BUSINESS chlorthal-dimethyl
The use of chlorthal-dimethyl as an agricultural chemical product is now deregistered for use in Australia. Farmers and retailers may continue to hold product until further notice, but must not use it.
For those that aren’t across the news, the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) made the decision on the 10th of October 2024 to immediately cancel (deregister) all products that contain the active ingredient Chlorthal-dimethyl (see Table 1).
Words Joel Dinsdale, Quality Assurance Coordinator, vegetablesWA
APVMA media statement:
10 October 2024
The Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) has cancelled all 12 products containing the herbicide chlorthal dimethyl. This follows the recent United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) emergency order to stop use of chlorthal dimethyl (DCPA), also known as Dacthal, in the US.
Chlorthal dimethyl is a herbicide used in vegetable crops, lawns and cotton that is currently in 12 products available in Australia.
APVMA Chief Executive Officer, Mr Scott Hansen, said the APVMA identified an immediate risk of serious injury or serious illness which could result from use of these products.
“The APVMA has the power to act swiftly where we identify an imminent risk to human health and we are exercising that authority today with the cancellation of all products containing chlorthal dimethyl,” said Mr Hansen.
“We haven’t taken this decision lightly and are exercising a high degree of caution in cancelling these products and ask those who hold them to cease use immediately. We will issue information on the product recall requirements shortly.”
Mr Hansen said this decision brings Australia into alignment with international counterparts and reiterated that there is no phase out period for the products due to the risk to human health.
“The APVMA considers the risk of continued use to be unacceptable as the risk of exposure cannot be effectively mitigated.
“The primary risk is to pregnant people’s unborn babies, particularly where those people have handled the chemical or re-entered areas where the product has been used within the last 5 days.
“We understand the impact that this regulatory decision will have on industry, but the safety of people is of paramount importance.”
Farmers and retailers may continue to hold product until further notice, but must not use it. The use of chlorthal dimethyl as an agricultural chemical product is now illegal.
MORE INFORMATION
Stakeholders with questions about the above decision may contact:
Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority:
GPO Box 572
Canberra ACT 2601
Australia
Email: enquiries@apvma.gov.au
Media enquiries: APVMA Media, +61 2 6770 2402
media@apvma.gov.au
What can you do if you are holding any of this product?
Safety, safety, safety! I can’t stress this enough.
Safety should be your number one priority! You should take precautions and always use the appropriate PPE when managing the product. If you aren’t across the safety risks, then you should review the product label and the Safety Data Sheet (SDS).
Store the product according to the label, away from frequently used hazardous substances and chemicals to ensure inadvertent use does not happen.
Contact the manufacturer for direction about how to return the product.
Chemical User Training
If it’s been a while since you’ve done Chemical User Training, then you should consider updating and developing your training and knowledge base.
You can contact Joel Dinsdale if you would like support to register for a chemical user training course. Ensure your workers are all trained as well.
Check your storage area
Once you are across the safety aspects, it’s a good idea to inspect your storage area —especially if it’s been a while since you’ve checked on it.
It should be secured, contained (to capture spills), well-ventilated, have adequate lighting, first aid and wash facilities, and it should have the necessary equipment to contain a spill.
You should also consider the proximity to the production areas to minimise the risk of contamination.
Inventory
You should inspect and document the remaining volumes of the product(s) listed above. Legally, you cannot use remaining stock, so it makes sense to legally dispose of the product sooner rather than later. ChemClear has an inventory template that you can use to record the volumes that require disposal. Go to www.chemclear.org.au for more information.
During the inventory activity, you should note the condition of the container(s) individually. If a container is thought to be compromised, then you should place it into a larger suitable container that will contain any product that could spill from the damaged package. You should clearly label the secondary container with a copy of the label. Photographs might be helpful in this case.
When identifying containers for disposal, it’s a good habit to get into of taking a permanent marker or similar and clearly crossing out the label or using a Do No Use tag.
This should notify all authorised person(s) that they are NOT to decant this product under any circumstances as it is awaiting disposal.
ChemClear
To legally dispose of the product, you will need to register the chemical via ChemClear (see the URL above for details). Follow the instructions on the website for a ‘how-to’ guide.
At the time of writing this article, there is not yet a scheduled ChemClear pick-up, but it’s a supply-demand service, so the more chemicals that are registered for disposal, the sooner the organisation will arrange for a chemical surrender.
Contact the manufacturer for direction about how to return the product, as well as registering with Chem Clear.
Verification and validation testing
Table 2 is a snapshot of the Food Standards Code Schedule 20 (Maximum residue limits (MRL)). If you’ve applied Chlorthal-dimethyl to your crop(s) (as per the label rate, prior to the 10th of October 2024), then you have adhered to the legislation at the time of the application event provided you have documented evidence. (This is why you must keep records when applying all chemicals registered with the APVMA.)
Before selling the product(s), you will legally need to test a sample to ensure that your harvestable products are not exceeding the MRL for Chlorthal-dimethyl (as per the limits above).
Depending upon which laboratory service you engage, you will need to specify that the test needs to include Chlorthal-dimethyl if it’s not part of the laboratory screen multi-test that you’ve chosen.
vegetablesWA Support
vegetablesWA are aware of several limitations in relation to the systems in place to support following the deregistration of the product. We are currently working with the necessary bodies to find solutions to support our members.
If you require support or advocacy in relation to chemical deregistration, please reach out to Joel Dinsdale, (joel.dinsdale@vegetableswa.com.au) or the wider vegetablesWA team for support.
vegetablesWA staff are keen to provide further advocacy in relation to this deregistration. If you have any surplus Chlorthal-dimethyl, please reach out and engage with us. We are looking to build a WA Horticulture Industry picture and so your data will provide valuable insights for industry development and change.