Unsafe storage leads to poisoning and $48K fine

Unsafe storage leads to poisoning and $48K fine A recent prosecution serves as a timely reminder of the need to ensure best practice when it comes to safe storage of chemicals around your home, business and property, with both legal and human consequences to inattention or disregard for the regulations.

In October the NSW Land and Environment Court convicted and fined a volunteer groundsman $48,000, after a man almost died when he consumed pesticide stored incorrectly.

Do you have ag-vet chemical product that is no longer required, or used chemical containers you don’t know how to dispose of? drumMUSTER is the national program for the collection and recycling of eligible nonreturnable agricultural and veterinary (agvet) chemical containers from primary producers and other agvet chemical users.

ChemClear® is the national program for

The man was prosecuted by the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) after a 22-year-old autistic man accidentally drank the highly toxic weedkiller Paraquat, which the groundsman had illegally stored in a Coca-Cola bottle and left in a disabled toilet at a sports field. The 22-year-old man spent 18 days in hospital critically ill but miraculously survived.

The presiding judge said storing the poison in a drink bottle was a “gravely serious breach” of the Pesticides Act, undertaken “without any real regard for the obligations” of safe poison storage.

EPA Director of Regulatory Operations Adam Gilligan said the case highlights the vital importance of vigilance and care when dealing with dangerous chemicals.

“A young man very nearly died. Rules for the safe storage and use of pesticides and other poisons are in place to protect the community and the environment. Any disregard for the regulations can have very serious consequences, as we saw in this terrible case.

“It is absolutely vital that dangerous chemicals are stored safely and securely, well out of harm’s way.”

In addition to the $48,000 fine, the groundsman was ordered to pay the EPA’s legal costs and the Victim’s Support Levy. He also had to live with the knowledge that he had caused severe physical harm to the victim.

He told the court he had learned that people “should never take the risk of putting chemicals into unauthorised containers.”

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The right way to store and manage chemicals

Luckily, there are some great easy-to-follow references available to help manage your chemicals and ensure safe and secure storage: • Produced by the NSW DPI, Storing pesticides safely on farm is a comprehensive, user-friendly Primefact guide covering storage facilities, measurement, labels and safety data sheets and PPE. It also covers emergency safety provisions and provides links to the relevant legislation.

Go to www.dpi.nsw.gov.au and type ‘storing pesticides’ into the search box, then download the pdf. • The Victorian government’s Better Health website also has great resources available on its Farm safety and handling agrichemicals page. Again comprehensive and user-friendly, the information covers common agrichemicals, side effects of exposure, safety data sheets, safe storage, transport, use and disposal procedures for agrichemicals, and advice and contacts in the case of agrichemical exposure.

Go to www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au and type ‘agrichemicals’ into the search box, then click on the page. You can also then download and print the information for easy

Disposal of ag-vet chemicals and containers

reference. the collection and destruction of currently registered agvet chemicals at the end of their life cycle, or when they become surplus.

Chemicals eligible for FREE collection under the program (Group 1) will display the drumMUSTER/ChemClear® eligible logo on the container. Group 2 chemicals (no longer registered, expired, unlabelled etc) incur a collection fee.

More information: www.drummuster.org. au; www.chemclear.org.au, phone 1800 008 707 or email info@drummuster.org.au.