Pesticides and GMOs banned, restricted or phased out in 2012

January

• The Brazilian National Health Surveillance Agency (ANVISA) has proposed to ban the use of two organophosphorus insecticides, parathion-methyl and phorate in the Brazilian market.

February

• The European Commission has decided to phase out the fumigant, chloropicrin by 31 December 2012.

March

• Arysta LifeScience announced the immediate suspension of product sales for all formulations of the fumigant MIDAS® (active ingredient: methyl iodide) in the United States.

• The U.S. EPA has announced the cancellation of two toxic pesticides dimethoate and methidathion that were documented by American Bird Conservancy to have recurrently poisoned hundreds of birds.

May

• China has decided to implement a restrictive measure on paraquat product to ensure the safety for production and use of paraquat. From 1 July 2014, paraquat aqueous solution registration and production permit shall be cancelled while technical concentration aqueous solution registration is maintained only for export purpose. Sales and use of aqueous solution product in China shall be terminated from 1 July 2016.

June

• The French government has banned pesticide Cruiser OSR (active ingredients: thiamethoxam + fludioxonil + metalaxyl-M) from Syngenta linked to the decline of bees that is widely used to treat oilseed rape.

July

• U.S. EPA is requiring significant reductions in application rates and mandatory buffers around sensitive sites to protect children and other bystanders who live, attend school, play, or otherwise spend time next to sites where chlorpyrifos is applied.

August

• The Canadian Pest Management Regulatory Authority (PMRA) has proposed to phase out the sale and use of all linuron products in Canada.

• The US EPA has finally begun the process of phasing out the use of the highly toxic organochlorine insecticide endosulfan. The phase of endosulfan uses began on July 31, 2012 and will continue through July 31, 2016.

• Australia has restricted uses of carbendazim on roses, strawberries, pasture, clover, ginger seed pieces, sugar cane setts and post-harvest treatment of bananas; and some uses of carbaryl products in agricultural situations.

September

• The US EPA has decided to maintain the September 30, 2012, effective date for cancellation of the remaining uses of azinphos-methyl on apples, blueberries, sweet and tart cherries, parsley, and pears.

• Russian Federation has temporarily suspended import and circulation in Russia of genetically modified maize NK603.

• France is to maintain a temporary ban on the cultivation of genetically modified crops MON810 maize from Monsanto.

November

• Australia has banned uses of herbicide, diuron on many crops, such as citrus, apples and pears, ornamental plants and tropical crops because of the potential for diuron to contaminate waterways through agricultural runoff.

• The uses of banned insecticide endosulfan may be allowed for next two years only to exhaust the existing stock and the raw material used for its production.

• Aldicarb, pesticides used illegally as domestic rodenticide (BB), was banned from the Brazilian market.

• Arysta LifeScience had requested voluntarily cancellation of all of the company's pesticide methyl iodide registration in USA, which means that the suspected carcinogen will no longer be used in this country by the end of the year.