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Email: tgarner@pdsolutions.ca ☰

As information moves more easily in todays society with internet, newspapers, television, etc. many people believe cancer rates in humans are on the rise regardless of the type or cancer. This web cast seminar looks at the safety of pesticides and their impact on the human health. The basics of pesticides will be examined and compared to other substances we consume or use everyday. Also discussed are ways an applicator can reduce exposure to pesticides.

An overview of how a pesticide is taken from the lab to the market. Pesticide development is a long, expensive process and must jump many hurdles in order to make it to market. Join Tim Garner as he looks at the steps in developing a pesticide. Realize how the registration process ensures that the public, applicator and the environment are protected with the testing that is required.

Rinsate water when cleaning your sprayer is a huge concern for pesticide applicators. We need to clean our sprayers, yet how to we dispose of the rinsate in an environmentally friendly way. Join Tom Wolf as he talks about a new alternative when dealing with rinsate, Biobeds.

The Department of Environment has monitored the occurrence of pesticides in surface water and drinking water for a number of years at many sites throughout Alberta. This presentation discusses the results of this monitoring and the implications this has on the quality of the water in Alberta. In addition, limited monitoring on pesticide residues in rainwater and air are discussed.

It is important to understand the hazards associated with handling pesticides. Many things that are common sense to an experienced applicator are overlooked when training new applicators. This seminar will look at developing a hazard assessment and rating the risks associated with handling pesticides.

Pesticide storage is an important aspect of being a pesticide applicator. It is important to store your pesticides correctly. This web cast reviews some of the basic concepts to follow when storing pesticides. Many of the rules and regulations of pesticide storage are easy to compile with such as signage and organization. Take this one hour web cast to update your knowledge on pesticide storage so that you store your pesticides properly and safely.

Alberta water strategy; pesticide use in Alberta; Agronomic and environmental considerations; Pesticides characteristics and fate in the environment.

The world of soil microorganisms is an untapped world for all kinds of potential uses in the future with pesticide degradation being one of them. Many pesticides require residual qualities in order to do their job but there is a fine balance between being residual and causing environmental damage. This web cast seminar looks at factors in the soil that influence pesticide residues and degradation and look at ways in which we as pesticide applicators can help to assist pesticide degradation before it leaches into the subsoil or groundwater

Unfortunately, we are seeing minute amounts of pesticides in our surface waters. One of the herbicides, 2,4-D is showing up in surface waters due to its large usage in the area of weed control. Is it having a detrimental effect on amphibians and other wildlife in an aquatic environment. This web cast seminar looks at some of the latest research on the sublethal effects of 2,4-D on amphibians and wildlife.

As Pesticide Applicators, we are continually exposed to pesticides. Many of our pesticides may either an immediate serious effect if we contact it or may have a long term effect as a chronic exposure. With today's personal protective equipment, it is easy to limit your exposure to pesticides during mixing and loading, application and clean-up. Choosing the correct and appropriate equipment is important. This seminar looks at the equipment available, materials and features of safety equipment. Laundering of protective equipment is also discussed.

Many pesticide applicators spend longs days and many days in a row combatting pests. With our short growing season in many parts of Canada it forces applicators to work hard, long and fast. Join Tim as he discusses the facts, causes, consequences, effects and signs of fatigue. Also will be discussed how to get a better sleep and what employers and employees can do to reduce fatigue and therefore reduce mistakes and accidents

The Agricultural Health Study (AHS) is a prospective study of cancer and other health outcomes in a cohort of licensed pesticide applicators and their spouses from Iowa and North Carolina. The AHS began in 1993 with the goal of answering important questions about how agricultural, lifestyle and genetic factors affect the health of farmers and commercial applicators. The study is a collaborative effort involving investigators from National Cancer Institute, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

The Presentations examine incidents that occurred resulting in significant human and animal health, environmental (eg. bee kills), property damage issues that could have been eliminated if the applicator had undertaken to provide notification to adjacent landowners and bystanders. Notification can be as simple as a 5minute call, an email with a factsheet on spraying etc. to ensure neighbors are aware that spraying is going to occur and to provide some simple steps they can take to eliminate an incident should drift or off-site movement of the pesticide occur.

Reporting spills and adverse effects is a legislated requirement in Alberta and throughout Canada. This presentation will discuss what is meant by adverse effects, minimum reportable spills and adverse effects and what agency to report the spills to for the western provinces and Ontario. It will also discuss what will happen after a spill or adverse effect has been reported and the consequences of not reporting spills and adverse effects.

Pollinators are critical to our lives by pollinating crops and thus providing us with food. Honeybees and leafcutter bees are huge in Canada and it is important for pesticide applicators to work with beekeepers when we are going to apply pesticides near them. Tim looks at what society as a whole can do to protect pollinators and also what pesticide applicators and farmers can do to reduce the impact on pollinators so we both can exist and work together.

Some pesticides can last a long time in the environment. Join Tim as he defines and gives examples of half-life, bioaccumulation and biomagnification. As pesticide applicators we need to be aware of the properties of the pesticides we are using and know how they breakdown and move in the environment. If we know the environmental impact of certain pesticides, we then adjust our IPM programs accordingly.

As the world changes and communication and social media increase, the concept of a social license becomes very important. Social license is defined and examples are given. Social license applies to many aspects of society and pesticides is one that we must address. We as applicators need to communicate our IPM programs with the public so they realize that we are always using an IPM program when dealing with pests. Pesticides and pesticide application are under more and more scrutiny and we must understand what our social license is and how to improve it to ensure we have the opportunity to use pesticides in the future

This presentation reviews the different pollinators in Canada and their status as to whether they are stable or in a downward trend and the reasons (where known) for their reduced numbers. It also includes how Health Canada through the Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) and the USA EPA have collaborated to ensure pollinator protection when conducting a pesticide’s evaluation or re-evaluation. There have also been a number of incidents involving pesticide effects on bees and this presentation will review the incidents (as reported by the PMRA), especially with respect to the planting of treated corn and soybean seeds and what has been done to prevent further incidents in the future.