Printable FAISD Handbook
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Introduction
This is Edition 2/2024 of the Handbook of First Aid Instructions, Safety Directions, Warning Statements and General Safety Precautions for Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals, or as it is more generally known, the FAISD Handbook. The FAISD Handbook is updated quarterly (March/June/September/December) and is published on the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) website where it is available free of charge.
The FAISD Handbook is a consolidation of the reports prepared by the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) up to the date of amendment.
Principles of listing in the Handbook
First aid instructions, warning statements and general safety precautions are substance-specific and generally apply to all formulations in which that substance is an ingredient, and in concentrations at which the substance is scheduled in the Standard for the Uniform Scheduling of Medicines and Poisons (SUSMP).
Safety directions are product-specific and apply regardless of scheduling considerations related to the product. Whilst a single entry in the Safety Directions section of the FAISD Handbook may cover a number of individual products, these directions apply only to that specific formulation description.
There are a number of minor variations to these general principles. First aid instructions, warning statements and general safety precaution statements may for example, differ when the substance is in different concentration ranges or in different Schedules of the SUSMP.
The toxicological properties of salts and derivatives are assumed (unless there is evidence to the contrary) to be comparable to those of the listed compounds. This approach is consistent with that of the SUSMP.
Active constituents
There is no procedure for determining safety directions for active constituents, existing or otherwise, independently of products containing them. Safety directions are set for formulations, rather than active constituents. In the event that submission of data for a new source of an active constituent reveals a significantly different toxicological profile from the reference active constituent, revised safety directions for products based on this new source may need to be developed.
Label layout
The label layout requirements specified in the SUSMP shall also apply to first aid instructions, safety directions, warning statements and general safety precautions specified in this Handbook. New and amended labels must also be approved by the APVMA.
Contact
If you have any questions about the ARfD list, or require this content in another format, please contact:
Assistant Director, Communications
Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority
GPO Box 3262
Sydney NSW 2001 Australia
Telephone: +61 2 6770 2300
Email: communications@apvma.gov.au.