Dimethoate
Dimethoate (O,O-dimethyl S-methylcarbamoylmethyl phosphorodithioate) is a contact and systemic organophosphorus insecticide and acaricide used in agriculture and the home garden to control insects and mites.
Dimethoate review
Status: review in progress - updated 22 August 2008
The APVMA’s review of dimethoate is currently in the assessment stage. In association with its expert advisory agency the Office of Chemical Safety, the APVMA is considering data and information submitted to the review. This stage can take some time to finalise because of the amount of data to be assessed and the requirement to wait for additional data to be provided for assessment. The APVMA is waiting for additional residue data from trials being undertaken by a number of industry groups. The APVMA does not anticipate receiving the study results until September 2009. Once the results are received the assessments will be completed.
After all the assessments have been completed the APVMA will release a Preliminary Review Findings report (PRF) which will outline the review findings and the proposed regulatory action to be taken for each registered use. When proposing regulatory action and making decisions, the APVMA considers every use which appears on the label. The public, industry and interested parties will be given the opportunity to comment on the proposed regulatory actions listed in the PRF. The APVMA will consider these comments when making the final decisions for the dimethoate review. The PRF is unlikely to be available until the end of 2009. When the PRF is released or if current assessments find that action is required before the release of the report, the APVMA will widely publish this information. The release of any information will be made on the APVMA website.
The National Drugs and Poisons Schedule Committee (NDPSC) considered dimethoate on a number of occasions. In 1983 the NDPSC recommended withdrawal of the registration of dimethoate dust formulations due to potential risks of exposure. In 1988 the NDPSC reviewed dimethoate and noted the moderate to high acute toxicity of dimethoate, and its potential to cause adverse reproductive, developmental, carcinogenic and mutagenic results in rats and mice. The NDPSC further considered dimethoate in 1990, 1992 and 1993, with respect to safety directions on labels.
Dimethoate was nominated for review in May 1995 as part of the Existing Chemicals Review Program (ECRP) which was established to systematically review a number of Agvet chemicals which have been on the Australian market for some time. Dimethoate was nominated because of concerns over toxicology, occupational health and safety, residues and trade. This action was based on advice from the Office of Chemical Safety (OCS) that dimethoate may pose an undue hazard to public health under current regulatory standards and should be re-evaluated using contemporary data and assessment standards.
OCS further advised that in order to undertake a review of dimethoate, additional omethoate data were required. This is because omethoate is the metabolite of dimethoate and the use of dimethoate on crops may lead to residues of omethoate in treated produce. As such, the toxicity of omethoate is important in the assessment of the potential risks of dimethoate use and hence the concurrent reviews of dimethoate and omethoate.
APVMA began a review of dimethoate in 2004 and released the Dimethoate and Omethoate Review Scope Document (PDF, 53kb) which outlined the information needed to conduct a comprehensive scientific assessment of dimethoate and included a call for public submissions. The period for public comments and the submission of additional information closed on 2 July 2004.
The APVMA will issue a final report once the assessment of all available data is completed.
For more information please contact the Chemical Review Program on (02) 6210 4749 or by email to chemrev@apvma.gov.au
| Review Report | Date |
|---|---|
| No report available |
Product search
Search the PUBCRIS database for registered products that contain dimethoate.
Note: In the Active Constituent 1 field enter dimethoate.
| Title | Date |
|---|---|
| Dimethoate and Omethoate Review – Scope Document (PDF, 324kb) | Apr 2004 |
| Gazette Notice: reconsideration of approvals and registrations related to dimethoate and omethoate | Apr 2004 |