60 seconds
Scene: Afternoon. Family kitchen and washroom.
Son: (Crinkle of plastic is heard) Mom, here are Dad's work clothes... they need washing. They're contaminated with the pesticide he sprayed today. He told me to leave it in the bag and not to touch it with my hands. I gotta run!
Mom: You're not going anywhere and your Dad is right. He was mixing and spraying Category I pesticides today. Let's go to the washer. And get your sister so you can both learn how to do this.
Son: (In a whiny voice) But Mom!... I don't have time for this! I gotta go to a game and the guys'll be here any minute.
Mom: Oh, really? Well if you don't have time for this, you don't have time for your jock friends either.
Son: (Clicks tongue and whines) Oh, mannn!... O.k... Go ahead, quick, show me, I'll show Mary later. I don't know where she is.
Mom: Okay... Pay attention... Open the plastic bag (plastic sound) and dump the clothes into the washer without touching them or use these rubber gloves. Never put any other family laundry in with your Dad's work clothes. Use the hottest possible setting and the highest water level (washer click is heard). Let the clothes soak. Then drain the water and start over, adding liquid detergent. Make sure it's set on the longest wash cycle. When it's done, hang the clothes outside so that the sun breaks down any remaining pesticide residue that might be left on the clothes. Then, run the washer through a cycle without any clothes in it. That's to make sure that OUR clothes don't get contaminated... You understand all that?
Son: Yeah...
Mom: (Rumble of a car muffler heard in the background) Now, go on! That car sounds like a truck. (Calling after the boy)... Wear your seat belt!
Son: Wish me luck!
Narrator: California regulations require that an employer provide clean work clothing for every employee who works with Category 1 or 2 pesticides - those marked DANGER or WARNING on the label. The employer is also responsible for the laundering of clothing worn by pesticide handlers. If you handle or apply pesticides and your work clothes are to be washed at home, the safety precautions discussed in the dialogue must be followed.
This radio public service announcement was produced by the Agricultural Health and Safety Center, Applied Behavioral Sciences of the University of California at Davis. For further information contact Jenny Rodriguez, UCCE, Ag. Bldg., County Civic Center, Visalia, CA 93291-4584, (209) 733-6491.
Disclaimer and Reproduction Information: Information in NASD does not represent NIOSH policy. Information included in NASD appears by permission of the author and/or copyright holder. More
