EU announced non renewal of propanil in Annex 1

Date:10-27-2011

The European Commission decided not to approve herbicide propanil although this decision does not prejudice the submission of a further application.

The Commission have phased-out propanil in 2010. A re-application was submitted to Italy, the designated rapporteur Member State, and it evaluated the additional data submitted by the applicant and prepared an additional report which was sent to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), to the European Commission and the other Member States.

Based on the new data submitted by the applicant, an acceptable operator exposure level could be set. However, the Commission notes that data were missing on the toxicity of metabolite 3,4-DCA which may be higher than the parent compound. Moreover, the submitted trials have not been conducted according to the critical good agricultural practices, so there are no MRLs data could support the use on rice. A high risk to birds and mammals has been identified while a high risk for aquatic organisms and non-target arthropods cannot be excluded. Nor can a potential for long-range transport through the atmosphere. Despite the arguments put forward by the applicant, these concerns could not be eliminated.