AgroPages-Canada proposes to cancel some use of fungicide folpet-Agricultural news

The Canadian Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) has proposed to cancel some use of fungicide folpet as it cannot meet standards for human health protection. These include use as a material preservative in vinyl plastics, use on cranberries and cut flowers, and as an azalea stem soak.

Folpet is a broad-spectrum, contact protectant fungicide used on a number of food and ornamental crops and as a material preservative in vinyl plastics. Folpet is also used as a material preservative in paints and coatings, however, these uses are not included in this re-evaluation. The PMRA plans to publish a document in the future to provide a broader examination of material preservatives for paints and coatings.

The proposed changes include:

• Cancellation of uses on cranberries and cut flowers to protect worker health

• Longer required wait times before workers can re-enter certain treated areas

• Additional protective equipment requirements for those handling folpet

• Cancellation of azalea stem soak use due to a lack of data to properly assess safety

• Cancellation of use for treating vinyl plastics to protect worker health

• Updated aquatic buffer zones to protect non-target organisms from spray drift

• Addition of advisory statements to labels to reduce risks to bystanders and non-target organisms

This consultation is open for comment from 14 March 2018 to 12 June 2018 (90 calendar days).