As of February 1 2025, all Bromoxynil products containing more than 1% bromoxynil will be rescheduled as a Schedule 7 poison – meaning you will need a current Chem Cert here in SA to purchase and use. The decision comes from an intent to minimise the risk of accidental or deliberate ingestion by domestic (home and garden) users.
You will be familiar with some post-em products that contain bromoxynil. Some product names in our stores include:
Bromicide 200
Bromicide MA
Bronco 400
Bronco MA-X
Bentley and Colt (generic Jaguar)
Talinor
Triathlon
Quadrant
Velocity
Why is this happening?
On the APVMA website, you can find the decision published in the document by the Therapeutic Goods Administration – ‘Notice of interim decisions to amend (or not amend) the current Poisons Standard 13 July 2023’, in Section 4. There, it states they:
‘… have made an interim decision to amend the current Poisons Standard in relation to bromoxynil. This follows consideration of various data indicating an increased incidence of intentional ingestion of products containing high concentrations of bromoxynil, resulting in significant adverse effects in humans including death. I am of the view that the risks to human health and safety of these products to the general public outweigh their benefits…..’
It goes on to acknowledge that there are benefits of keeping the active in our agricultural industry, saying:
‘I note the main benefit of bromoxynil is its control of various broad-leaf weeds when used either alone or in combination with other herbicides, e.g. MCPA and diflufenican. High concentration formulations are particularly useful in commercial and agricultural settings involving large land areas as they are more cost effective and transportable than dilute formulations. In these types of settings, bromoxynil protects various crops, pastures, and turf from competing weeds and is also used for the environmental management of invasive weeds.’
You can find the summary of their decision in this sentence:
‘Furthermore, placing higher concentrated formulations of bromoxynil in Schedule 7 and therefore limiting their access to commercial and agricultural users, would be consistent with the scheduling of such formulations and provide an appropriate balance of the risks and benefits to users.’
The use of bromoxynil products (in accordance with the APVMA-approved label directions of course) is still considered to be safe. However, as a result of the rescheduling of these products, there will be changes to the signal heading (from Poison to Dangerous Poison) and changes in storage requirements on product labels. So keep a lookout for new labels, and note you will need a current Chem Cert to purchase these products this post-em season.
For more information, check out the APVMA news page.
