right to build, locate and store your pesticides correctly to protect your water resources.

tIPS for BUILDING A NEW PESTICIDE STORAGE FACILITY OR MODIFYING AN EXISTING ONE >>+

When building a new facility or modifying an existing one, always:

Store out of reach of children, pets, and livestock.
Make sure your storage area is downslope and at least 100 feet from any wells.
This site should never flood and be as far from surface waters as possible.
Consider the potential for flooding, fire, or other disasters.

tips for LOCATING YOUR
PESTICIDE STORAGE FACILITY >>+

Ask yourself these questions when locating your storage facility:

Is the storage facility downslope and at least 100 feet away from any wells?
Is the facility on a site that never floods and at a maximum distance from surface waters?
Will the location allow for rapid or safe removal of pesticides in an emergency?
Will the location have adequate access for deliveries and emergency equipment.

SAFETY CHECKLIST FOR A
PESTICIDE STORAGE FACILITY>>+

Follow this safety check list for the storage facility:

Are your pesticides in either a well ventilated, dry, locked and labeled cabinet OR a separate storage room?
Does the storage facility have an impermeable (waterproof) floor?
Does the facility have a secondary containment area that will hold 125% of the contents of your largest container?
Does the facility have any sources of flame or ignition?
Do you keep safety and cleanup equipment (protective clothing, respirators, gas masks, or goggles) separated from the pesticide storage area?

TIPS FOR PESTICIDE SAFETY
WITHIN THE STORAGE FACILITY >>+

Use this checklist to make sure the pesticides in your storage facility are as safe as possible:

Do you prevent cross-contamination by keeping pesticides separated?
- Herbicides, insecticides and fungicides should be kept on separate shelves or in separate areas.
Are pesticides stored n the original containers with legible labels?
Are stored pesticides separate from foods, feeds, drugs or other edible products?
- Never store in beverage, food, open or other containers
Do you regularly check storage containers for leaks and to assure the lids are tight?

MIX AND LOAD PESTICIDES PROPERLY

MIXING & LOADING PRACTICES TO PROTECT WATER QUALITY

Groundwater contamination can result from small spills in the mixing and loading area. The best practice is to have an impermeable mixing or loading area (pad) that will contain spills and prevent groundwater contamination. The size of the pad also depends on the equipment you use, but it should provide space around the parked equipment for washing and rinsing.
A mixing and loading pad should be large enough to contain:

leaks from bulk tanks,
wash water from cleaning equipment,
and spills from transferring chemicals to the sprayer or spreader.

> > TAKE ACTION!
MIX & LOAD PESTICIDES PROPERLY

Place mixing and loading areas next to the storage area.
Treat concrete in storage areas with an appropriate sealer to make sure it is impermeable.
Build a curb around the loading/mixing pad to prevent spilled chemicals from escaping and to allow for easier cleanup.
Avoid cross contamination or mixing of pesticides by using separate storage tanks for rinse water.
Make sure that any water from the loading/ mixing pad does not drain toward a well. Construct a runoff diversion if necessary.
Make sure floor drains or surface runoff won’t channel spilled pesticides to surface water.

BETTER MANAGEMENT ON YOUR EXISTING MIXING & LOADING SITE:

If you don’t have an impermeable mixing and loading pad, you can minimize contamination from spills or leaks by following some basic guidelines:

Avoid mixing and loading pesticides near a well. One way to do this is to use a nurse tank to transport water to the mixing and loading site. Ideally, the mixing site should be rotated with each application, or at least moved each year within the field of application.
Avoid mixing and loading on gravel driveways or other surfaces that allow spills to soak into the soil. A clay surface is better than sand.
Consider a closed handling system, which transfers the pesticide directly from a storage container to applicator equipment (through a hose, for example, rather than being poured out of a container by hand).
Install an anti-backflow device in a pipe or hydrant to prevent reverse flow of liquids into a water supply. Keep an air gap of 6 inches between the hose and liquid in the tank.
Always supervise sprayer filling. For restricted-use pesticides, a trained and certified applicator must supervise operations.
Store rinse water from different chemicals in separate tanks and use this water for mixing subsequent loads.
- Spray the last rinsate load on a site for which it is approved.

CLEAN UP AND DISPOSE OF PESTICIDES PROPERLY

CLEANING UP SPILLED PESTICIDES

Sound containers are your first defense against a spill or leak. If a container is accidentally ripped open or knocked off a shelf, the spill should be confined to the immediate area and cleaned up promptly.

For dry spills, promptly sweep up and reuse the pesticide as it was intended.
For liquid spills, it may be possible to recover some material.
Absorbent material such as sawdust can also be used to recover spilled chemicals.

Cleanup materials, as well as any contaminated soils, must be disposed of in a manner approved by the Utah Department of Environmental Quality.

Click here for more info on which types of SPILLS MUST BE REPORTED > > +

SPILL TYPE	NOTIFY
Spills of any amount into streams or lakes	National Response Center (800) 424-8802. Utah Department of Environmental Quality (801) 536-4123.
Spills of hazardous pesticides that could result in exposure to off-site personnel.	The emergency response coordinator for the nearest community. Utah Department of Environmental Quality (801) 536-4123.
Any use of pesticides or spills that affect the property of another person.	Utah Department of Agriculture and Food (801) 538-7185.
Spills creating greater than 220 pounds of hazardous waste (incuding the weight of the contaminated soil.)	Utah Department of Environmental Quality (801) 536-4123.

DISPOSING OF UNUSED PESTICIDES AND CONTAINERS

EXCESS PESTICIDE DISPOSAL PRACTICES

Pesticides and pesticide containers are considered a hazardous substance. Always think about the safety of people, animals and the environment when disposing of excess pesticides and containers.

Never use pesticides for unapproved purpose (see label).
Never pour pesticides down a drain, directly on the ground, or into any surface water.
Do not discard pesticides in a desolate or “waste” area, as this can inadvertently contaminate the environment.

Always dispose of pesticides according to manufacturer instructions.

Pesticides can be disposed of in EPA approved facilities.
Some landfills have permanent pesticide disposal facilities.
Check with your county or nearest city about collection days when they will accept hazardous materials from households.
Some manufacturers may accept excess pesticides for reformulation or disposal.

Note that incineration can only be done if the appropriate paper work has been completed. In all other cases, incineration is not allowed.

CONTAINER DISPOSAL PRACTICES

Containers holding pesticides are considered to be hazardous waste and are regulated as hazardous waste even when they are empty unless they have been properly cleaned. Always triple rinse pesticide containers before disposing of them at landfills, recyclers, or reconditioners.

> > TAKE ACTION!
reduce pesticide waste

Follow these tips to protect your family and the environment by eliminating spills and reducing pesticide waste:

Never buy more than you need to apply, keep records of what you have, and use older products first. 
Never discard pesticide containers in unapproved locations or use containers for other purposes.
Do not allow non-triple rinsed pesticide containers to accumulate on your property.
Paper bags should be thoroughly emptied and disposed of at a sanitary landfill.
Avoid purchasing pesticides in glass containers. Glass containers can create an extra hazard when dropped or broken.

click here for more information on the TRIPLE RINSE METHOD >> +

Empty pesticide container into spray tank and allow container to drain for 30 seconds.
Add rinse water to container so it is one-fourth full.
Rinse container thoroughly, pour rinsate into spray tank and drain for 30 seconds. Repeat 2 more times.
Recycle or dispose of the triple-rinsed container along with other waste.
For large volume users, use a 60 second jet spray which is equivalent to a triple rinse.