Oceania Environment shares this very interesting article with you - source at the bottom of the page.
IMPORTANT: Article dealing with regulations in France - contact the official national authorities to check the rules applicable to your case.
"The rules for the plant protection room on your farm for greater safety
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- Between legal obligations and recommendations, the plant protection room must meet three essential objectives: ensuring the safety of people and the environment, and preserving the physico-chemical properties of the products.
The storage area
- Governed by the Labour Code, the Public Health Code and the Environment Code, the installation of a storage facility for plant protection products requires a thorough knowledge of the regulations. Beyond that, it's a question of common sense recommendations to make work easier and safer.
Legal obligations, for greater safety
Construction
- To avoid accidental pollution of the surrounding environment, the plant protection room must be 35 metres away from watercourses, wells, ponds and boreholes.
- The premises must be locked, ventilated (high and low points), have an electrical installation that complies with the standard (NF-C 15-100) and have doors that open to the outside.
- To prevent any accidents, regulations require that an ABC powder extinguisher and its sign be placed outside the plant protection room.
- A supply of water must also be available close to the spray preparation area.
- Inside, install bins containing absorbent material (sand, clay, vermiculite, etc.) and a shovel in case products are spilt.
Protecting users and human health
- The room is reserved exclusively for the storage of plant protection products: no product intended for human or animal consumption may be introduced into it.
- To protect users, the French Labour Code requires products to be kept in their original packaging, tightly closed and labelled, to avoid mix-ups.
- With regard to stored products, the regulations require the separation and identification of products with acute toxicity categories 1, 2, 3 and CMR from the others.
- All equipment used solely for treatments must be stored inside the premises.
- Personal protective clothing (overalls, gloves, mask, etc.) must be stored in a changing room close to but separate from the room where the products are stored.
Information
- The words "plant protection product room" and "no smoking", as well as safety instructions, must be posted and prominently displayed:
- emergency numbers and the telephone contact of poison control centres (see telephone list of poison control centres).
You may also be reminded that "Unauthorised entry is prohibited". Lastly, safety data sheets (SDS) should be available nearby but located in another room.
A few recommendations for greater safety
Choice of location
- We strongly advise you to set up your plant protection room away from dwellings and animal accommodation: in general, a distance of 50 metres is recommended.
- ATTENTION
- The departmental health regulations (RSD) may impose distance requirements in relation to dwellings, wells and watercourses, as well as imposing specific requirements (e.g. minimum distance of 35 m from water points and retention areas).
It is essential to consult it.
New boreholes must be located at a minimum distance of 35 m from the storage of chemical products or products likely to affect groundwater quality (cf Arrêté du 11 septembre 2003).
Special features
- A watertight floor with a raised threshold at door level will protect against spills into the surrounding environment by creating a retention tank.
- For products, gratings can be used to avoid placing cans on the floor.
- Finally, it is recommended that the premises be frost-free.To make it easier to recover the packaging, the rinsed cans should be kept in a special bag, with the caps separated and clearly identified.
- Storage volume of a product roomIf a facility presents dangers or inconveniences for neighbours, human health or the environment, it will be classified as an ICPE (Installation Classée pour la Protection de l'Environnement).
- The storage of plant protection products is covered by this legislation.
- It includes headings that classify products according to their hazardous characteristics, taking into account toxicological classification and certain risk phrases.
- Each section is assigned thresholds for the quantity of products that can be stored without a declaration: this is the case for farms.
- Above these thresholds, establishments are subject to declaration, authorisation or authorisation with restrictions.
- To find out quickly which ICPE heading a product comes under, you can refer to the FDS."
link to the full article:
Https://www.bayer-agri.fr/sante/les-regles-du-local-phyto-sur-votre-exploitation-pour-plus-de-securite_727/#top_etape_newsletter-4-confirmation_2
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