Do your pesticide applications fall under the scope of the EPA’s Worker Protection Standard (WPS)? If so, you should take a few minutes to review recent changes to the Application Exclusion Zone (AEZ) requirements. 

Let’s start by reviewing what the AEZ is and its purpose. The EPA introduced the AEZ as part of the 2015 revision to the Worker Protection Standard with the goal of reducing incidents in which pesticides contact people near pesticide applications. The AEZ establishes a well-defined area surrounding the pesticide application equipment that must generally be free of all persons during a pesticide application. The size of the AEZ depends on the type of pesticide application (aerial, air blast, boom sprayer, etc.) and anticipated droplet size. Some applications may require an AEZ with a 100-foot radius, while others only need a 25-foot radius. Suppose workers or other people (other than appropriately trained and equipped handlers directly involved with the application) enter the AEZ during an application. In that case, the applicator and handler must temporarily suspend the application until everyone not involved has left the AEZ. 

While the AEZ has been in effect since January 2018, it has faced some regulatory uncertainty. The EPA previously published a final rule revising the AEZ on October 30, 2020. A court order blocked the 2020 AEZ rule, and it never went into effect. In 2024, the EPA finalized a new revision to the AEZ rule that went into effect on December 3, 2024. The 2024 AEZ rule rescinded three of the amendments outlined in the 2020 AEZ Rule and amended the original 2015 AEZ requirements to make it easier to understand and provide flexibility for family farms. 

The 2024 AEZ rule rescinded the following 2020 AEZ Rule amendments:

1. The area where the AEZ applies. This rule rescinds language from the 2020 AEZ Rule that limited the applicability of the AEZ to the agricultural employer's property. As such, with the 2024 AEZ rule, applications must be suspended whenever someone is within the AEZ, regardless of whether that person is on or off the agricultural establishment.
2. The exception to application suspension requirements for property easements. Under the 2024 AEZ rule, applications must be suspended whenever someone is within an AEZ, even if they are not employed by the establishment and in an area subject to an easement that prevents the agricultural employer from temporarily excluding those individuals from that area.
3. The distances from the application equipment in which entry restrictions associated with ongoing ground-based pesticide applications apply. Under the 2024 AEZ rule, the AEZ distance is 100 feet for ground-based fine spray applications and 25 feet, generally, for ground-based applications using medium or larger droplet sizes. 

The 2024 AEZ rule amended the AEZ provisions in the 2015 WPS as follows:

1. Clarifies when suspended applications may be resumed. This rule specifies that applications that were suspended due to individuals entering an AEZ may be resumed after those individuals have left the AEZ. As a result, this rule supersedes EPA's previous interpretive guidance on resuming applications in circumstances when individuals off-establishment are in the AEZ.
2. Provides an exemption allowing owners and their immediate family to remain within the AEZ in certain scenarios. Under this rule, farm owners and members of their immediate family may shelter within closed structures (for example, their house) within an AEZ during pesticide applications, provided that the owner has instructed the handlers that only the owner's immediate family is inside the closed shelter and that the application should proceed despite their presence. Handlers may proceed with applications under these circumstances.
3. Replaces the volume median diameter (VMD) criteria with droplet size classification standards. Under this rule, the standard that will be used as the droplet size criterion when making AEZ distance determinations based on droplet size is the technical standard established by the American Society of Agricultural Engineers (ASAE). ASAE was renamed the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) in 2005, which is also endorsed by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). Although ASABE is now the organization of record for these standards, the specific size standard reflects the name of the organization that existed at the time that the standard was established. 

The EPA plans to continue to provide additional guidance to support AEZ compliance. In the meantime, please visit the EPA’s website for additional information regarding the EPA's Agricultural Worker Protection Standard and the revised AEZ Requirements. The Pesticide Educational Resources Collaborative (PERC) also maintains a Worker Protection Standard Compliance Assistance Library with free WPS resources.

This text was adapted from “Pesticides; Agricultural Worker Protection Standard; Reconsideration of the Application Exclusion Zone Amendments (89 FR 80767)”, published 10/4/2024.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Travis Cleveland provides subject matter expertise and training in pesticide safety with an emphasis on plant pathology. He provides diagnostic support the U of I Plant Clinic and he coordinates the Home, Yard and Garden Pest Newsletter.