Iowa Pesticide Applicator UPDATED
ACTUAL Exam Questions and CORECT
Answers
Intro: Types of pesticide applicators in Iowa - CORRECT ANSWER - Commercial
Applicators (another person for compensation); Public Applicators (as employee govt agencies);
Noncommercial Applicators (property owned, rented, or leased by the applicator or the
applicator's employer); Private Applicators (agricultural); Certified Handlers (preparing, mixing,
or loading pesticides)
Intro: Describe certification & recertification requirements - CORRECT ANSWER -
Certification: Employed by a certified, licensed company; fee paid to IDALS; 21-day grace
period (direct supervision); closed-book exam. Recertification: 3-year qualification cycle;
renewable by either testing every third year or attending approved continuing instruction courses
(CIC); core & categories; fee & you get a form.
C1: What agency regulates pesticide use in US - CORRECT ANSWER - U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
C1: Summarize pesticide registration & re-registration - CORRECT ANSWER - FIFRA
requires the EPA to regulate the sale & use & they do this through registration & labeling of
pesticide products; human health & the environment. Re-registration FIFRA requires EPA to
conduct comprehensive reviews of older pesticides human health & environmental effects
C1: Understand the penalties for violations of FIFRA - CORRECT ANSWER - Violations
of the legal provisions established in FIFRA civil penalties as much as $6,500 for each offense;
violation of the law also may subject you to criminal penalties up to $25,000 or one year in
prison, or both.
C1: FIFRA - CORRECT ANSWER - Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act
(1947) regulates the production, transportation, sale, use, & disposal of all pesticides
,C1: FFDCA - CORRECT ANSWER - Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act sets
allowable residue levels to ensure the safety of the food supply
C1: FQPA - CORRECT ANSWER - Food Quality Protection Act amended both FIFRA &
FFDCA & set a tougher standard for pesticides on food.
C1: Residues & Tolerances - CORRECT ANSWER - Residues: Small amounts of
pesticides on fruits, vegetables, grains, other foods, & animal feeds. Tolerances: the EPA sets
allowable residue levels under FFDCA regs, safe tolerances "a reasonable certainty of no harm".
C1: How does the ESA relate to pesticides - CORRECT ANSWER - The Endangered
Species Act (ESA): Pesticides use may directly or indirectly, through drift and runoff, affect
endangered or threatened species & their habitat.
C1: Summarize RCRA - CORRECT ANSWER - Resource Conservation and Recovery
Act (RCRA) gives EPA the authority to control hazardous waste from the "cradle-to-grave",
rinsates & hazardous waste; become solid wastes when you want to discard.
C1: Who is protected by the WPS - CORRECT ANSWER - Worker Protection Standard
(WPS) helps protect employees on farms, forests, nurseries, & greenhouses from occupational
exposure.
C2: List the requirements of pesticide applicator records - CORRECT ANSWER - 1)
Name & certification number of licensee; 2) Name & address of landowner or customer; 3)
Address of the place of application of pesticide; 4) Date of application; 5) Trade name of
pesticide;
6) Quantity of pesticide used & the concentration or rate of application; 7) Temperature and
direction & velocity of wind; 8) the use of "restricted use" pesticides; 9) Time pesticide
application begins & ends.
C2: Describe the Sensitive Crops Directory - CORRECT ANSWER - It is an online
registry to identify locations of pesticide-sensitive crops & apiaries (bee yards): vineyards,
orchards, certified organic crops, and fruit & vegetable crops. Susceptible to drift & meet
minimum acreage requirements.
, C2: Iowa Bee Rule - CORRECT ANSWER - Owners of apiaries shall register location
(expires Dec 31); shall not apply a pesticide labeled as toxic to bees within 1 mile of apiaries
between 8 am & 6 pm (registered on 1st day of month)
C2: List the notification requirements for urban pesticide applications - CORRECT
ANSWER - Notification: must post signs at the start of application; display signs for at
least 24 hrs after the application (longer if label requires); does not apply to pesticides applied
within a structure or within 6 ft of the outside perimeter of a structure, nor to the homeowner or
tenant. Also, prenotification, durable signs, remove, provide label
C2: Summarize the Iowa atrazine management rules - CORRECT ANSWER - Atrazine is
a restricted use pesticide due to ground & surface water concerns. Atrazine application rates are
limited to 2.5 lbs per acre per calendar year; restricts rates to 1.5 lbs in 23 counties (7 county -
wide 16 in some townships); may not be mixed, loaded, or repackaged within 50 feet of a
sinkhole, well, cistern, lake, water impoundment, this includes, but is not limited to, abandoned
wells, agricultural drainage wells & drainage well surface inlets, & drinking water wells; atrazine
mixing, loading, & equipment cleanout must meet the secondary containment requirements in
the Iowa administrative code.
C2: Recognize the requirements of on-site containment of pesticides - CORRECT
ANSWER - All non-mobile bulk pesticide storage containers must be located within a
watertight secondary containment facility, a structure used to prevent runoff or leaching of
pesticide materials. If you store for more than 30 days & mix more than 300 gal and/or 300 lbs,
your facility is considered a permanent storage & mixing site. Paved & sloped & elevated,
curbed; engineer's design, plans IDALS; rainwater, cracks; washing, rinsates.
C2: Penalties for violations of the Pesticide Act of Iowa - CORRECT ANSWER - If you
violate any provisions of Pesticide Act of Iowa (PAI), max civil penalty must not exceed $500
per violation;
C3: What constitutes a pest - CORRECT ANSWER - A pest is any living species whose
activities cause economic losses to your possessions, directly threaten your health, or are
annoying.
ACTUAL Exam Questions and CORECT
Answers
Intro: Types of pesticide applicators in Iowa - CORRECT ANSWER - Commercial
Applicators (another person for compensation); Public Applicators (as employee govt agencies);
Noncommercial Applicators (property owned, rented, or leased by the applicator or the
applicator's employer); Private Applicators (agricultural); Certified Handlers (preparing, mixing,
or loading pesticides)
Intro: Describe certification & recertification requirements - CORRECT ANSWER -
Certification: Employed by a certified, licensed company; fee paid to IDALS; 21-day grace
period (direct supervision); closed-book exam. Recertification: 3-year qualification cycle;
renewable by either testing every third year or attending approved continuing instruction courses
(CIC); core & categories; fee & you get a form.
C1: What agency regulates pesticide use in US - CORRECT ANSWER - U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
C1: Summarize pesticide registration & re-registration - CORRECT ANSWER - FIFRA
requires the EPA to regulate the sale & use & they do this through registration & labeling of
pesticide products; human health & the environment. Re-registration FIFRA requires EPA to
conduct comprehensive reviews of older pesticides human health & environmental effects
C1: Understand the penalties for violations of FIFRA - CORRECT ANSWER - Violations
of the legal provisions established in FIFRA civil penalties as much as $6,500 for each offense;
violation of the law also may subject you to criminal penalties up to $25,000 or one year in
prison, or both.
C1: FIFRA - CORRECT ANSWER - Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act
(1947) regulates the production, transportation, sale, use, & disposal of all pesticides
,C1: FFDCA - CORRECT ANSWER - Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act sets
allowable residue levels to ensure the safety of the food supply
C1: FQPA - CORRECT ANSWER - Food Quality Protection Act amended both FIFRA &
FFDCA & set a tougher standard for pesticides on food.
C1: Residues & Tolerances - CORRECT ANSWER - Residues: Small amounts of
pesticides on fruits, vegetables, grains, other foods, & animal feeds. Tolerances: the EPA sets
allowable residue levels under FFDCA regs, safe tolerances "a reasonable certainty of no harm".
C1: How does the ESA relate to pesticides - CORRECT ANSWER - The Endangered
Species Act (ESA): Pesticides use may directly or indirectly, through drift and runoff, affect
endangered or threatened species & their habitat.
C1: Summarize RCRA - CORRECT ANSWER - Resource Conservation and Recovery
Act (RCRA) gives EPA the authority to control hazardous waste from the "cradle-to-grave",
rinsates & hazardous waste; become solid wastes when you want to discard.
C1: Who is protected by the WPS - CORRECT ANSWER - Worker Protection Standard
(WPS) helps protect employees on farms, forests, nurseries, & greenhouses from occupational
exposure.
C2: List the requirements of pesticide applicator records - CORRECT ANSWER - 1)
Name & certification number of licensee; 2) Name & address of landowner or customer; 3)
Address of the place of application of pesticide; 4) Date of application; 5) Trade name of
pesticide;
6) Quantity of pesticide used & the concentration or rate of application; 7) Temperature and
direction & velocity of wind; 8) the use of "restricted use" pesticides; 9) Time pesticide
application begins & ends.
C2: Describe the Sensitive Crops Directory - CORRECT ANSWER - It is an online
registry to identify locations of pesticide-sensitive crops & apiaries (bee yards): vineyards,
orchards, certified organic crops, and fruit & vegetable crops. Susceptible to drift & meet
minimum acreage requirements.
, C2: Iowa Bee Rule - CORRECT ANSWER - Owners of apiaries shall register location
(expires Dec 31); shall not apply a pesticide labeled as toxic to bees within 1 mile of apiaries
between 8 am & 6 pm (registered on 1st day of month)
C2: List the notification requirements for urban pesticide applications - CORRECT
ANSWER - Notification: must post signs at the start of application; display signs for at
least 24 hrs after the application (longer if label requires); does not apply to pesticides applied
within a structure or within 6 ft of the outside perimeter of a structure, nor to the homeowner or
tenant. Also, prenotification, durable signs, remove, provide label
C2: Summarize the Iowa atrazine management rules - CORRECT ANSWER - Atrazine is
a restricted use pesticide due to ground & surface water concerns. Atrazine application rates are
limited to 2.5 lbs per acre per calendar year; restricts rates to 1.5 lbs in 23 counties (7 county -
wide 16 in some townships); may not be mixed, loaded, or repackaged within 50 feet of a
sinkhole, well, cistern, lake, water impoundment, this includes, but is not limited to, abandoned
wells, agricultural drainage wells & drainage well surface inlets, & drinking water wells; atrazine
mixing, loading, & equipment cleanout must meet the secondary containment requirements in
the Iowa administrative code.
C2: Recognize the requirements of on-site containment of pesticides - CORRECT
ANSWER - All non-mobile bulk pesticide storage containers must be located within a
watertight secondary containment facility, a structure used to prevent runoff or leaching of
pesticide materials. If you store for more than 30 days & mix more than 300 gal and/or 300 lbs,
your facility is considered a permanent storage & mixing site. Paved & sloped & elevated,
curbed; engineer's design, plans IDALS; rainwater, cracks; washing, rinsates.
C2: Penalties for violations of the Pesticide Act of Iowa - CORRECT ANSWER - If you
violate any provisions of Pesticide Act of Iowa (PAI), max civil penalty must not exceed $500
per violation;
C3: What constitutes a pest - CORRECT ANSWER - A pest is any living species whose
activities cause economic losses to your possessions, directly threaten your health, or are
annoying.
