Aerial spraying ‘needs curbs’

Press, 11 April 1979, Page 10

Aerial spraying ‘needs curbs’

Wellington reporter The public are becoming increasingly concerned about the frequency of careless or indiscriminate aerial spraying of pesticides, according to the Commission for the Environment. The commission told the Parliamentary Social Services Select Committee, which is hearing submissions on a new Pesticides Bill, that this was a highrisk form of application and one which had a particular ability to create public fear, “ even when used prudently and safely. It would have been appropriate to demonstrate a political commitment to tighten up this particularly sensitive area of pesticide use, said Mr R. Armstrong, speaking for the commission. The main general controls over aerial application lay in the granting and monitoring of chemical ratings in the Civil Aviation Regulations, 1953. Controls existed in the Pesticide Bill only in relation to controlled pesticides and around vineyards. The achievement of improved and safer aerial

spraying of pesticides should be an essential aim of the administration of pesticides, he said. The newly-created Pesticides Board should have available more specific controls. beyond Civil Aviation requirements. These should include the power to require regular renewal of chemical rating licences of commercial applicators. Many pilots had obtained their chemical rating years ago, before many present forms of pesticide, methods of application, and safety requirements, had been developed. The board should establish clearer requirements for aerial spraying, Mr Armstrong said. The basic problem was the need to ensure that only prudent and safe aerial spraying work was done, and that where safety was marginal, alternative methods of application were used-. Regulations or guidelines were needed to cover all aerial spraying, including the placing of restrictions around built-up areas, Mr Armstrong said.