Triple rinse backpack sprayers or hand pump sprayers before switching to a different herbicide / solution or before switching to a new project partner
Triple rinse backpack sprayers at least twice per work week (suggested: after the work day on Tuesday and Friday)
Containment trays (what the sprayers sit in while being transported in the back of the truck) and chemical concentrate storage boxes should be triple rinsed at least once per week, most often done on Friday afternoons
Backpack Sprayers
Leave shirt untucked at all times while using backpack sprayers
A collared shirt, long sleeves, hat, long pants, and boots must be worn while using backpack sprayers
Keep spray tip pointing at the ground and away from your body at any time that the sprayer is not actively being sprayed at a plant (during transport, mixing, walking, etc.)
Someone using a backpack sprayer should always have at least one clean blue paper towel in their hand in the event of an unexpected leak coming from the backpack or from the spray wand
Backpack sprayers should be bunjee-corded to each other and bunjee-corded to the bed of the truck while in transport in the bed of the truck
Backpack sprayers should never be transported inside the cab of the truck or in the trailer; sprayers may be stored in a trailer inside a containment tray if the trailer is not moving and if there is nothing else inside the trailer; backpack sprayers must always be in the bed of a truck if being transported
Backpack sprayers must be depressurized before being placed into the bed of a truck for transport; if there is still liquid inside of the sprayer, a sprayer may be depressurized by spraying onto target plants or by spraying into the reservoir of another backpack sprayer
Once a backpack sprayer is placed into the containment tray in the bed of the truck, the hoses, wands, and spray tips must also be contained within the containment tray during transport
Techniques and Safety
Herbicide solution or concentrate should never intentionally be touched directly by your herbicide gloves, there should always be at least one degree of protection between your herbicide glove and the chemicals that are being applied
Using a backpack sprayer to spray herbicide onto plants
Using a paint brush to paint on concentrate onto a cut stump
Using a hand pump to pump herbicide onto plants or onto cut stumps
If you are asked by a project partner to use any herbicide application technique that features directly touching herbicide with your gloves intentionally, please contact WCC staff as soon as possible
Any person mixing or applying herbicide should be wearing the following PPE at the minimum at all times:
Baseball hat or wide brim hat, safety glasses, herbicide gloves, long sleeve shirt, long pants, (preferably waterproof) boots
Any person working near the application or mixing of herbicide should be wearing the following PPE at the minimum at all times:
Long sleeve shirt, long pants, boots, safety glasses, baseball hat or wide brim hat
“Clean Hands” and “Dirty Hands”
All objects related to an herbicide operation are labeled by the crew as something you can touch with your bare hand or something you can only touch if you’re wearing your green herbicide gloves; this designation may be different from crew to crew depending on project partner needs and expectations; “Clean Hands” is your bare hand and “Dirty Hands” is your herbicide glove
Several things are always going to be designated “Dirty Hands” due to health and safety measures: chemical and herbicide concentrate containers, backpack sprayers or other spray equipment, truck bed bunjee cords for sprayers, measuring cups, the spray equipment containment tray, and the inside of the chemical concentrate storage box
Other items related to a spray operation will be designated “Clean Hands” no matter the project: the hand washing water container, soap dispenser, the outside and inside of the spill kit, and any contents of the spill kit
Everything else not listed above are “Clean Hands” for obvious reasons; a few examples: the truck, the tailgate, your backpack, your clothes, food, water bottles, cell phone, etc.
There may be other items on a spray operation not listed here that you or your project partner will designate as “Clean Hands” and “Dirty Hands”; this designation should be consistently and widely communicated with your crew and with anyone else that you are working with; keep in mind that other workers or other conservation corps crews may not follow the same designations that your crew has made; when in doubt, always operate on the safe side and avoid touching anything with your herbicide gloves
Hand Washing
Set up hand washing station on the tailgate of your truck once you arrive at the worksite and before beginning any mixing or spraying activities; the hand washing station should remain set up throughout mixing and spraying and until materials need to be packed up before moving to a new work site or ending for the day
A hand washing station should at minimum include a large bottle of hand soap, a 5 gallon blue jug with white spigot, and blue towels
During hand washing operations, there is always a “Clean Hands” person operating the water spigot and soap dispenser; the water spigot and soap are never to be touched by herbicide gloves
Every time that you are finishing a spray session and are about to set down your backpack sprayer for any reason, your herbicide gloves and your actual hands must be washed with soap and water; first wash your herbicide gloves while you’re still wearing them, then take off the herbicide gloves carefully, set them on the ground away from the truck and walking areas, and then finish by washing your actual hands with the help of the “Clean Hands” person
Spill Kit
Should contain the following at a minimum: a roll of blue paper towels, 13-gallon garbage bags, extra herbicide gloves in size 8 and 10, extra glove liners, pink absorbent pads, a sharpie, a roll of duct tape, replacement parts for a backpack sprayer, a small package of cat litter, clear zip lock bags
If your spill kit is getting low on any of these supplies please let a WCC staff member know so that new materials can be ordered; do not purchase spill kit materials with your food budget
Documentation
A spray log must be completed for every day that herbicide is used on a project; there are spray logs included in your binder
If you run out of logs during your season, you can use the back of already completed logs to continue documentation until a staff member can deliver new spray logs to you or send them over Slack for you to print more at a library or other local option