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What are a farmer’s responsibilities when transporting pesticides in Ontario? Everyone who transports pesticides in Ontario
must follow the federal and provincial laws and regulations regarding the safe transportation
of pesticides. These laws are in place to protect the driver, the public and the environment.
A person who transports pesticides for the farm does not need to be a Certified Grower
or a Trained Assistant. However, the Certified Grower is responsible for the pesticides at
all times, even when they are being transported. The Certified Grower should teach the driver
how to transport the pesticides safely and legally. What can I do to prepare to transport pesticides
safely? Inspect each container. Make sure there are no broken bags or cartons and no
leaking containers. Make sure that each container has a label. Secure the containers so that
they will not break open or spill. Never transport pesticides in the passenger area of the truck
and never let people ride next to the pesticides. Use a truck with a steel or plastic-lined
bed. You can clean them up easily if there is a leak or spill. Be prepared in case you
have a spill. Carry protective clothing and personal protective equipment, spill clean
up equipment, such as a shovel and kitty litter and a list of emergency phone numbers. Remember:
you must report spills to the Spills Action Centre 1-800-268-6060 if the spill may be
harmful to humans or the environment. Think ahead. Be prepared to transport safely. What are the three laws under the Ontario
Pesticides Act that I must follow when I transport pesticides? When you transport any pesticide, the pesticide
must be separated from food or drink; household furnishings, or other household goods. You
must secure the load to make sure that the pesticides will not spill out of the truck.
And, if you need to leave the truck unsupervised you must lock the pesticides in an enclosed
part of the truck (not the cab or passenger area) and put the “Chemical Storage Warning”
sign on the truck. Follow these Ontario laws to transport safely, and legally. How should farmers transport pesticides that
are classified as dangerous goods? Sometimes you need to use a pesticide that is classified
under the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act and Regulations. A pesticide may be classified
as Class 3, Flammable Liquid; Class 6.1, Toxic Substance; or Class 8, Corrosive. You can
find its classification by looking for the transportation marking on the outside of the
box or asking your vendor. If the pesticide is a dangerous good, you must keep the product
in its original packaging and container at all times when you transport. This means that
the pesticide jug should be inside the box it was shipped in. By doing this, you keep
the pesticide protected properly during transport and it will always be labelled clearly with
the Transportation of Dangerous Goods marking. The other requirements you must follow depends
on, where are you coming from and where are you going, how far you are going, what vehicle
you are using, and the classification of the dangerous good. Let’s look at three situations
that are most common for farmers. The regulations are specific about what you must do when you
transport dangerous goods: between the retail store and the farm or place of use, from the
farm to the place of use, and in the spray tank. 1.Between the retail store and the farm
or place of use. When you travel with dangerous goods pesticides between the retail store
and the farm or place of use, you must, keep the weight of the load to 3,000 kg or less,travel
a distance of 100 km or less, and only transport containers that hold 450 L or less. 2.From
the farm to the place of use. When you travel with dangerous goods pesticides from the farm
to the place of use, you must, keep the weight of the load to 1,500 kg or less,travel a distance
of 100 km or less, and use a truck that has farm-plates. Always use a farm-plated truck to transport
pesticides between farms. This lets the transportation officials know that you are using the dangerous
good for farming purposes. If you do not have a truck with farm-plates, ask your pesticide
retail outlet to deliver the pesticides.3. In the spray tank. When you travel with dangerous
goods pesticides in your spray tank, you must, put Dangerous Goods placards on the four sides
of the equipment, and leave the placards on until you have cleaned out the tank.If your
tank holds 6,000 litres or less, and you will be going a short distance of 100 km or less,
you don’t need to put product identification numbers on the placards. What if my transport
situation is different than these three most common situations? If you are transporting
dangerous goods in a situation that is different than these three most common situations, you
must follow further requirements of the TDG Act and Regulations. In these other situations,
the TDG regulations require that you must, be properly trained ,carry shipping documents,
put proper labels and markings on the shipping cartons/containers, use the proper number
of Dangerous Goods placards on the vehicle, report spills and accidents to the proper
authorities and use the TDG standardized means of containment. (The packaging that is required
for the product.) To learn more about the requirements, or if you have a question about
how to transport a dangerous good in Ontario, call the Dangerous Goods Enquiry Line at 1-416-973-1868
or e-mail the office at tdg-tmdontario@tc.gc.ca. You can also find information on Transport
Canada’s web site at www.tc.gc.ca/tdg/. How you transport a dangerous good depends
on your transport situation. Consider your situation and follow the specific requirements
for your situation.