5.4 First Aid & Emergency Response

Recognizing Pesticide Poisoning

Quick Answer: Pesticide poisoning can look like heat illness, the flu, or a hangover — mild symptoms are easy to dismiss. The label's Statement of Practical Treatment (First Aid section) is the authoritative guide for the specific product; Poison Help at 1-800-222-1222 reaches a poison-control nurse or pharmacist 24/7, and 911 is for life-threatening symptoms. Have the label, SDS, and product container at hand when you call, and give them to the medical team.

Symptoms vary by chemical class. Organophosphate and carbamate insecticides inhibit cholinesterase and produce the SLUDGE syndrome — Salivation, Lacrimation, Urination, Defecation, GI distress, Emesis — plus muscle twitching, constricted pupils, sweating, and confusion; severe cases progress to seizures and respiratory failure. Pyrethroids may cause skin paresthesia (numbness/tingling) and, in heavy exposure, salivation and vomiting. Herbicides and fungicides have diverse acute effects that the label will describe. Any unexplained illness in a handler during or shortly after work should be treated as possible pesticide poisoning and referred to a physician.

First Aid From the Label

The label's Statement of Practical Treatment gives first-aid instructions by route of exposure. Follow the label exactly — different products require different responses (for example, some specify milk to drink, others specify only water; some say induce vomiting, modern labels generally do not). The label has priority over general guidance. After administering label first aid, contact Poison Help or 911 and transport the patient.

General first-aid framework

Calling for help: Poison Help and 911

• Poison Help: 1-800-222-1222 — reaches a regional poison-control center 24 hours a day. Tell them the product name, EPA registration number, active ingredient, and the exposure scenario. They can advise whether the patient can be managed at home, should be sent to an emergency department, or needs an ambulance.
• 911 — for life-threatening symptoms: unconsciousness, difficulty breathing, seizures, severe burns, or chest pain. The dispatcher can coordinate with the poison-control center.
• Always have the label, SDS, and product container at the medical facility — medical staff need the active ingredient and formulation to choose treatment. Do not transport a leaking container in the passenger compartment of the vehicle; double-bag it if necessary, or take a photo of the label.

Spill Response: Contain, Control, Clean Up

Pesticide spills are handled in three ordered phases. Never hose a spill into a storm drain or ditch — that converts a small incident into a groundwater and surface-water contamination event.

1. Contain

Stop the source. Upright a tipped container, close a valve, shut off a pump. Build a dike with absorbent material, soil, or a spill berm to keep the liquid from spreading. Block nearby floor drains, storm drains, and culverts. Evacuate unprotected personnel and rope off the area.

2. Control

Once the spread is stopped, absorb the liquid with spill-kit absorbent (kitty litter, vermiculite, activated clay, commercial pads). Sweep dry spills with a soft broom and dustpan — never use a vacuum that could aerosolize the dust. Wear the label-specified PPE plus, for large spills, a respirator.

3. Clean up

Collect the absorbed material into a heavy-duty, labeled pesticide bag or the original container if it is sound. Seal the bag and store it in the pesticide storage area for disposal. Decontaminate the spill surface with detergent and water, then rinse and absorb the rinseate — the rinseate is pesticide waste and must be collected, not washed to the drain. Dispose of the waste per the label's Storage and Disposal section and Michigan Part 83 requirements.

Spill kit contents

A fully stocked pesticide spill kit should contain:

• PPE: chemical-resistant gloves, boots, coveralls, goggles, and a respirator appropriate for the products used.
• Absorbent: kitty litter, vermiculite, or commercial absorbent pads (enough for the largest container you handle).
• Tools: non-sparking scoop and broom, dustpan, heavy-duty pesticide bags, sealing tape.
• Decontamination: detergent, water in spray bottles, eye-flush bottle.
• Information: copies of labels and SDS for the products stored on site.

Large spills and reporting

Spills that exceed a reportable quantity, contaminate surface water, or threaten public health trigger federal reporting under CERCLA/EPCRA and Michigan reporting under Part 83 and Part 201 of NREPA. Michigan's environmental emergency line is the Pollution Emergency Alerting System (PEAS), operated by the Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE), at 800-292-4706 — used for spills and other environmental releases. For spills that exceed a federal reportable quantity, also notify the National Response Center at 1-800-424-8802. When in doubt, report — applicators are rarely criticized for over-reporting, and under-reporting is a violation.

Personal Decontamination and Heat Illness

Personal decontamination after a task

After any handling task, before eating, drinking, smoking, or using the bathroom, wash hands and face with soap and water. At the end of the day:

1. Wash gloves with soap and water before removing them.
2. Remove PPE in an order that avoids touching contaminated surfaces (gloves last, inside-out).
3. Shower as soon as possible; wash hair and nails.
4. Launder work clothing separately from family laundry in hot water and detergent; line dry.

Heat illness recognition

Heat illness is a hazard for PPE-clad applicators and can mimic pesticide poisoning. Distinguish and respond:

• Heat exhaustion: heavy sweating, weakness, dizziness, nausea, headache, muscle cramps, cool moist skin, rapid pulse. Move to a cool area, loosen clothing, hydrate, monitor.
• Heat stroke: medical emergency — body temperature above 103°F, hot dry skin (sweating may have stopped), confusion, loss of consciousness, seizures. Call 911, move to shade, remove excess clothing, cool with water and fans; do not give fluids to an unconscious person.

If a worker shows heat symptoms while also exposed to a cholinesterase-inhibiting insecticide, treat both as possible and call Poison Help and 911; the symptoms overlap and only medical evaluation can separate them safely.

Michigan Emergency Reporting Expectations

Under Part 83 of NREPA, Michigan pesticide applicators must report incidents that affect humans, animals, or the environment to MDARD. The reporting expectations include:

• Any pesticide exposure that requires medical attention.
• Any spill that reaches surface water, groundwater, or that exceeds a reportable quantity.
• Any property damage or crop injury from drift.
• Any misapplication.

Reports go to MDARD's Pesticide and Plant Pest Management Division at 800-292-3939 and, for spills and environmental releases, to EGLE's PEAS line at 800-292-4706. Keep contemporaneous records — date, time, location, product, amount, conditions, and the actions taken — because Part 83 record-keeping applies to incidents as well as to applications.

Exam Scenario

A typical question shows an applicator splashed in the eye while pouring a concentrate. The correct sequence is flush the eye with clean water for 15 minutes, then call Poison Help (1-800-222-1222) with the label in hand — not call first and delay flushing, and not flush briefly and return to work. A second scenario describes a spill at the loading pad; the correct answer is contain, then control with absorbent, then clean up — never hose it down the drain. A third asks where to find the authoritative first-aid instruction for a specific product: the label's Statement of Practical Treatment, not a general first-aid guide.