Regulación

Paraquat, like other active ingredients, is constantly being studied by national and global authorities and other researchers. These experts support that when used properly, paraquat can deliver safe, effective weed control, generating greater social and economic benefits, while protecting the land for future generations.

A summary of recent regulatory decisions related to paraquat as well as a list of countries in which paraquat is currently registered is available here.

Recent Regulatory Decisions UPDATE NEEDED

In the last decade paraquat has been approved for re-registration following rigorous evaluation by regulatory authorities all over the world. Paraquat has also received periodic re-evaluations of both toxicology and dietary residues by the WHO and FAO, respectively. A new FAO specification for paraquat was also established under the revised process for FAO and WHO specifications for pesticides.

The most recent regulatory decisions are from New Zealand where paraquat received a full re-registration in November 2007. Read about this here.

A judgment by the Court of First Instance (CFI) on 11th July 2007 was that the Commission Directive (2003/112/EC of 1st December 2003) that included paraquat in Annex I to Council Directive 91/414/EEC was annulled.

The CFI decision to annul the Annex I inclusion of paraquat criticised the way in which the re-registration procedure was handled and the manner in which the Commission interpreted the relevant laws and applied them to its analysis of the data. The CFI decision does not mean that paraquat cannot be included in Annex I but it does mean that the previous inclusion of paraquat in Annex I is no longer valid.

The CFI decision is not in itself a ban on paraquat, but as a result of both the decision and the expiry of measures permitting Member State authorisations to remain in force during the previous review of paraquat for inclusion in Annex I, some Member States have withdrawn their national authorisations.

The major manufacturer of paraquat, Syngenta, has said that it intends to prepare for a re-submission for annex 1 registration. Read about Syngenta’s viewpoint here.

This decision does not affect the ability of farmers outside of the EU to use paraquat on products that they export to the EU. The Maximum residue levels required for this to happen remain in place and can be found on official EU documents here.

In August 1997, the US Environmental Protection Agency concluded “The use of currently registered products containing paraquat dichloride in accordance with approved labeling will not pose unreasonable risks or adverse effects to humans or the environment. Therefore, all uses of these products are eligible for re-registration”

A fact sheet and re-registration eligibility document are available here

• In December 2003, the EU concluded “It has appeared from the various examinations made that there are uses of plant protection products containing paraquat which may be expected to satisfy, in general, the requirements laid down in Article 5(1)(a) and (b) of Directive 91/414/EEC, provided appropriate risk-mitigation measures and restrictions are applied.”

This statement, and the references therein, means that the EU has concluded that there are uses of paraquat, following good agricultural practice, which will not have any harmful effects on human or animal health or on groundwater, or have any unacceptable influence on the environment. This decision allows for continued registration of paraquat products in EU countries. The decision was subject to compliance with various requirements, including a stewardshipDefinición Manejo responsable y ético de un producto para la protección de cultivos (PPC) que tiene en cuenta en forma total y equilibrada los intereses de los usuarios, las generaciones futuras y otras especies. Referencias y recursos en línea acreditados http://www.croplife.org/ CropLife International es una federación mundial que representa a la industria de la biología de plantas y una red de asociaciones regionales y nacionales en 91 países. Estas organizaciones están comprometidas con la agricultura sustentable a través de investigación y tecnología innovadoras en las áreas de protección de cultivos, control de plagas no agrícolas, semillas y biotecnología de plantas. program for operator safety and a monitoring program for operator health problems and wildlife incidents.

The full technical review report and regulatory decision are available here

• In 2003, paraquat was reviewed under a periodic re-evaluation of toxicology under the Joint FAO/WHO Meeting on Pesticide Residues (JMPR). Its toxicological properties were evaluated and the acceptable daily intake (ADI) of paraquat was established. This allows an assessment of consumer safety to be made.

The 2003 JMPR report is available online here

• In 2004, paraquat was reviewed under a periodic re-evaluation of dietary residues under the Joint FAO/WHO Meeting on Pesticide Residues (JMPR), “The Meeting concluded that the intake of residues of paraquat resulting from uses considered by the current JMPR was unlikely to present a public health concern.”

The 2004 JMPR report is available here

• In 2003, the FAO/WHO Joint Meeting on Pesticide Specifications (JMPS) decided to establish a revised specification under the new FAO/WHO procedure. These specifications promote the manufacture, distribution and use of pesticides that meet basic quality requirements. The specifications provide an international point of reference against which products can be judged, either for regulatory purposes or in commercial dealings, and thus help prevent the trading of inferior products.

The March 2006 revision of the FAO Manual on development and use of FAO and WHO specifications for pesticides confirms that:

• The old FAO specifications that were first established for paraquat in 1994 were superseded and cancelled
• Syngenta are the only paraquat manufacturer who can claim that their paraquat material complies with the specification as they are the only manufacturer who has submitted a data package and specification (which have then been evaluated as acceptable) in accordance with current JMPS procedures.
• Paraquat materials from other manufacturers no longer comply.
• In line with their obligations under Article 6.2.4 of the FAO International Code of Conduct on the Distribution and Use of Pesticides (2002), any other paraquat manufacturer should, at the earliest opportunity, provided data packages and specifications to the JMPS under the new procedure, for assessment of equivalence

The revised paraquat specification is available here

Paraquat Registrations UPDATE NEEDED

Paraquat is registered and used in over 100 developed and developing countries around the world including key major agricultural markets with some of the most demanding regulatory systems such as Canada, Australia, USA, Japan, and New Zealand . A list of the countries in which Paraquat is registered and sold as of Nov 2007 appears below: