Preparation of Safety Data Sheets (SDSs) for Pest Control Products (PCPs) Products In Canada

Posted May 12, 2020

By: Kirsten Alcock, Manager of Product Safety, email

It’s that time of year again – time to start planting your seeds and prepping up for a good growing season. Unfortunately, it’s not that simple as there are those pesky little insects, etc. that Canadians have to deal with. In order to deal with those, many Canadian farmers turn to Pesticide Control to ensure that they have a good crop at the end of the growing season.

Did you know that the Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) published a document regarding PCP products and SDSs?

Safety Data Sheets are not required under the Hazardous Products Regulations for pesticide products, however, it is good practice to provide these to the workers that are using these products to ensure their health and safety. The PMRA published a document in English and Canadian French back in 2018. It is a very extensive document that includes information on the background, SDS guidance to registrants, and appendices containing information for each and every section of a SDS. Dell Tech has taken the guidance provided and we can ensure that the SDSs we create follow the guidelines given by the PMRA.

As discussed above, Pest Control Products in Canada do not require Safety Data Sheets. They are not subject to the Hazardous Products Act (HPA) Part II (Hazardous Products) as per paragraph 12(j); Schedule 1 (Non-Application of Part II).

This restriction states that Part II does not apply in respect of the sale or importation of anything listed in Schedule 1, which includes any pest control product as defined in subsection 2(1) of the Pest Control Products Act, any explosive as defined in section 2 of the Explosives Act, any cosmetic, device, drug or food, as defined in section 2 of the Food and Drugs Act, any consumer product as defined in section 2 of the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act, and any wood or product made of wood.

As such, one is not required by law to provide a SDS for a pesticide here within Canada. If however, you choose to provide one to your client, the PMRA has provided this extensive guidance on what they expect to see and in what section they want to see it in. They consider this guideline to be a voluntary adoption and for use by all registrants of PCP products in Canada. The focus of a SDS is primarily for the workers to ensure that they are using the product safely while working in the fields so the SDS is requested to contain the mandated health and safety information that can be found on the PMRA approved label.

As SDSs are not a part of the PCP requirements, they are not subject to pre-market approval. The guidance document advises that there must be a reference to the PCP label as the main label to follow for safety, use, and handling. You will see on the SDSs Dell Tech provides that the PMRA is listed right in section 1 as requested by the guidance. Although not required, the PMRA encourages companies who sell pesticides to adopt and follow the guidance document should they create SDSs.

Should you wish to obtain a copy of the document, Health Canada advises that one must complete a form on their website to acquire a Portable Document Format (PDF) copy of the “PMRA Guidance for Preparing Safety Data Sheets According to the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals for Pest Control Products in Canada” publication. The link for this document is found here.

How can Dell Tech help?

Dell Tech can help you with the registration of your Pesticide Product
Dell Tech can create the SDS in both official languages
Dell Tech will create the SDS in compliance with the Guidance Document provided by the PMRA

Contact:
Dell Tech
Kirsten Alcock, B.Sc. (Hons)
Manager, Product Safety Group
519-858-5074
kirsten@delltech.com