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Brazil Anvisa bans paraquat

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At the Regular Public Meeting held on Tuesday (September 19th), the ANVISA Collegiate Board (DICOL) concluded the toxicological re-evaluation of the active ingredient Paraquat, started in 2008 and has since than extensively studied by the Agency and discussed with the regulated sector and the society. The decision is for banning the product after three years of phase-out.

Paraquat is an herbicide with authorized agricultural use for post-emergence application of weeds and as a desiccant in several crops, including cotton, corn and soybean.

It is important to note that the risks arising from the use of the product (mutagenicity and Parkinson’s disease) are restricted to workers handling the product, so that the general population is not susceptible to exposure to food. There is no evidence that the use of Paraquat residues remain in food.

New scientific evidence that might exclude mutagenic potential in germ cells and biomonitoring studies that would ensure negligible exposure to the product could lead to a review of the Agency’s decision regarding banishment. However, in the absence of the availability of such data, to date, there is no legal support for maintaining the commercialization of the product in the country.

The term granted until the complete ban of the product, of three years, could allow the presentation of this new evidence. It can also help to minimize the high economic, agronomic and environmental impacts of the measure, considering, mainly, the high efficiency of the product, low cost, the characteristic of not causing resistance in weeds and its environmental advantages by allowing the adoption of the system of no tillage.

Despite the deadline for the ban, immediate restrictive measures were taken to ensure the protection of workers. Only application by closed cabin tractor will be allowed, seeking to minimize the exposure of workers to the product. Its use in different crops and in the mode as desiccant will be prohibited, besides several other measures such as actions of orientation and training to the users, changes in the labels and inserts and prohibition of the commercialization of packages with volume less than 5 liters.

With the implementation of all these measures, it is expected to minimize exposure to the product, assuring the health protection of workers until the phase-out is finalized.

There are 14 formulated products in the market:

PRODUCT	COMPANY
PARAQUAT 200 SL ALAMOS	Alamos do Brasil
PARAQUATE ALTA 200 SL	ALTA – America Latina Tecnologia Agricola
FLAK 200 SL	Cropchem
PARAMASTER	Helm do Brasil
HELMOXONE	Helm do Brasil
NUQUAT	Nufarm
SEVEROBR	Ouro Fino Quimica
TOCHA	Stockton – Agrimor do Brasil
GRAMOKING	Rainbow Defensivos Agríciolas
QUATDOWN
SPRAYQUAT
ORBIT	Sinon do Brasil
PARADOX	Sinon do Brasil
GRAMOCIL	Syngenta
GRAMOXONE	Syngenta

Paraquat technical registrations approved:

PRODUCT	COMPANY
PARAQUATE TÉCNICO MILENIA	Adama Brasil
PARAQUAT TÉCNICO ADAMA BR	Adama Brasil
PARAQUAT TÉCNICO AGROIMPORT	AGROIMPORT
PARAQUAT TÉCNICO ALAMOS	Alamos do Brasil
PARAQUAT TÉCNICO CHINA	AllierBrasil
PARAQUAT TÉCNICO CHN
PARAQUAT TÉCNICO YN
PARAQUAT TÉCNICO ZY
PARAQUAT TÉCNICO LA
PARAQUAT TÉCNICO ZY
DICLORETO DE PARAQUAT TÉCNICO ALTA II	ALTA – America Latina Tecnologia Agricola
DICLORETO DE PARAQUAT TÉCNICO ALTA	ALTA – America Latina Tecnologia Agricola
PARAQUAT TÉCNICO ATANOR	ATANOR
PARAQUATE TÉCNICO BIESTERFELD	BIESTERFELD
PARAQUAT TÉCNICO JL BRA	BRA Defensivos
DICLORETO DE PARAQUATE TÉCNICO NRS- CROPCHEM	Cropchem
DICLORETO DE PARAQUAT TÉCNICO SR-CROPCHEM	Cropchem
PARAQUAT TÉCNICO CCAB II	CCAB Agro
PARAQUAT TÉCNICO CCAB	CCAB Agro
PARAQUAT TÉCNICO DE SANGOSSE	De Sangosse
PARAQUAT LR TÉCNICO HELM	Helm do Brasil Mercantil
PARAQUAT TÉCNICO HELM	Helm do Brasil Mercantil
PARAQUATE TÉCNICO NORTOX	NORTOX
PARAQUAT TÉCNICO NUFARM	Nufarm Indústria Química e Farmacêutica
DCP TÉCNICO OURO FINO	Ouro Fino Quimica
PARAQUAT TÉCNICO JL PRENTISS	PRENTISS
PARAQUAT TÉCNICO STOCKTON	Stockton – Agrimor do Brasil
PARAQUA TÉCNICO RAINBOW	Rainbow Defensivos Agrícolas
PARAQUAT TÉCNICO RED SURCOS	RED Surcos
PARAQUAT TÉCNICO SINON	Sinon do Brasil