Under the authority of the Pest Control Products Act and based on the evaluation of currently available scientific information, Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) is proposing that products containing uniconazole-P are acceptable for continued registration in Canada, provided that the additional proposed risk mitigation measures are in place.

Registered pesticide product labels include specific directions for use. Directions include risk mitigation measures to protect human health and the environment that must be followed by law. As a result of the re-evaluation of uniconazole-P, further risk mitigation measures for product labels are being proposed.

Uniconazole-P is a plant growth regulator registered for use on greenhouse ornamentals and greenhouse tomato seedlings for transplant only. It is widely used on economically important ornamentals to enhance aesthetic appearance through producing more desirable, compact, and marketable crops.

The updated label statements and mitigation measures required, as a result of the re-evaluation of uniconazole, are summarized below. Refer to Appendix VIII of PRVD2019-09 for details.

Human Health

To protect workers, the following risk mitigation measures are proposed:
• Cancellation of uniconazole-P use on greenhouse ornamentals grown for cut flowers
• Clarifications on the required personal protective equipment for workers mixing/loading and applying uniconazole-P
• Specifying that the use of handheld mist blowers/airblast or handheld fogging equipment is not allowed
• An update to the early re-entry interval statement on the Sumagic product label (Registration No. 25781)

This consultation is open for comment from 7 August 2019 to 5 November 2019 (90 calendar days).

Source: Health Canada