NZPPI has partnered with industry groups to challenge a Worksafe proposal that aims to significantly increase the restricted entry intervals (REIs) for various pesticides.
An REI is the period of time after application in which residues of the pesticide are likely to be present and could affect the health of workers re-entering the area. Under regulation 13.23 of the Health and Safety at Work (Hazardous Substances) Regulations 2017, WorkSafe may set restricted entry intervals for pesticides to protect persons from the toxic effects of that substance through inhalation or contact with skin.
After reviewing about 100 pesticides, Worksafe has recommended REIs for each based on the risk to workers. It is asking for submissions on these draft recommendations from interested parties. The deadline for all submissions is on Friday 6 May 2022. Once the new REIs have been set they will apply immediately.
Southern Woods Nursery Manager Devin Westley says the proposed rules could add very long REI times for a number of agrichems, which would have major impact on nursery operations.
“For example, one of the components of rout, Oxyfluorfen, has a 19-day REI added to it, and several of the insecticides and fungicides we use in rotation have REIs ranging from 37 - 76 days (up from 24 – 48 hours).”
“The suggested time periods are massive increases from the current labelled guidelines. This makes general operations quite difficult if these come into play.”
Some specific examples given by Devin are:
- Diazinon - 24 hours changed to 76 days
- Mancozeb - 48 hours to 37 days - this is one of our myrtle rust spray rotations
- Attack/ambush (permethrin and pirimiphos-methyl) - 12 hours to 22 days
- Pirimicarb - 24 hours to 13 days
- Mavrik Duo tau-fluvalinate and pirimicarb - 24 hours to 13 days
NZPPI CE Mat Dolan said NZPPI was liaising with horticulture industry groups over a joint submission to Worksafe. NZPPI member feedback for the submission can be given directly to Matt at matthew@nzppi.co.nz.