Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
product includes its source, style number, sizes, and other key features of im-
portance to the purchasing decision.
Table 6.10
Association of PPE levels with pesticide handler activities.
Level of Clothing*
Activity
Toxicity Category l & ll
Toxicity Category III
Mixing /Loading
4
1
Applying
-Airblast spraying
5
1
-Boom spraying
2 or 4
1
-Greenhouse
2 or 4
1
-Airplane
2
1
*
As defined in
Table 6.1
.
7.
Cost
An individual item of PPE may pass through several vendors between its
point of manufacture and the point of sale to the person responsible for the
health and safety of a pesticide handler. Along the chain, there is an opportu-
nity for mark-ups and discounts; the magnitudes of which are highly dependent
on the volume of the purchase and the market conditions. Vendors and dis-
tributors are constantly changing prices in order to reflect changing raw mate-
rials costs, labor costs, and competition. For all these reasons, item-by-item
price information is not included in this discussion.
8.
Impact on Productivity
a.
Job Function
The effect of PPE on task performance and, therefore, productivity was
discussed briefly in the previous sections. In virtually all cases (with the possible
exception of eye protection), the use of PPE will increase the time needed to
complete a task. Certain PPE, furthermore, may preclude the performance of
certain tasks. For example, the glove that provides chemical protection for >4
hours may reduce dexterity to a point where the worker cannot repair a clogged
nozzle. For situations such as this, the preferred glove may be one that pro-
vides protection for considerably shorter times but has less negative effect on
dexterity. Protection would be obtained by replacing the glove more fre-
quently.
