Labels, Safety Data Sheets and Product Information
The label is the legal document; the Safety Data Sheet (SDS) is the hazard reference. The label tells you: product name and registration number, active ingredient and concentration, class designation, registered sites/crops and pests, application rate and timing, method and equipment, buffer zones, restricted entry interval (REI - time before workers may enter without label PPE), preharvest interval (PHI - time between last application and harvest), storage and disposal, first aid and required PPE. If the site or pest is not on the label, it is an off-label use and an offence.
The SDS has 16 standard sections: 1 identification, 2 hazard identification, 3 composition, 4 first aid, 5 firefighting, 6 accidental release, 7 handling and storage, 8 exposure controls/PPE, 9 physical properties, 10 stability/reactivity, 11 toxicological, 12 ecological, 13 disposal, 14 transport, 15 regulatory, 16 other. Which gloves? Section 8. A spill? Section 6. A poisoning? Section 4.
Traps: reading only the front-panel rate and missing the crop- or stage-specific rate table; assuming an SDS statement overrides the label (it does not - the more protective instruction governs); confusing REI with PHI; and missing units - rates can be per 100 L, per hectare, per 1000 m² or per tree, so units must always be checked. Watch for supplemental labels and emergency/priority registrations.
Worked example: the label says 2.5 L/ha with a 50 L/ha water volume and a 12-hour REI. A worker wants to scout the block six hours after spraying - the answer is no, unless the label's early-entry PPE requirements are met.
Rule of thumb: read label sections in the order you work - site and pest, rate and water volume, method, PPE, REI/PHI, buffer zone, storage, first aid.