Re-evaluation Decision RVD2021-04, Lambda-cyhalothrin and Its Associated End-use Products

Pest Management Regulatory Agency
29 April 2021
ISSN: 1925-1025 (PDF version)
Catalogue number: H113-28/2021-04-PDF (PDF version)

Summary

Table of contents

• Re-evaluation decision for lambda-cyhalothrin and associated end-use products
• Re-evaluation decision for lambda-cyhalothrin
• Risk mitigation measures
• Next steps
• Other information
• Appendix I - Registered lambda-cyhalothrin products in Canada

Re-evaluation decision for lambda-cyhalothrin and associated end-use products

Under the authority of the Pest Control Products Act, all registered pesticides must be re-evaluated by Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) to ensure that they continue to meet current health and environmental standards and continue to have value. The re-evaluation considers data and information from pesticide manufacturers, published scientific reports and other regulatory agencies, as well as comments received during public consultations. Health Canada applies internationally accepted risk assessment methods as well as current risk management approaches and policies.

Lambda-cyhalothrin is a synthetic pyrethroid insecticide used to control a broad range of insect pests on a wide variety of sites such as greenhouse food crops, terrestrial food and feed crops, shelterbelts, turf, livestock, structural sites and ornamentals. Currently registered products containing lambda-cyhalothrin can be found in the Label Search and in Appendix I.

The Proposed Re-evaluation Decision PRVD2017-03, Lambda-cyhalothrin^Footnote 1containing the evaluation of lambda-cyhalothrin and proposed decision, underwent a 90-day consultation period ending on 21 September 2017. PRVD2017-03 proposed cancellation of the use on all food and feed commodities, all indoor structural uses in residential areas, turf application in residential areas, as well as mitigation measures for the remaining uses.

Health Canada received comments (and information) relating to the health, environmental and value assessments. Commenters are listed in Appendix II of RVD2021-04. These comments are summarized in Appendix III of RVD2021-04 along with the responses by Health Canada. These comments and new data/information resulted in revisions to the toxicology, dietary, occupational, and environmental risk assessments (see Science evaluation update), and resulted in changes to the proposed re-evaluation decision as described in PRVD2017-03.

A reference list of information used as the basis for the proposed re-evaluation decision is included in PRVD2017-03, and further information used in the re-evaluation decision is listed in Appendix XI of RVD2021-04. Therefore, the complete reference list of all information used in this final re-evaluation decision includes both the information set out in PRVD2017-03 and the information set out in Appendix XI of RVD2021-04.

This document (Re-evaluation Decision RVD2021-04, Lambda-cyhalothrin and its associated end-use products) presents the final re-evaluation decision^Footnote 2 for the re-evaluation of lambda-cyhalothrin, including the required amendments (risk mitigation measures) to protect human health and the environment, as well as label amendments required to bring labels to current standards. All products containing lambda-cyhalothrin that are registered in Canada are subject to this re-evaluation decision.

Re-evaluation decision for lambda-cyhalothrin

Health Canada has completed the re-evaluation of lambda-cyhalothrin. Under the authority of the Pest Control Products Act, Health Canada has determined that continued registration of products containing lambda-cyhalothrin is acceptable with additional risk mitigation measures. An evaluation of available scientific information found that most uses of lambda-cyhalothrin products meet current standards for protection of human health and the environment and have acceptable value when used according to revised conditions of registration which includes new mitigation measures. Risks were shown to be acceptable when mitigation measures were considered for the following uses:

• Crop Group 5-13: Brassica Head and Stem Vegetable Group;
• Crop Group 6: Legume Vegetables (Succulent or Dried);
• Crop Group 8-09: Fruiting Vegetables;
• Crop Group 9: Cucurbit Vegetables;
• Crop Group 14-11: Tree Nuts;
• Crop Group 15: Cereal Grains;
• alfalfa; apple; arrowroot; asparagus; beef and non-lactating dairy cattle; carrot; cassava; celery; cherry; Chinese broccoli; cover crops; dasheen; flax seed; garden beet; ginger; Jerusalem artichoke; kohlrabi; mustard seeds (oilseed type); nectarine; peach; pear; plum; potato; rapeseed (including canola); Saskatoon berry; strawberry; sweet potato; tanier corms; timothy; turmeric; yam bean; and yam.
• turf
• greenhouse tobacco seedlings
• tobacco
• shelterbelts
• poplar and willow
• conifer seed orchards
• structural sites (indoors and outdoors) and surrounding soil,
• outdoor nests (wasp, hornet, ant and termites)
• outdoor ornamentals

The following uses of lambda-cyhalothrin are cancelled since health risks were not shown to be acceptable when used according to the current conditions of registration, or when additional mitigation is considered: lettuce, mustard seed (condiment type), all feed uses, all registered commodities from Crop Group 3-07: Bulb Vegetables, and all registered commodities from Crop Group 20: Oilseeds (Revised), except for flax seed, mustard seed (oilseed type), and rapeseed (including canola).

Label amendments, as summarized below and listed in Appendix X of RVD2021-04, are required.

Risk mitigation measures

Registered pesticide product labels include specific directions for use. Directions include risk mitigation measures to protect human health and the environment and must be followed by law. The required amendments, including any revised/updated label statements and mitigation measures, as a result of the re-evaluation of lambda-cyhalothrin, are summarized below. Refer to Appendix X of RVD2021-04 for details.

Cancelled uses to be removed from all product labels:

• lettuce,
• mustard seed (condiment type),
• all feed uses,
• all registered commodities from Crop Group 3-07: Bulb Vegetables, and
• all registered commodities from Crop Group 20: Oilseeds (Revised), except for flax seed, mustard seed (oilseed type), and rapeseed (including canola).

Human health

Risk mitigation:

To protect workers, consumers, and those entering treated areas from potential dietary, residential, and occupational exposure, the following risk-reduction measures are required for the uses with continued registration of lambda-cyhalothrin in Canada:

• Due to dietary risks of concern, changes to the MRLs for some commodities will be published as a Proposed Maximum Residue Limit (PMRL) document for consultation.
• Label amendments to minimize the likelihood of residues in milk and livestock (other than beef cattle).
• Additional personal protective equipment (PPE) and engineering controls when mixing/loading and applying to various crops/sites.
• Restrictions on amount of active ingredient handled per day for some application equipment.
• Extension of the retreatment interval (RTI) for turf applications from 7 days to 14 days.
• Revision or establishment of restricted-entry intervals (REIs) for some postapplication activities.
• Label modifications to include structural definitions and precautionary statements from the PMRA Guidance Document, Structural Pest Control Products: Label Updates for structural products.
• Registrant-implemented national product stewardship program is required with the aim to encourage and promote the proper handling and use of commercial class lambda-cyhalothrin product in indoor residential areas by communicating the revised label statements and risk mitigation and educating users.

Environment

Label improvements to meet current standards:

• Updated storage and disposal statements.

Risk mitigation:

To protect the environment, the following risk-reduction measures are required:

• Environmental hazard statements for bees, beneficial arthropods (parasitic insects and predatory mites), small wild mammals, and aquatic organisms.
• To reduce risk to pollinators, users are to avoid application during the crop blooming period. If application is required during this period, applications are restricted to the evening when most bees are not foraging.
• For greenhouses, the product must not be applied when bees or beneficial insects are present and effluent containing lambda-cyhalothrin must not be released into aquatic environments.
• To reduce the potential for runoff of lambda-cyhalothrin to adjacent aquatic habitats, precautionary statement for sites with characteristics that may be conducive to runoff and when heavy rains are forecasted.
• Addition of a mandatory vegetative filter strip between the treatment area and the edge of a down-gradient water body to reduce runoff of lambda-cyhalothrin to aquatic environments.
• Spray buffer zones to protect non-target aquatic habitats.

Next steps

To comply with this decision, the required amendments (mitigation measures and label updates) must be implemented on all product labels no later than 24 months after the publication date of RVD2021-04. Accordingly, both registrants and retailers will have up to 24 months from the date of this decision document to transition to selling the product with the newly amended labels. Similarly, users will also have the same 24-month period from the date of RVD2021-04 to transition to using the newly amended labels, which will be available on the Public Registry.

Refer to Appendix I for details on specific products impacted by this decision.

Other information

Any person may file a notice of objection^Footnote 3 regarding this decision on lambda-cyhalothrin and its associated end-use products within 60 days from the date of publication of this Re-evaluation Decision. For more information regarding the basis for objecting (which must be based on scientific grounds), please refer to the Pesticides section of the Canada.ca website (Request a Reconsideration of Decision) or contact the PMRA's Pest Management Information Service by phone (1-800-267-6315) or by e-mail (pesticides-info@hc-sc.gc.ca).

The relevant test data on which the decision is based (as referenced in PRVD2020-01) are available for public inspection, upon application, in the PMRA's Reading Room (located in Ottawa). For more information, please contact the PMRA's Pest Management Information Service

Appendix I Registered products containing lambda-cyhalothrin in Canada