Pesticide Labels, SDS and Product Information
This domain tests whether you can read a pesticide label and Safety Data Sheet (SDS) as legal and practical documents. The exam focuses on the principal display panel, hazard signal, directions for use, pre-harvest interval (PHI), re-entry interval (REI), and the 16-section SDS.
Core rules
- The label is the approved legal instruction. It carries the trade name, active ingredient(s) and concentration, formulation, PCA registration number, net contents, signal word or hazard class, first-aid and storage statements, and directions.
- Directions specify target pest, crop or site, rate, water volume, application method, PHI, REI, and maximum number of applications.
- The SDS is a hazard communication document in 16 sections: identification; hazards; composition; first aid; fire-fighting; accidental release; handling and storage; exposure controls/PPE; physical and chemical properties; stability; toxicology; ecology; disposal; transport; regulatory; other. It does not replace the label for use directions.
Worked example
A label states PHI 7 days for tomatoes and REI 24 hours. Spraying finishes at 08:00 on 1 June. The earliest normal harvest is 08:00 on 8 June, and workers may re-enter after 08:00 on 2 June unless the label requires more PPE. The reasoning is that PHI and REI are clock- and calendar-based intervals from the end of application, not from the start.
Traps
Reading only the front panel; using the SDS dose instead of the label rate; ignoring REI; and assuming a lower signal word means no PPE.