TU REPRESENTATIVES

You are in direct contact with people handling pesticides. Much can be done to control their possible ill-effects. Controls are based on reducing exposures as much as possible.

While there are few specific national regulations covering pesticide use, your existing law covering chemical hazards can be used. There are many codes, particularly through major retailers (eg See Co-operative Retail (UK) left hand nav), as to what constitutes good practice.

Classification

By function: Insecticides kill insects, Herbicides kill weeds, Fungicides kill fungi,

By chemical structure: Organochlorines, organophosphates, carbamates, mercurial fungicides...

Hazards - Symptoms

Main disorders to look out for are: 
when handling organophosphates (There is usually a "phos" or "fos" in the name) or carbamates (eg). These both work in a similar way - by affecting how your nerves work. Explain about anti-cholinesterase. (often mentioned on the label (See Level 2) Washington farmworker link (left hand col - Farmworker justice. See Poisoning

Look up hazards for any pesticide in PAN database