Who is considered a pesticide handler in aerial application operations?

• A. A supervisor who oversees pilots.
• B. An office clerk.
• C. An employee who mixes, loads, transfers, or applies pesticides, maintains equipment, works with opened pesticide containers, or flags during aerial applications.
• D. A field inspector.

Answer: (C)

In aerial pesticide operations, a pesticide handler is the person who directly works with the product in ways that could bring them into contact with pesticides. This includes mixing, loading, transferring the pesticide, applying it from the aircraft, maintaining equipment that may have residue, handling opened pesticide containers, or performing ground tasks like flagging that occur during the application. These activities create exposure risk and require proper training, protective equipment, and adherence to label directions.

Roles that do not involve direct handling of the product—such as a supervisor who oversees pilots, an office clerk, or a field inspector—are not considered pesticide handlers because their responsibilities don’t bring them into direct contact with the pesticide or its residues during the application process.