Approved: September 2004. This code supercedes NZS 8409:1999 Code of Practice for the Management of Agrichemicals.

This code provides guidance to ensure that agrichemicals are used in a safe, responsive and effective manner, whilst minimising any adverse effects on the environment or human and animal health.  It includes guidance on plant protection products (herbicides, insecticides, fungicides), veterinary medicines, fumigants used in rural situations and agricultural use of detergents and sanitisers.

Most agrichemicals covered by this code are classified as hazardous substances and will have a range of controls placed upon them.

The code can be purchased from Standards New Zealand, in hard copy or electronic format. Contact:

Standards New Zealand https://www.standards.govt.nz/

You can also view a hard copy of the Code at our office.

Who is the code for?

This code is for all agrichemical users. It specifies the requirements for the commercial use of agrichemicals for:

• applicators (farmers and growers)
• contractors (aerial and ground application, and veterinarians) and
• distributors (manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers).

What is in the code?

• The code is divided into seven sections:
• Introduction
• Management of agrichemicals
• Land transport of agrichemicals
• Storage and supply of agrichemicals
• Use of agrichemicals
• Disposal of agrichemicals and containers
• Emergency preparedness and management.

A series of appendices, divided into those considered compulsory to meet requirements and those providing general advice and supporting information to assist with compliance. All of the appendices are considered to be part of the approved code.

The standard uses a risk management approach for transport, storage, use and disposal as well as planning for, and dealing with, emergencies relating to agrichemicals.

• Section 2 – Management of Agrichemicals – covers risk management, responsibility, information, product information sources, documentation and certification, tracking and competency of personnel.
• Section 3 – Land Transport of Agrichemicals – covers responsibility, general requirements for agrichemical transport, transport of dangerous goods for agricultural use within quantity limits, transport for hire or reward or for agricultural use in large quantities, transport emergencies, and competency. This section specifically addresses compliance with the Land Transport Rule: Dangerous Goods 1999. However, compliance with this Rule in general means compliance with HSNO in transport circumstances.
• Section 4 – Storage and Supply of Agrichemicals – sets out the requirements and recommendations for the safe storage, handling and supply by suppliers and users of packaged agrichemicals that are hazardous substances and/or dangerous goods. Agrichemicals classified as hazardous substances under the Hazardous Substances (Classification) Regulations will be subject to the controls applied under several of the Hazardous Substances controls regulations, according to the hazards associated with the substance. It covers risk management, responsibility, information needs and requirements, documentation, and competency of persons.
• Section 5 – Use of Agrichemicals – covers the responsibilities for safe use of agricultural compounds and plant protection products, safe use of veterinary medicines and animal health products, safe use of compounds for agricultural produce, soil or greenhouse fumigation, and safe agricultural use of detergents and other cleaning and sanitizing compounds.
• Section 6 – Disposal of Agrichemicals and Containers – deals with the safe disposal of concentrate agrichemical, surplus agrichemical spray mixture, empty agrichemicals containers and contaminated Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).
• Section 7 – Emergency Preparedness and Management – deals with the need to anticipate incidents or adverse events with agrichemicals, and to have a plan ready to action when such events occur. The Hazardous Substances (Emergency Management) Regulations prescribe the requirements to manage any emergency involving a hazardous substance. This section addresses how to prepare for agrichemical emergencies and the quantities of agrichemicals that trigger the need to have an emergency response plan. An outline of the information needed and actions to take in an emergency is given.

The contents of some of the Appendices are summarised below.

• Appendix E – Agrichemical Poisoning and First Aid – addresses first aid provisions where agrichemical poisoning is implicated.
• Appendix G – Spray Drift Hazard and Weather Conditions – addresses provisions to restrict and control off target movement and spray drift hazard associated with the use of pesticides.
• Appendix K – Emergency Management – deals with emergency preparedness in relation to the hazards from spillage or fire where agrichemicals are involved. Both these events can occur at any time but the most hazardous situation is either in storage areas where large amounts of different agrichemicals may be held, or in transport accidents.
• Appendix L – General Storage Requirements – covers emergency management, as well as quantities of hazardous substances that activate hazardous substance location requirements under HSNO (table L1), and responsibility and competency requirements under the Hazardous Substances (Classes 1-5 Control) Regulations and the Hazardous Substances (Classes 6, 8 and 9 Controls) Regulations.
• Appendix M – Notification and Signage for Application of Agrichemicals – covers both ground and aerial application. It specifies that, along with compliance with the appendix, users shall check with the appropriate local authority for any specific notification requirements for agrichemical use.
• Appendix P – Personal Protective Equipment – addresses a specific regulatory requirement in Regulation 8 of the Hazard Substances (Classes 6, 8 and 9 Controls) Regulations. It covers minimum PPE requirements for agrichemicals and respiratory protection and filter replacement.
• Appendix Q – Application Equipment – addresses a specific regulatory requirement in Regulation 7 of the Hazardous Substances (Classes 6, 8 and 9 Controls) Regulations. It covers application equipment for plant protection products, calibration of application equipment for registered agrichemicals, application equipment for registered veterinary medicines (animal remedies), and application equipment for fumigants.
• Appendix S – Disposal of Agrichemicals and Containers – covers the disposal of unwanted agrichemicals, disposal of surplus spray mix, post-harvest treatment and stock dip effluent disposal methods, and disposal of agrichemical containers.

Approval

This code of practice has also been approved, under section 28 of the Agricultural Compounds and Veterinary Medicines (ACVM) Act 1997, as a means of complying with the following HSNO requirements relating to relating to use and handling, storage, disposal, first aid information, emergency management information and planning, and secondary containment.

Approval of the code is limited to the products and substances it covers:  These include:

• Agricultural compounds
• Veterinary medicines
• Agrichemicals for home and garden, nursery, turf and amenity use
• Fumigants used in agriculture
• Detergents and sanitisers used in agriculture (except those specifically excluded (see below).

These are not included in the code:

• Fertilisers (a code of practice for fertilisers available from FertResearch)
• Vertebrate pest control products
• Oral nutritional compounds
• Dairy detergents and sanitisers approved under the Dairy Industry Regulations (1990 or subsequent Animal Products legislation) when used on farms.