Are You a Pesticide Storage Master or Amateur?

Study this photo. Can you find the six things you should never do in your Pesticide Storage Area?

1. Food and drink should never be in the pesticide storage area. Food and drink items can be contaminated while working with pesticides. These items will absorb pesticides and increase your risk of acute or chronic toxicity. Also, pesticides and other chemicals should never be stored in food or drink containers. This can be very confusing to anyone, but especially to young children and the elderly.
2. Do not store different types of pesticides together. Storing herbicides, fungicides, insecticides, and other pesticides all together will increase the likelihood of picking the wrong product. It is recommended to organize your storage area by pesticide type.
3. Never store Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) with pesticides. PPE should always be stored separately and preferably in a clean, metal cabinet. When PPE is stored with pesticides, there is the potential for contamination before the PPE is even worn. In addition, you want to be wearing your PPE before you start working with pesticides.
4. Avoid using absorbent materials for shelving. Wood will absorb pesticides. When a pesticide spills or leaks on shelving that is made of wood, clean-up is very difficult, if not impossible. This can increase your pesticide exposure and lead to potential health effects. Metal is the best material for pesticide storage shelves. Metal is nonabsorbent and easy to clean. Plastic is the next best thing.
5. Always store pesticide containers right side up. Placing pesticide containers on their sides greatly increases the chance of product leaking out into the storage area. Not only is this a waste of product, it also increases your chance of pesticide exposure.
6. Do not use carpets or absorbent materials for flooring. Floors in a pesticide storage area should be made of sealed concrete, epoxy-coated metal or concrete, no-wax sheet flooring, or other easily cleaned, nonabsorbent material.

Here are a few additional rules for safe pesticide storage.

• Keep all pesticides in their original containers.
• Store dry pesticides above liquid pesticides.
• Keep liquid pesticides in an additional plastic tray to contain any potential leaks.
• Keep pesticides in a locked area.
• Identify the area as pesticide storage. This is important for protecting first responders in case of an emergency.