Pesticide Labels and Labeling
Label vs labeling
The label is the printed material on or attached to the container; labeling is everything else that accompanies the product - brochures, supplemental labels, worker protection sheets. Both are legally enforceable.
Signal words
Signal words rank acute hazard using the most severe category among oral, dermal, and inhalation toxicity plus skin and eye effects: Category I is DANGER (with POISON and skull-and-crossbones when highly toxic by any route); II is WARNING; III and IV are CAUTION. The signal word reflects the worst hazard, not an average - a product with low oral toxicity can still be DANGER because of severe eye damage.
Reading in order
Product name and formulation; active ingredients and concentration; signal word and precautionary statements; first aid; PPE; environmental hazards; directions for use (sites, pests, rate, timing, REI, PHI); storage and disposal.
Traps
- REI (restricted-entry interval) is not the PHI (preharvest interval); confusing them is the classic error.
- Specific directions override general statements; any "not for use on..." statement always wins.
- A product registered on corn is not thereby legal on your crop.
- The label is a legal contract, not a suggestion; the user is bound by the label on the container.
Worked example
A label lists 1-2 pt/A, a 12-hour REI, and a 14-day PHI. Spraying 2 pt/A and harvesting on day 10 is illegal even if a residue test would pass, and entering the field 8 hours later without required PPE violates the REI.