Health Canada Upholds Use of Paraquat, Atrazine, Trifluralin

Health Canada concluded that controversial herbicide paraquat can continue to be used in Canada, subject to additional requirements to protect users, and proposed concluding that two other pesticides—atrazine and trifluralin—do not pose a significant risk to the environment or human health.

The final decision by the department’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) on paraquat, published Dec. 23, rejects suggestions for even greater restrictions on its use or an outright ban as implemented by the European Union.

“The PMRA followed a risk-based scientific approach to assess the aspects of concern identified for the special review of paraquat. Based on this assessment, ...