Laws & Safety Pesticide Review

Vocabulary-based flashcards covering pesticide laws, safety protocols, IPM concepts, and regulatory agency requirements for exam preparation.

IPM

Integrated Pest Management; a five-step process for managing pests using a combination of methods to minimize pesticide hazard and environmental impact.

FIFRA

Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act; the primary federal law regulating pesticide sales, use, and registration.

WSDA

Washington State Department of Agriculture; the state agency responsible for pesticide licensing, registration, and regulation in Washington.

EPA

Environmental Protection Agency; the federal agency with authority regarding the registration and sale of pesticide products.

SLN Registration

Special Local Need registration; a registration purpose that allows a state to provide additional uses for a pesticide to address specific local problems.

Cultural Control

A pest management method categorized by practices such as crop rotation to disrupt pest life cycles.

Biological Control

The use of natural enemies to control pests, such as utilizing specific beetles to manage pest populations.

Economic Threshold

The concept used in IPM to determine when the cost of pest damage exceeds the cost of control measures.

Incompatible

A term describing pesticides that cannot be mixed effectively, safely, or without losing their efficacy.

Emulsifiable Concentrate (EC)

A pesticide formulation that forms an emulsion when mixed with water and often presents handling concerns due to easy absorption through the skin.

Active Ingredient

The specific component of a pesticide formulation that is responsible for controlling the target pest.

Adjuvant

A substance added to a pesticide mixture to enhance performance, such as helping the spray stay on waxy leaves.

Acute Toxicity

The immediate harm or ill effects occurring after a single exposure to a pesticide.

LD50

The dose of a toxicant required to kill $50\%$ of a test population; a lower numerical value represents a more highly toxic pesticide.

Signal Word

A required word on a pesticide label that indicates the product's relative toxicity and potential hazard.

Skull and Crossbones

A symbol required on pesticide labels for products classified as highly toxic, typically accompanied by the signal word DANGER-POISON.

Cholinesterase Testing

A medical monitoring process that establishes a baseline to help track exposure to certain types of pesticides.

Back Siphoning

The reverse flow of a pesticide mixture into a water source, which is prevented by maintaining an air gap or using check valves.

The 3 C’s of Pesticide Spills

The protocol for managing a pesticide spill: Control, Contain, and Clean up.

Volatilization

The process where a pesticide turns into a gas or vapor, which can lead to off-target drift.

Temperature Inversion

An atmospheric condition where air is stable and drift potential is increased, often characterized by warm air trapping cooler air near the ground.

PHI

Pre-Harvest Interval; the mandatory minimum amount of time that must pass between the last pesticide application and the harvesting of the crop.

REI

Restricted-Entry Interval; the time period after a pesticide application during which worker entry into the treated area is restricted.