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Chapter 6 — Personal Protective Equipment
PPE selection, use, maintenance, and respirator rules for Michigan pesticide applicators.
Learning Objectives
After studying this chapter, you should be able to:
Find the minimum clothing and PPE requirements on a pesticide label.
Select skin, eye, and respiratory protection based on use and exposure.
List work practices for correct use of gloves, footwear, and eyewear.
Recognize signs of wear, damage, or PPE failure.
Explain the importance of NIOSH-approved respiratory protection.
Know when to replace particulate filters and chemical cartridges.
Distinguish between a fit test and a seal check for tight-fitting respirators.
Clean and maintain pesticide-contaminated work clothing and PPE.
Properly dispose of PPE when necessary.
What Is PPE?
PPE is the clothing and devices you wear to protect your body from pesticide contact. It reduces exposure through all four routes — dermal, inhalation, ocular, and oral — but does not eliminate exposure.
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE): As defined by the EPA, PPE includes coveralls, apron, gloves, footwear, headgear, eyewear, and respirators. Basic protective work clothing — long-sleeved shirt, long pants, closed-toed shoes, and socks — is required even for very low-hazard pesticides but is not classified as PPE.
🎯 Trick Spot: PPE reduces exposure but does not eliminate it. Any answer claiming PPE "eliminates" exposure is wrong. Wearing the required PPE keeps you legal — it doesn't make you invincible.
⚠️ Exam Tip: Basic work clothing (long sleeves, long pants, shoes, socks) is the minimum for every pesticide — even very low-hazard products.
Where to Find PPE Requirements on the Label
Wearing less PPE than the label requires is illegal and dangerous. All handlers — applicators, mixers, loaders, flaggers — must follow label PPE.
Precautionary Statements section — primary location for PPE requirements.
Agricultural Use Requirements box — additional PPE for farms, forests, nurseries, greenhouses (including early-entry PPE).
Worker Protection Standard (WPS; 40 CFR Part 170): Under EPA's WPS, agricultural employers must provide PPE in good working order and train handlers on proper use and maintenance.
🎯 Trick Spot: State, tribal, or local rules can be more restrictive than the federal label — and when they are, you must follow them. A label may allow reduced PPE with an enclosed cab, but if Michigan or a local agency bans that practice, the state rule wins.
⚠️ Exam Tip: A single label may list different PPE for applicators versus early-entry workers. Both sets are legally binding for their respective tasks.
Good Work Practices
Prevent Oral Exposure
Never eat, drink, chew gum, use tobacco, or handle cellphones while working with pesticides.
Contaminated hands are the main source of accidental oral exposure.
Prevent Dermal Exposure
Wash your hands before using the toilet — the groin area absorbs pesticide readily.
Wear long sleeves, long pants, and closed-toed shoes at minimum.
Never wipe contaminated gloves on your clothing — pesticides can seep through.
Prevent Ocular and Inhalation Exposure
Wear protective eyewear against splashes, sprays, mists, fogs, and aerosols.
Avoid breathing dusts, droplets, or vapors. Wear a respirator when needed — even if the label doesn't require one.
Decontaminate Yourself and Your PPE
Wash gloves with soap and water before taking them off, then wash your hands and face.
Shower at the end of the workday — wash hair, scalp, and under fingernails. Put on a complete change of clothes.
Launder work clothes separately from other laundry at the end of every workday.
⚠️ Exam Tip: Wash hands before using the toilet. This is backwards from normal hygiene instinct and a favorite test detail — contaminated hands transfer pesticide to sensitive skin.
Protect Your Body — Clothing, Coveralls, Aprons, Headgear
For PPE to be protective, it must shield your skin, resist punctures and tears, and be comfortable enough that you'll actually wear it.
Chemical Resistant (EPA definition): Prevents any measurable amount of material from moving through (breaking through) the fabric or material. Breakthrough is affected by contact time, concentration, temperature, and the product itself.
Work Clothing
Basic barrier. Always wear long-sleeved shirt, long pants, closed-toed shoes, and socks. Choose tightly woven fabric, free of holes and tears. Fasten the shirt collar completely.
Coveralls
A second layer over work clothes when required by the label. Must be loose-fitting and cover the entire body except head, hands, and feet. May be woven (cotton/twill), nonwoven reusable, or disposable.
Disposable Coveralls
✓ Advantages
Less decontamination time
Lower risk of contaminating equipment/vehicle
Less likely to carry pesticides home
✗ Disadvantages
Different protection levels by product
Must be rendered unusable and discarded
May need household hazardous waste disposal if heavily contaminated
Apron (for Mixing/Loading)
Required by some labels during mixing/loading or when cleaning equipment. Must cover front of body from mid-chest to knees.
🎯 Trick Spot: Be careful with apron strings around moving equipment (especially a PTO — power takeoff unit). Protective clothing can also cause heat stress by blocking sweat evaporation.
Headgear for Overhead Applications
Chemical-resistant hat with wide brim, or hood. Never use cotton, leather, or straw for overhead exposure — they absorb pesticide.
⚠️ Exam Tip: Cotton ball caps absorb pesticides. They are not acceptable when overhead exposure is possible.
Protect Your Feet — Footwear
Closed-toed shoes and socks are the minimum. Some labels require chemical-resistant footwear: heavy-duty unlined rubber boots or shoe covers.
🎯 Trick Spot:Leather and canvas absorb pesticides and cannot be decontaminated. Leather may only substitute for chemical-resistant boots when the required footwear is not durable enough for rough terrain.
Good Work Practices — Footwear
Never wear open-toed shoes or sandals.
Wear heavy-duty rubber boots past the ankle, at least halfway up the calf, when walking through treated areas before spray dries.
Put pant legs outside your boots — this prevents pesticide from running into footwear.
Do not use work footwear for other purposes, and do not wear it home.
⚠️ Exam Tip: Pant legs go outside the boots, not tucked in. Sounds wrong, but it keeps pesticide from channeling down into your shoes.
Protect Your Hands — Gloves
Hands and forearms get by far the most exposure. Research: mixers get 85% of exposure on hands and 13% on forearms. Wearing protective gloves reduces exposure by 99%.
The solvent in the formulation — not the active ingredient — determines the required glove type. That's why glove requirements vary between products with similar active ingredients.
Common Required Glove Materials
Nitrile rubber
Butyl rubber
Neoprene rubber
Barrier laminate
Viton®
Glove Thickness
Label specs are generally based on 14 mils thickness (except polyethylene and barrier laminate). Thicker gloves of the same material give longer breakthrough time.
Never Use These Gloves
Leather or cloth — absorb pesticide and trap it against skin (exception: cloth gloves with fumigants).
Any gloves with absorbent lining or flocking.
🎯 Trick Spot: The one exception where cloth gloves are correct is with fumigants. For everything else, cloth and leather are wrong answers.
Glove Fit and Use
Too tight — stretches material, pesticides break through.
Too large — can get caught in equipment.
Too loose — pesticides may run down inside the glove.
Check integrity before each use. Fill with water and gently squeeze to check for leaks.
Wash gloves before removing them. Rinse and slash used disposable gloves before discarding.
Replace immediately if cut, torn, or if pesticide gets inside.
⚠️ Exam Tip: The EPA Chemical Resistance Category Chart uses letters A through H. Category A = any waterproof material. Categories G and H = ONLY barrier laminate or Viton® (toughest solvents).
Protect Your Eyes — Eyewear
Eyes readily absorb pesticides. When the label requires protective eyewear, acceptable options include:
Goggles
Face shield
Safety glasses with shields at the front, brow, and temple
Full-face respirator
🎯 Trick Spot: Plain safety glasses do not protect against pesticide splashes. They're only minimum eyewear when they have front, brow, and temple shields.
When Goggles Are Required
Use goggles for corrosive-to-eye (Danger) products, open-cab air-blast applications, indoor misting/fogging, or any enveloping spray or dust. Goggles must be splash- and spray-proof with an air baffle system and no side vents.
⚠️ Exam Tip: If goggles are required, an eyewash dispenser must be immediately available. Contact lens wearers should consult an eye doctor before handling pesticides or wearing respirators.
Protect Your Respiratory System — Respirators
When a label specifies a respirator, use only a NIOSH-approved device matching the label. Nuisance dust masks and surgical masks are not NIOSH-approved for pesticide work.
NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health): Certifies respirators. Approvals are manufacturer-specific — never mix parts, cartridges, or filters from different manufacturers.
Two Main Classes of Respirator
Atmosphere-Supplying Respirator
Air-Purifying Respirator (APR)
Supplies clean, breathable air from an uncontaminated source (airline, SCBA). Required for oxygen-limited or IDLH environments — like phosphide fumigants in enclosed areas.
Removes contaminants from surrounding air. Does not supply oxygen. Never use in oxygen-limited or immediately dangerous-to-life-or-health (IDLH) environments.
🎯 Trick Spot: APRs do not neutralize or break down pesticides — they only filter and/or absorb them. Any answer saying "neutralize" or "break down" is wrong.
Air-Purifying Respirators — Two Types
Powered (PAPR) — Blower moves air through filter; tight-fitting facepiece OR loose-fitting hood. No fit test required for loose-fitting hood version. People with facial hair can use loose-fitting PAPRs.
Nonpowered — Tight-fitting facepiece seals to your face. Includes single-use filtering facepieces, half-masks, full-face masks, and gas masks (which use canisters).
Purifying Elements — Filters, Cartridges, Canisters
Particulate Filters
Chemical Cartridges / Canisters
Remove dusts, aerosols, sprays (solid or liquid particles). DO NOT remove gases or vapors.
Use sorbents to remove specific gases and vapors. DO NOT remove particulates. Most common for pesticides: organic vapor (OV) cartridge.
Particulate Filter Ratings
For PAPRs, filters are rated HE (High Efficiency).
For nonpowered APRs, filters are rated for oil resistance and efficiency:
Oil Resistance:
• N-series — Not oil-resistant.
• R-series — Oil-resistant up to 8 hours.
• P-series — Oil-proof.
Efficiency: 95, 99, or 100 (higher = less leakage). Example: N95, R99, P100.
🎯 Trick Spot: When oil may be present, you need an R or P filter. Use P-series when oil-proof is required. If you add an adjuvant that may contain or behave like oil, do not use an N-series filter.
Cartridge and Filter Change-Out Rules
Particulate filters: Change when damaged, torn, soiled, or when breathing becomes difficult. Follow the more frequent of manufacturer recommendations or the pesticide labeling. If no directions exist, dispose after 8 hours of cumulative use.
Chemical cartridges: Any taste, smell, or irritation means breakthrough — replace immediately. Once an organic vapor cartridge has been used, dispose of it at the end of the workday (unless the manufacturer directs otherwise). Pesticide trapped in the sorbent can desorb overnight and reach your lungs the next day.
⚠️ Exam Tip: End-of-day disposal for chemical cartridges. End-of-8-hours-cumulative-use for particulate filters (if no other directions). Don't confuse the two.
Fit Test vs Seal Check — Critical Distinction
These are two different procedures and the exam loves to confuse them.
Fit Test (annually)
User Seal Check (every use)
Selects the right size and type of tight-fitting respirator for your face. Performed annually, when switching facepieces, or after physical changes that affect fit (scarring, dental work, surgery, significant weight change).
Performed every time you put on the mask to verify proper seating. Confirms inhalation and exhalation valves work. Positive OR negative pressure method — preferably both.
Fit Test Types
Qualitative — A test agent outside the mask checks for leakage to the face (kit-based, simple).
Quantitative — Instrumentation numerically measures leakage into the respirator.
User Seal Check Types
Positive-pressure check — Cover exhalation port, lightly exhale. Air escaping = gaps in the seal.
Negative-pressure check — Cover inhalation surface and inhale. Mask should collapse onto face with no leakage.
🎯 Trick Spot:Fit test = annually (not every 5 years, not semiannually — unless physical change). Seal check = every single time you put the mask on. And no, you do NOT put Vaseline® around the seal — oils degrade the rubber and break the seal.
Before You Use Any Respirator
Get a medical evaluation to confirm wearing a respirator won't endanger your health.
Read manufacturer instructions and the NIOSH approval certificate.
Nothing — including beards or stubble — can interfere with the seal of a tight-fitting respirator.
⚠️ Exam Tip: If you can't get a proper seal (beard, facial shape), switch to a loose-fitting PAPR with hood. No fit test required, and facial hair is okay.
NIOSH TC Designations on Labels
The label specifies the respirator using a NIOSH TC (Testing and Certification) code:
TC Code
Respirator Type
TC-84A
Filtering facepiece, or APR with particulate or combo chemical + particulate filters (N, R, or P)
TC-21C
PAPR with particulate filter (HE)
TC-23C
APR or PAPR with chemical cartridges (or combo with HE filter)
TC-14G
Gas mask with canister (± particulate filter)
TC-13F
SCBA or supplied-air with escape bottle
TC-19C
Supplied-air respirator
Cleaning & Maintaining PPE
Work Clothes & Coveralls (Fabric)
Outdoors, shake dry material from cuffs and pockets; hang to air out.
Wash separately from other laundry.
Load only a few items — plenty of agitation and dilution.
Hot water, highest water level.
Use the prewash cycle to prerinse.
Heavy-duty liquid detergent.
Longest wash cycle. For lightly or moderately contaminated items, run two full cycles.
Line dry outdoors if possible.
Run one empty cycle with hot water + detergent before washing household laundry.
🎯 Trick Spot: Clothing splashed or soaked with undiluted pesticide concentrate (or large amounts of diluted pesticide)? Do not attempt to wash it. Remove immediately and dispose of it carefully. Heavily contaminated items go to household hazardous waste.
Boots and Gloves
Wash gloves before taking them off. Wash inside and outside of boots and gloves once removed.
Inspect — discard at any sign of wear or leakage.
Gloves are not designed for long-term reuse; replace often.
Boots can last multiple seasons if cared for. Store out of sunlight (sun degrades rubber).
Eyewear & Respirators
Facepieces, bodies, and helmets are designed for cleaning and reuse.
Remove and dispose of expendable parts (filters, cartridges, canisters).
Wash facepiece per manufacturer directions — clean around gaskets and valves. Air dry.
Store in a clean, dry place away from sunlight and extreme temperatures. Keep rubber facepiece undistorted so it holds its shape.
Never store PPE — especially respirators — with or near pesticides or other chemicals.
⚠️ Exam Tip: If using a laundry service, notify them the clothing may be pesticide-contaminated.
Key Terms Cheat Sheet
PPE: Coveralls, apron, gloves, footwear, headgear, eyewear, respirators. Basic work clothing (long sleeves, pants, shoes, socks) is required but not PPE.
WPS (Worker Protection Standard): 40 CFR Part 170. Requires ag employers to provide and train on PPE.
Chemical Resistant: Prevents measurable breakthrough through the material.
Breakthrough: The pesticide has moved through the glove or material. Influenced by contact time, concentration, temperature, and product.
