Endosulfan use prohibited in New Zealand

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Endosulfan – a chemical used as an insecticide on crops and turf – use prohibited in New Zealand.

From next year, it will no longer be legal to import, manufacture, or use endosulfan and formulations containing endosulfan in New Zealand.

The prohibition is the outcome of a formal reassessment of the chemical by The Environmental Risk Management Authority, as empowered under the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996.

All unused and partially-used stock of endosulfan must be disposed of by 17 January 2010 (within 12 months of the Authority’s reassessment decision taking effect on 16_January 2009).

The following products containing endosulfan have been sold in New Zealand for commercial use (it is not sold for domestic use):

– ENDO 350EC
– Thiodan
– Thionex Insecticide
– Flavylan 350EC

From 16 January 2009 people holding stock of endosulfan will have to dispose of it safely and legally within 12 months – it will be illegal to use it or dump it.

Endosulfan is one of the more toxic pesticides on the market today, responsible for many fatal pesticide poisoning incidents around the world. Endosulfan is also a xenoestrogen-a synthetic substance that imitates or enhances the effect of estrogens-and it can act as an endocrine disruptor, causing reproductive and developmental damage in both animals and humans. Whether endosulfan can cause cancer is debated.

Source: Environmental Risk Management Authority, New Zealand


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