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Australia to restrict dichlorvos
Jun. 6, 2008
The Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) has called for restrictions on the use of the organophosphate insecticide, dichlorvos, due to lack of data and concerns over health and environmental risks. The APVMA forerunner, the National Registration Authority, issued a draft review on dichlorvos in 2000. However, after the publication of the review, the authorities became aware of “a large package” of toxicological and exposure studies in the US that had not been submitted. Risk assessments have subsequently been revised in light of the extra data.
The APVMA concludes that the household insecticide, Sureguard Pest Strip, poses an unacceptable chronic inhalation risk to human health. The registration for this product lapsed on July 1st 2007, but the usual two-year period to allow use of existing stocks will be terminated at the end of the dichlorvos review.
Insufficient data were available to establish appropriate maximum residue limits for potatoes, mushrooms and food crops grown in glasshouses. The APVMA therefore recommends that these uses should be deleted from product labels. Post-harvest use on legumes should also end due to concerns over unknown dietary exposure. Applications to avocado crops must end because the buffer zones needed to protect aquatic invertebrates from spray drift are too large to be practical, the APVMA maintains.
Unacceptable risks to operators mean that a number of application methods for dichlorvos can no longer continue. They include surface and space sprays, crack and crevice treatments, and certain fogging, misting and fumigation practices. Concerns have been raised over the use of dichlorvos on stored grain, but this use can continue while worker exposure data are generated.
The APVMA has called for restricted entry intervals (REIs) to be increased from four hours to four days for all buildings apart from glasshouses, where a four-hour REI should apply. Various labelling statements are required to provide further protection for human health and the environment. The APVMA’s preliminary review findings for dichlorvos are open to public comment until August 29th.
Source: APVMA
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