- (Focus Area) Pest Management
- Author: Cheryl Reynolds
Spring is in full swing and summer is right around the corner. If you work in agricultural, turf, landscape or structural settings, you are probably at your busiest. If you handle pesticides as part of your work, you most likely wear personal protective equipment (PPE). However, do you know if you are wearing the right type of gear for the job that you do? Wearing the appropriate PPE, taking it off the right way, and correctly cleaning it prevents unnecessary pesticide exposure to yourself and others.
To prevent exposing family members or those around you to pesticide residues, learn the appropriate steps to take by viewing a new online course on Proper Selection, Use, and Removal of Personal Protective Equipment from the UC Statewide IPM Program.
The course is approved by the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) for 1.5 hours in the Laws and Regulations category. This course is designed for all pesticide handlers with the goal to provide them with information on pesticide labels and the California Code of Regulations (CCR) to help them select, wear, remove, and dispose of or store PPE.
In California, all pesticide handlers (applicators, mixers, loaders, those who transport pesticides, or those who fix application equipment) are legally required to wear PPE. However, to get the most protection from PPE, it must be used correctly. Violations involving the incorrect use of PPE were the second most commonly reported type of agricultural-use violation in 2017 as reported by DPR (PDF).
The new PPE online course opens with a scenario describing a real example of an accident reported toDPR that led to an incident of pesticide exposure because the correct eye protection was not worn. The content that follows is divided into six instructional modules, highlighting types ofPPE, how to select it, and when certain items should be worn. Participants answer short questions about the different types ofPPE, open pesticide labels to learn how to select the rightPPE and learn when certain items should be worn. Short how-to videos and animated sequences demonstrate the proper way to put on or remove items such as gloves, coveralls, respirators andeyewear. To receive a certificate of completion and continuing education hours, you must pass a final test with 70 percent or higher.
If this is the year to renew your license with DPR, get a jumpstart on it. Take this new course and all the other UC IPM online courses to refresh your knowledge and get the CEUs you need. There is a $30 fee for taking Proper Selection, Use, and Removal of Personal Protective Equipment. You are welcome to view the content for free on YouTube, but without the activities, final exam and continuing education credit. For more information about license renewal, visit DPR.
- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
Melnicoe was the first director of the Western Integrated Pest Management Center, launching the project at UC Davis in the early 2000s when the regional IPM centers were just getting off the ground. He had served as western regional coordinator for the Pesticide Impact Assessment Program and assistant to the UC IPM director since 1991. He also oversaw the Office of Pesticide Information and Coordination.
In 2011, UC Davis awarded Melnicoe a Citation of Excellence for supervision. The nomination noted that as a model of a can-do attitude and approach, Melnicoe encouraged others to aim high and stretch.
“When he retired in 2012, the Western IPM Center was an important and valued partner in integrated pest management in the West and across the country, and much of that was due to Rick,” Steve Elliott, communication coordinator for the center, wrote in the Western IPM Center newsletter.
“You could count on him to try to move past difficult things and to get people to try to move forward together," said Jim VanKirk, former director of the Southern IPM Center. "If there were 300 million people like Rick in this country, we would be a lot better off.”
A celebration of Melnicoe's life will be held in June, according to his obituary in the Sacramento Bee.
Read more about Melnicoe in Elliott's blog post at http://ipmwest.blogspot.com/2018/02/remembering-former-center-director-rick.html
- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
Jim Farrar, director of UC Integrated Pest Management Program, succeeds Cheryl Wilen as leader for Endemic and Invasive Pests and Diseases (EIPD).
Neil McRoberts, associate professor of plant pathology at UC Davis, and Deanne Meyer, UCCE specialist in animal science at UC Davis, succeed David Doll as co-leaders for Sustainable Food Systems (SFS).
Keith Nathaniel continues to lead the Healthy Families and Communities initiative and Doug Parker continues to lead the Water Quality, Quantity and Security initiative.
