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Pesticides and agrichemicals
Pesticides and agrichemicals are controlled as hazardous substances in New Zealand by:
- the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act (HSNO Act)
- the Ozone Layer Protection Act, for example, methyl bromide
- the Agricultural Compounds and Veterinary Medicines Act, for substances (agricultural compounds) used in agriculture.
One national standard forms the basis of good practice for pesticide use, NZS 8409 Code of practice for the management of agrichemicals. For more information visit the Growsafe website. In addition, many industries work to particular codes of practice or standards that cover use of pesticides and agrichemicals within their own industry.
The Ministry reported its policy work in the areas of Pesticide Risk Reduction (PRR) and the Agrichemical Ministerial Advisory Committee (ATMAC) to Cabinet in November 2002. Cabinet agreed that future policy work would be coordinated as a single programme covering three broad areas:
- Pesticide data, information and monitoring
- Responsible pesticide use
- Consideration of issues surrounding approval of new pesticides
Subsequently it was decided that the Hazardous Substances Strategy should have higher priority. Many aspects of the pesticides work were incorporated to the Strategy. Those that were not, including detailed consideration of the ATMAC recommendations, were put "on hold" until December 2004.
More recently, on 24-25 June 2004, ERMA has initiated further consideration of pesticide risk reduction and held a symposium - Building Partnerships for Pesticide Risk Reduction; A Symposium for future action.
The Ministry for the Environment has many other areas of work that either relate directly to agrichemicals and pesticides, or have relevance to this area:
