Your submission to Call for information on use of glyphosate-containing substances
Jacqui Tyrrell, Jacqueline Anne Tyrrell
Ph:
Reference no: 240
Clause
Which group do you belong to? Please select the category that most closely matches your role.
Position
Member of the public (for example domestic user / non-glyphosate user) Notes
I farmed a small block for 25 years, and now I'm a gardener.
Clause
Do you use glyphosate? (mandatory question) Position
Yes Notes
Main use: gel form on cut stalks/roots/trunks etc. Rarely: spray kikuyu
Clause
1.1B Which glyphosate products do you use? Please tell us the trade name(s) and, if possible, the approval number(s) (look for the code starting with HSR on the product label).
Notes
Mostly Cut 'n Paste gel HSR100736
Clause
2.1B Do you ever repackage or store glyphosate products in other containers?
Position No Notes
Clause
3.1B How do you apply glyphosate products when you are using them? (For example, hand-held sprayer, backpack sprayer). You may provide this information by filling out the "use table" in the supplementary information document (link above) or in the box below.
Notes
Gel direct from applicator bottle Rarely, backpack sprayer
Clause
3.2B Where do you use glyphosate products? (For example, garden, patio, vegetable patch, driveway, around shed etc.) You may provide this information in the "use table" in the supplementary information document (link above) or in the box below.
Notes
house surrounds, driveway, lawn edges
Clause
3.3B When and how often do you use glyphosate products? You may provide this information in the "use table" in the supplementary information document (link above) or in the box below.
Notes
In fine weather, a few times a year, as needed.
Clause
3.4B What quantity of glyphosate product do you apply each time you use it? You may provide this information in the "use table" in the supplementary information document (link above) or in the box below.
Notes
a few ml of gel 100ml liquid glyphosate
GLY_CFI_0240
Clause
3.5B What plants or weeds do you use glyphosate products on? You may provide this information in the "use table" in supplementary information document (link above) or in the box below.
Notes
kikuyu tobacco weed
Clause
3.6B Do you have any other comments on how you use glyphosate products?
Notes
I wouldn't use it at all if it wasn't so incredibly effective on kikuyu!
Clause
4.1B Do you read and follow the label instructions?
Position Yes - always Notes
Clause
4.2B Do you use any of the following personal protective equipment (PPE) when using glyphosate products?
Position 1 Safety glasses Position 2
Masks or respirators Position 3
Enclosed footwear Position 4 Coveralls Position 5 Gloves Notes
I use all these because I'm aware of the effects of glyphosate on my body with even very slight exposure - headaches etc.
Clause
4.3B Do you check the weather forecast before spraying glyphosate products to see if the conditions are favourable (that is, no wind or rain is expected)?
Position Yes - always Notes
Clause
4.4B Do you apply glyphosate products only when the weather conditions are favourable?
Position Yes - always Notes
Clause
4.5B Do you ever spray close to waterways, such as streams, lakes, rivers or ponds?
Position No - never Notes
Clause
4.6B Where and how do you store your glyphosate products?
Notes
In a dry, cool garage attached to the house
Clause
4.7B How do you dispose of empty containers and unused glyphosate products?
Notes
Gel bottles: screw on top firmly and put in domestic rubbish Liquid: rinse several times, and use the rinsings as spray
Clause
4.9B Do you believe these measures are adequate to keep people and the environment protected? Why or why not?
Notes
The measures I personally take are adequate to balance the risk with the benefits for me. But few people take this much care.
Clause
7.1B Why do you choose to use glyphosate products?
Notes
They seem more benign than the alternatives, and extremely effective on kikuyu.
Clause
8.1 On a scale of 1–5, how aware are you of the rules and controls associated with importing, manufacturing, selling and using products containing glyphosate?
Position 2 Notes
Clause
8.2 Do you think the rules and controls are enough to manage the risks?
Position
No (please specify why not) Notes
Spray drift happens all the time, and few people wear PPE. The presentation of detailed info on glyphosate labels and packaging seems to me more suited to giving the manufacturer a head start in law suits than it is suited to giving the user a sense of how and why they should take care using the product.
Clause
8.3 Do you have any concerns that the use of glyphosate products impacts people’s health?
Position Yes Notes
Not all people (and mammals) deal with glyphosate in the same way. While the majority suffer no ill-effects from exposure at "normal"
levels, our physical reactions are probably normally distributed - i.e, on a bell curve. Even if accepted measures were followed (which they aren't), the health of a significant proportion of people and animals is affected - not necessarily things like cancer, but a failure of well-being, leading to loss of productivity and pleasure in being alive. I was first alerted to the effects of glyphosate when one of our horses would periodically behave strangely. He became irritable, generally distressed, and quite unsuitable for children to be around.
Then we noticed the correlation between his behaviour and the Council's roadside spraying. (At that time they professed to use only glyphosate.) Coming from a family who react to many medications and easily develop allergies, the horse's behaviour alerted me to how I felt. I realised that I got headaches and a specific set of symptoms at spray time. Our house (and the horse paddock) were downhill from the road, in a kind of bowl, and the area may have collected spray drift so it was intensified. But now I know when I have been exposed, because I get a very specific kind of headache.
Clause
8.4 Do you have any concerns that the use of glyphosate products impacts the environment?
Position Yes Notes
I've grown veges and grass for animals using home-made compost and almost zero pesticides for 30 years, and saw the amazing change in insect life on our 10 acres over that time. Flocks of dragonflies and small butterflies, several sorts of worms, and clouds of flying things - and no need to use pesticides of any sort in the vege garden. I believe this above-ground life is mirrored in healthy soil biota, which is what led to wonderful productivity and resilience in the face of drought etc. NZ's lack of attention to preserving and caring for productive soils is appallingly short-sighted. For example, the use of glyphosate to replace ploughing may have short-term benefits, but does nothing to support truly healthy and resilient soils.
Clause
8.5 Do you have any concerns that the use of glyphosate products have an impact on public spaces?
Position Yes Notes
When we lived in suburban Auckland, roadside spraying would be carried out in the afternoon, sometimes just before primary schools came out. Flocks of kids with bare feet wandered past our place, and once I saw a child sit down on the edge of the newly-sprayed gutter. At that time there was nothing in the recommendations for use that took into account the dose that a bare-footed child in this situation would get. At the last school I worked at, the caretaker would go round spraying glyphosate on path edges while kids were in class. I failed to convince her that there would still be some around when the bell rang!
Clause
8.6 What positive or negative impacts do you think glyphosate products have on environmental, economic, social and cultural wellbeing?
Notes
Positive: Cheap and effective Gels are very useful in conservation settings, enabling targeted application. Negative: Long-term loss of soil life A low-level but persistent effect on human health Loss of weed control knowledge Because it's so cheap, - effectively prevents development and deployment of safer and more sustainable alternatives (eg hot water in urban areas) - slows movement towards truly sustainable and certified organic farming methods
Clause
8.7 Do you think glyphosate products should be available and easy to buy for everyone, or available to professional users only?
Notes
The gel products seem suitable for many domestic uses, and a great improvement on people spraying without PPE or concern for neighbours. Even professional users are often too casual. Pages and pages of fine print on the label don't change behaviour. So... - more education of both casual and professional users - sales of glyphosate in garden centres and hardware shops limited to small spray bottles of ready-to-use liquid and gel.
Clause
8.8 How do you think it would affect you or New Zealand if the use of glyphosate products was further restricted?
Notes
There are many farmers who think they cannot do without it - but it would be possible for them to learn of alternative management practices. NZ needs to be moving towards high-value, high-quality production. This would take money - government money??
Clause
8.9 Please provide any additional comments you have about glyphosate and its use in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Notes
It's part of our casual attitude to long-term caring for the environment.
