BS EN ISO 28139:2021

What is ISO 28139 about? 

ISO 28139 is a standard that serves safety and environmental requirements for crop protection tools. It covers knapsack combustion engine-driven airblast sprayers that ensure the safety and environmental viability for pesticide application. 

ISO 28139 specifies safety requirements and their verification, environmental requirements and related test methods, and minimum performance limits, for the design and construction of knapsack combustion engine-driven airblast sprayers as defined in 3.9. 

ISO 28139 addresses general operating parameters as well as the potential deposition of spray droplets under specified controlled conditions. ISO 28139 deals with all significant hazards, hazardous situations and events, except those arising from vibration transmitted to the back of the operator. 

Note: ISO 28139 does not apply to - 

• Hydraulic pressure sprayers 
• Thermal sprayers 
• Cold foggers 
• Sprayers adapted for the application of dry material 
• Airblast sprayers manufactured before its publication 

Who is ISO 28139 for? 

ISO 28139 on knapsack combustion engine-driven airblast sprayers applies to: 

• Manufacturers of knapsack sprayers 
• Suppliers and importers of knapsack sprayers 
• Testing houses for quality and safety assurance 

Why should you use ISO 28139? 

Knapsack sprayers are ideal for spot treating regions and can be used to spray liquids such as fertilisers, pesticides, and fungicides. Knapsack sprayers are high-pressure sprayers that have high efficiency, convenient use and require low labour intensity. 

ISO 28139 provides you with safety requirements which include operational stability, exhaust system, controls, machine support, fuel tank, electrical requirement, vibration, noise and electromagnetic immunity which ensure the operational safety of knapsack sprayers. 

ISO 28139 also provides you guidance on environmental requirements which include absorbency of straps, spray tank, strainers, filters, droplet size, air hoses, stability and spray liquid flow rate which allows you to prevent the environmental impact caused by accidental spillage. 

The guidance in ISO 28139 describes methods for the elimination or reduction of hazards arising from their use. It also specifies the type of information on safe working practices to be provided by the manufacturer which enhances the operational safety and environmental viability. 

What’s changed since the last update? 

BS EN ISO 28139:2021 replaces BS EN ISO 28139:2009 and BS ISO 10988:2011, which are now withdrawn. 

Changes in BS EN ISO 28139:2021 include - 

• Addition of environmental requirements 
• Addition of environmental tests 
• Exclusion of ergonomics 
• General update to the state of the art