PART VII
PESTICIDES AND TOXIC SUBSTANCES

57.    In this Part, unless the context otherwise requires-

Interpretation

"container" means a package, can, bottle, bag, barrel, drum, tank or other container, excluding spray applicator tanks, used to enclose a pesticide or toxic substance;

"label" means any legend, word, mark, symbol or design applied or attached to, included in, belonging to, or accompanying, any pesticides or toxic substances;

"manufacturer" means an establishment engaged in the mechanical or chemical transformation of materials or substances into new products, as pesticides and toxic substances;

"package" means a container, wrapping, covering or holder in which a pesticide or toxic substance is wholly or partly packed;

"pesticide" means a substance or mixture of substances or organism intended for controlling, destroying, repelling or mitigating any pest, and a substance or mixture of substances intended for use as a plant regulator, defoliant or desfoliant;

"sale" includes offering, advertising and exposing, for sale a pesticide, or toxic substance;

"toxic substance" means a poisonous substance which causes any adverse physiological effects to man, animal, plant or the environment;

"trade name" means the registered name of the manufactured pesticide or toxic substance; and

"use" means any act of handling or release of a pesticide or the exposure of human beings and animals or the environment to a pesticide.

58.    The Council shall-

(a)        control the importation, exportation, manufacture, storage, distribution, sale, use, packing, transportation, disposal and advertisement of pesticides and toxic substances;

(b)        regulate the registration of pesticides and toxic substances;

(c)        provide for the proper labelling and packaging of pesticides and toxic substances;

(d)        review the use and efficacy of pesticides and toxic substances;

(e)        provide for the monitoring, in the environment, of pesticides, and toxic substances and their residues;

(f)         establish or prescribe laboratories which shall operate as standard laboratories for pesticides and toxic substances;

(g)        establish and enforce procedures and regulations for the storage of packages and containers of pesticides or toxic substances;

(h)        collect data from industry on the production, use and health effects of pesticides and toxic substances;

(i)         keep records and reports necessary for the administration of this Part; and

(j)         do all such things as appear necessary for the monitoring and control of pesticides and toxic substances.

Responsibilities of Council

59.  (1)  A person who intends to manufacture, import or process a new pesticide or toxic substance or who intends to reprocess an existing pesticide or toxic substance for a significantly new use, must apply for registration of the pesticide or toxic substance and give the Inspectorate ninety days notice in writing before importing, manufacturing, processing or reprocessing such pesticide or toxic substance.

Application for registration of new or reprocessed pesticide or toxic substance

(2)  The application referred to in subsection (1) shall include the name of the trade mark of the pesticide or toxic substance, the chemical identity, molecular structure, proposed categories of use, an estimate of the amount, by-products, processing and disposal of the pesticide or toxic substance, and any test data related to health and environmental effects.

60.  (1)  A person who has manufactured, imported or processed a pesticide or toxic substance in use before the commencement of this Act or whom the Inspectorate so requires shall apply for registration within six months after the commencement of this Act.

Application for registration of pesticide or toxic substance in use before commencement of Act

(2)  Applications for registration shall be accompanied by all relevant data to enable the Inspectorate assess the suitability and efficacy of the pesticide or toxic substance.

61.  (1)  The Inspectorate shall publish guidelines for pesticides and toxic substances specifying the information and data which will be required to support registration.

Information required for, and period of registration

(2)  A pesticide or toxic substance shall be registered for three years, unless some other period is specified by the Inspectorate and may be renewed for a like period.

62.  (1)  The Inspectorate may on application register a pesticide or toxic substance subject to such conditions as it may determine.

Registration

(2)  Where the Inspectorate refuses to register any pesticide or toxic substance the notice of refusal shall state the reasons.

63.    Regulations made under section ninety-six shall prescribe the contents of an application and the conditions for registration of pesticides and toxic substances under this Part.

Contents of application and conditions for registration

64.  (1)  No person shall-

Offences relating to pesticides and toxic substances

(a)        detach, alter, or destroy labelling as prescribed under this Part, of a pesticide or toxic substance;

(b)        change the composition of a pesticide or toxic substance contrary to the provisions of this Part; or

(c)        use or dispose into the environment a pesticide, or toxic substance in contravention of this Part.

(2)  No person shall distribute, sell, offer for sale, hold for sale, import, deliver for importation to, or receive from, deliver or offer to deliver, to any other person any unregistered pesticide or toxic substance.

(3)  Any person who contravenes any of the provisions of this section shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable upon conviction to a fine not exceeding thirty thousand penalty units or imprisonment for a period not exceeding five years.

(As amended by Act No. 13 of 1994)

65.  (1)  Any pesticide or toxic substance which an Inspector reasonably suspects to be the subject matter of an offence under this Part shall be liable to seizure.

Seizure of pesticides and toxic substances

(2)  Whenever any pesticide or toxic substance is seized under subsection (1) an Inspector shall serve a notice of seizure on the owner of the pesticide, or toxic substance as soon as practicably possible.

(3)  Where any pesticide or toxic substance is seized under this section the pesticide or toxic substance shall be placed under the custody of such person or such authority as the Inspector may determine.

(4)  Any pesticide or toxic substance placed under custody shall be released if after six months-

(a)        no prosecution under this Part is instituted with regard to the pesticide or toxic substance; or

(b)        no person is convicted for an offence under this Part.