PMRA Cancels all Turf Uses of Popular Fungicide Due to Risk of Drinking Water Exposure
By Jerry Rousseau
In late 2018, Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) began the re-evaluation process for the active ingredient, tebuconazole, a fungicide registered for use on golf courses and sod farms going by the trade names of Mirage Stressgard and Dedicate Stressgard.
Fast forward to November 18, 2024 and a teleconference call initiated by the PMRA to announce its final re-evaluation decision (RVD) two days ahead of the official publication scheduled to be posted on November 20.
The short version as per the title of this piece, all turf uses for this AI have been cancelled as per the following statement:
Health Canada has completed the re-evaluation of tebuconazole. Under the authority of the Pest Control Products Act, Health Canada has completed all required evaluations and consultations and has determined that the registration of products containing tebuconazole is required to be amended, in accordance with paragraph 21(2)(a) of the Pest Control Products Act. An evaluation of available scientific information respecting the health and environmental risks and value of tebuconazole found that certain uses of tebuconazole products meet current standards for protection of human health and the environment and have acceptable value when used according to the amended conditions of registration which includes new mitigation measures. However, all turf uses of tebuconazole are cancelled as risks due to exposure from drinking water were not shown to be acceptable when used according to the current conditions of registration, or when additional mitigation is considered.
Next steps
To comply with this decision, products registered for turf uses are cancelled as of the date of publication with phase-out beginning at the same time and ending 3 years from the publication date on November 20, 2027.
Health Canada has determined that the identified risks from the use of tebuconazole on turf are not expected to be serious or imminent over the three-year phase-out period and therefore, continued possession, handling, storage, and use of existing stock in Canada of these products is authorized as per the following schedule:
• Authorized for sale (of existing stocks in Canada) by registrant one (1) year from the date of decision, followed by;
• Authorized for sale by retailer/distributor (if applicable) one (1) year from the last date of sale by registrant, followed by;
• Authorized for use one (1) year from the last date of sale by retailer/distributor.
During the phase-out period, importing or manufacturing of products containing tebuconazole for turf use in Canada is prohibited. In addition, registrants are required to continue to comply with sales and incident reporting obligations during the phase-out period.