HSE issues amended guidelines on spraying equipment

New best practice guidelines have been issued by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to highlight to farming and agriculture workers the risks of using hand-held spraying equipment while driving all terrain vehicles, such as quad bikes and mini tractors.

The HSE has worked with the Crop Protection Association (CPA) to develop the guidelines, which emphasise the need for only competent, trained operators to carry out such work. The guidelines also remind workers of the importance not to spray, or hold a spraying lance, while on a moving vehicle, as it poses dangers to the operator, the public and the environment.

The CPA's director of policy, Dr Anne Buckenham, said that the work carried out by the two bodies will help maintain the safety of workers in a variety of sectors.

"Although primarily aimed at the amenity sector, particularly with the application of pesticides on footpaths or on other public areas, they also apply to users of hand-held sprayers in the agriculture and horticulture industries," she said.

"It's about using common sense and adhering to the guidelines. A sprayer operator's main focus should always be on safe and appropriate application."

Through their Chemicals Regulation Directorate, the HSE said that all employers of spraying contractors had a duty of care to all who may be affected by the application of pesticides, and that every use must be preceded by a site-specific risk assessment.