Australia’s Blind Eye: Exploring the Nation’s Permissive Stance on Harmful Pesticides
Susan M. Bengtson Nash* Georgette Leah Burns
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.5c15716
Abstract
Application of pesticides at the base of the human food chain carries environmental and human health consequences and remains a key challenge for Planetary Health. Analysis of an Australian Government database identified 45 pesticide products used in high volumes (>100 t/year). The international regulatory status of each of these was in turn examined for global benchmarking. The search revealed that 60% of Australia’s high-use pesticides are banned in Europe, and a further 24.4% are approved in Europe but banned in at least one other country. Just 15.6% retain international approval. Exploration of political actors serving to maintain Australia’s permissive stance on harmful pesticides found a two-way stabilizing mechanism. On the one hand, Australia’s risk-based chemical assessment approach to chemical regulation is unable to account for, nor manage, the inherent chemical hazards that remain after the chemical has been released into an open system where biological and biogeochemical interactions cannot be predicted. The process omits the precautionary principle and hereby creates an illusion of managed risk surrounding inherently harmful chemicals. On the other hand, global chemical companies are purportedly delaying registration of modern product alternatives in Australia. Consequently, Australian producers are locked into a continued reliance on harmful pesticides, while chemical companies safeguard a continued market for otherwise unmarketable pesticide products.
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.5c15716
Table 1. List of 45 High-Use (>100t p.a.) Pesticides in Australia and Their International Regulatory Statusa
| Pesticide Compound | 2003–2006 Australia-wide Usage (t/year) | EU Regulatory Status | Non-EU Bans |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ametryn (H) | 877.2 | Not Approved | Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, UK |
| Bromoxynil (H) | 5,738.0 | Not Approved | Morocco, UK |
| Butroxydim | 103.5 | Not Approved | Brazil, UK |
| Carfentrazone-ethyl (H) | 109.34 | Approved | |
| Clethodim (H) | 121.7 | Approved | |
| Chlorsulfuron (H) | 261.2 | Not Approved | China, Chile, Norway, UK |
| Clodinafop-propargyl (H) | 223.6 | Approved | |
| Clopyralid (H) | 4,241.0 | Approved | |
| Dicamba (H) | 6,158.2 | Approved | US Government has halted approvals since 2020 |
| Diclofop (H) | 8,289.0 | Approved | Bahrain, Brazil, Iraq, Kuwait, Mozambique, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, USA |
| Chlorpyrifos (I) (listed under the Stockholm Convention May, 2025 – restrictions and exemptions to enter into force October, 2026) | 1,000.0 | Not Approved | Argentina, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Egypt, Indonesia, Morocco, Norway, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Thailand, Trinidad & Tobago, Turkey, UK, Vietnam |
| Diflufenican (H) | 350.0 | Approved | |
| Diquat (H) | 1,525.0 | Not Approved | Bahrain, Grenada, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, UK |
| Diuron (H) | 8,394.0 | Not Approved | Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Kuwait, Mozambique, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Qatar, UK |
| Fenoxaprop-p-ethyl (H) | 350.0 | Not Approved | Egypt, UK |
| 2,4-D (H) | 4,241.0 | Approved | Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Mozambique, Norway, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Vietnam |
| Flamprop-M-methyl (H) | 3,363.0 | Not Approved | Turkey, UK |
| Fluometuron (H) | 201.0 | Approved | |
| Fluoroxypyr (H) | 1616.0 | Approved | |
| Glyphosate (H) | 65,251.0 | Approved | Bahrain, Costa Rica, Iraq, Kuwait, Luxembourg, Mexico, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, United Arab Emirates, Vietnam |
| Haloxyfop (H) | 166.0 | Not Approved | Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, UK |
| Imazapic (H) | 162.0 | Not Approved | Turkey, UK |
| Imazethapyr (H) | 169.0 | Not Approved | Turkey, UK |
| Linuron (H) | 128.0 | Not Approved | Bahrain, Egypt, Gabon, India, Kuwait, Morocco, Norway, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, UK |
| MCPA (H) | 13,664.0 | Approved | Cambodia, Thailand |
| Metolachlor (H) | 6,926.0 | Not Approved | Brazil, Egypt, UK, Turkey |
| Metosulam (H) | 125.0 | Not Approved | Turkey, UK |
| Metribuzin (H) | 1,602.0 | Not Approved | |
| Molinate (H) | 178.0 | Not Approved | Brazil, Turkey, UK, USA (Voluntary withdrawal of registration) |
| Monosodium methyl arsonate (H) | 1,396.0 | Not Approved | India, New Zealand, Indonesia, UK |
| Oryzalin (H) | 1,620.0 | Not Approved | Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Brazil, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, UK |
| Oxyfluorfen (H) | 277.0 | Approved | Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Kuwait, Mozambique, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates |
| Paraquat (H) | 7,278.0 | Not Approved | Bahrain, Benin, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Cambodia, Chad, Chile, China, Costa Rica, Cote d’Ivoire, Fiji, Gabon, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Iraq, Korea, Kuwait, Lao, Liberia, Malaysia, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Palestine, Peru, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Taiwan, Togo, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, UK, Vietnam |
| Pendimethalin (H) | 8,365.0 | Approved | Egypt, Norway |
| Picloram (H) | 200.0 | Approved | Benin, Guinea, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia |
| Prometryn (H) | 217.0 | Not Approved | Egypt, Switzerland, Turkey, UK |
| Sethoxydim (H) | 407.0 | Not Approved | Turkey, UK |
| Simazine (H) | 2,566.0 | Not Approved | Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Norway, Oman, Qatar, UK, United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland |
| Sulfosulfuron (H) | 234.0 | Approved | Norway |
| Terbutryn (H) | 1,343 | Not Approved | Egypt, Switzerland, Turkey, UK, USA (voluntary withdrawal of registration) |
| Thiobencarb (H) | 157.0 | Not Approved | Turkey, UK |
| Triallate (H) | 12,327.0 | Approved | |
| Triasulfuron (H) | 420.0 | Not Approved | Morocco, Switzeland, UK, Turkey |
| Triclopyr (H) | 2,917.0 | Approved | |
| Trifluralin (H) |