On February 17, 2023, New Zealand’s Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) announced a three-year work plan for reassessments of fifteen approved hazardous substances (HS).
Every HS imported into or manufactured in New Zealand needs to obtain approval under the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act (HSNO Act). If new information on an approved HS becomes available and there’s a risk to human health and the environment, the EPA should reassess the approved HS. After the reassessment, a decision should be made on whether to change the rules for using the HS, stipulate more use restrictions, or prohibit the HS entirely. The aim of this work plan is to help increase the transparency of the EPA’s work in this regard, which is one of the changes included in the HSNO (Hazardous Substances Assessments) Amendment Act commencing on November 1, 2022.
Below is the summary table of the work plan. There are 6 reassessments in progress and 9 reassessments due to begin in the next three years, covering aquatic herbicides, synthetic pyrethroids used in insecticides, and vertebrate toxic agents (used to kill or control pests such as rodents), etc.
Substance | Start date |
Hydrogen cyanamide | In progress |
Actara (active ingredient thiamethoxam) | In progress |
Fluazinam | In progress |
Synthetic pyrethroids | In progress |
Aquatic herbicides | In progress |
Chlorpyrifos | In progress |
Oxadiazon | Second half of 2023 |
Alachlor (chloroacetamides) | First half of 2024 |
Imidacloprid and clothianidin (neonicotinoids) | Second half of 2024 |
Carbendazim | Second half of 2024 |
Diuron | Second half of 2024 |
Brodifacoum, bromadiolone, flocoumafen (vertebrate toxic agents) | Second half of 2025 |
Domestic use vertebrate toxic agents | Second half of 2025 |
Amitrole | First half of 2026 |
Dichlobenil | First half of 2026 |
This three-year reassessment plan will be updated at least once each year, and the updates will be made public on the EPA website. The next major update is expected to be available in December 2023.