Parathion ethyl Chemical Review

Parathion ethyl has been listed as a chemical subject to the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade (the Rotterdam Convention). Australia became a party to the convention on 18 August 2004.

Prior informed consent promotes a shared responsibility between exporting and importing countries in protecting human health and the environment from the potentially harmful effects of certain hazardous chemicals that are being traded internationally. It allows countries to make informed decisions about the chemicals they import and contributes to the management of chemical risk.

In September 1998, the draft report on parathion was released for public comment. The report identified concerns about the lack of environmental and occupational exposure data and requested that registrants and industry bodies provide further data to support the continued use of parathion ethyl.

The report proposed a restricted use regime for products containing parathion until all the requested data was generated.

Contact the APVMA for copies of this document.

In May 1999, the APVMA requested further information from stakeholders (producer and user industry groups, chemical registrants, and states and territories) to show that the continued use of parathion would not pose an undue hazard to workers, the environment or trade. The advice received by the APVMA was that they were unwilling to provide this data.

In February 2000, the APVMA released the Final review report on parathion. The APVMA was not satisfied that the continued use of parathion products would not pose an undue hazard to humans or the environment or unduly prejudice Australian trade.

The APVMA was also not satisfied that the conditions of registration and approvals for parathion products could be varied to meet the current requirements for continued registration.

In the final review, the APVMA recommended:

• cancelling all registrations and relevant approvals for parathion products, with effect from February 2000
• cancelling the maximum residue limits (MRLs) for parathion, with effect from 30 June 2001
• cancelling active constituent approval and its importation, with effect from 11 June 1999.

The APVMA’s concerns about parathion ethyl remain and it will not consider the registration of any product containing parathion ethyl unless all the concerns identified in the review are fully addressed.