Pesticides with Water Soluble Packaging

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued a letter to registrants of products with water-soluble packaging (WSP), which details new instructions to be followed while handling these products. Water-soluble packaging is a technology intended to lower exposure risks for workers who handle pesticides. Handler exposure can be reduced when WSP is used appropriately, as it lowers risks when mixing and loading pesticides. WSP qualifies as a closed system under the Agricultural Worker Protection System.

The letter was issued in response to findings by the Agricultural Handler Exposure Task Force, which discovered that improper use and handling of WSP would offset the protective properties of the material. The task force informed EPA of their findings and offered proposals for ways to improve label information in an effort to correct the improper use of products.