One of the biggest concerns for safety any superintendent has is chemical mixing and the solving of math equations needed to calculate proper rates of plant protectant chemicals. At HCC, I have a very
strict procedure in place to be sure this isn't an issue. You can see by the football field photos above, disasters like this occur daily across the country. They can be extremely costly to any facility and it
takes only one mistake to kill acres of turf. This is something I take very, very serious. So what do we do?
strict procedure in place to be sure this isn't an issue. You can see by the football field photos above, disasters like this occur daily across the country. They can be extremely costly to any facility and it
takes only one mistake to kill acres of turf. This is something I take very, very serious. So what do we do?
1. Spray sheets (a spreadsheet that lists the weekly chemical application) is made up 7 days in advance. I, the super, and my 2 assistants both look at the sheet on an individual basis confirming the chemicals to be sprayed, the label rate and the amount to be added to the tank which is based of the calibration of the sprayer, checked weekly. Each of us signs the spray sheet with our signature and date. The math is checked 3 separate times.
2. During the day of mixing, only one person is permitted to mix chemicals. It may seem like there is safety in numbers, but it just confuses everything in this case. Therefore, one person is permitted in the chemical building with the spray sheet that is used as a checklist. Keep in mind, one spray tank on greens could include as many as 12-13 different chemicals. With more than one person handling them, there is a good chance something could be added twice. Using a black sharpie marker, the mixer crosses off the chemical that was added to the tank and works their way down the list.
3. After the spray application, that original spray sheet is then placed on the desk of the assistant superintendent who records the application by law as directed by the State of NC. This includes everything from wind speed to temperature to start time, end time to EPA registration numbers of the products used. These records are kept on file in the maintenance building, by law, for a minimum of 3 years.
4. The sprayer is thoroughly cleaned out after every spray application. The tank is drained down so there is absolutely no liquid or water in the bottom of the 200 gallon tank. This means that at the start of our next spray application, the tank should be dry. This eliminates the concern for any kind of contamination be it an act of vandalism/ disgruntled employee etc. When the operator gets the sprayer at the start of the next spray application, the first thing they check for is any kind of liquid in the tank. If there is any, it won't go out until cleaned once again. Fortunately, this has never been an issue. Keep in mind, we are using chemicals with extremely low use rates. For example, an herbicide may have the use rate of 2 fluid ounces for every 1 acre. This means in 200 gallons of water, we would put 6 oz of chemical. So if 12 oz of chemical were accidentally added, we just doubled the rate! This could mean the difference between green grass and brown crunchy grass!
With this program in place, I feel like we've eliminated all potential sources of error.
4. The sprayer is thoroughly cleaned out after every spray application. The tank is drained down so there is absolutely no liquid or water in the bottom of the 200 gallon tank. This means that at the start of our next spray application, the tank should be dry. This eliminates the concern for any kind of contamination be it an act of vandalism/ disgruntled employee etc. When the operator gets the sprayer at the start of the next spray application, the first thing they check for is any kind of liquid in the tank. If there is any, it won't go out until cleaned once again. Fortunately, this has never been an issue. Keep in mind, we are using chemicals with extremely low use rates. For example, an herbicide may have the use rate of 2 fluid ounces for every 1 acre. This means in 200 gallons of water, we would put 6 oz of chemical. So if 12 oz of chemical were accidentally added, we just doubled the rate! This could mean the difference between green grass and brown crunchy grass!
With this program in place, I feel like we've eliminated all potential sources of error.
Finally, at Highlands CC, we have 3 certified NC commercial pesticide applicators as opposed to the 1 required by law. Why? Because education is key!