Caught in Fungicide Spray

[Still Farming]

I don't really want to make a fuss - just wanted to know if anyone here knew the product/ingredients and if all will be well. One thing is for sure - if I see one of those things heading towards me again I will leave pronto.

Anyone could have a rough guess at chemicals applied to certain crops at certain growth stages ,but you'll never know unless you ask to see the sprayer logs ?
If they get funny with you then HSE would be interested tell them?
If your young with family then you don't want to be ill in time and say I wish I had done or found out sonething would you?
Up to you but why put it on here if your not worried about it?

 

[DrWazzock]

I don't really want to make a fuss - just wanted to know if anyone here knew the product/ingredients and if all will be well. One thing is for sure - if I see one of those things heading towards me again I will leave pronto.

All will be well. I have been applying chemicals for 30 years and never had a problem despite being caught quite a few times. I’d have a bath, maybe change my clothes to be ultra safe and forget about it. The spray itself is very dilute compared to the concentrated product to which the label applies. And as you only smelt the chemicals and walked through the crop you might only have picked up a tiny dose. If you had been under the sprayer as it passed by then you would still only have picked up a very small amount of diluted chemical.
So no need to worry.

 

[DrWazzock]

Anyone could have a rough guess at chemicals applied to certain crops at certain growth stages ,but you'll never know unless you ask to see the sprayer logs ?
If they get funny with you then HSE would be interested tell them?
If your young with family then you don't want to be ill in time and say I wish I had done or found out sonething would you?
Up to you but why put it on here if your not worried about it?

Why escalate it into a shitstorm for no reason?

 

[JJSpringers]

Yes I read that sheet and got even more worried.

 

[JJSpringers]

DrWazzock thank you for your reassurance - it is much appreciated.

StillFarming - yes I am worried, of course I am. I did phone the contractor and he was quite clear that this fungicide is what he was using - I can only hope that he was being honest with me. I don't really want to cause an issue, I just want to know that my dogs and I will be ok.

 

[JJSpringers]

And StillFarming - what might they be spraying that they shouldn't?

 

[DrWazzock]

Yes I read that sheet and got even more worried.

Thought you would. But the sheet refers to the concentrated product. It’s watered down maybe 200 times before they spray it on to the crop making it generally safe for bystanders.
So it’s watered down maybe 200 times. You weren’t sprayed directly, just smelt it so I’d say you are at negligible risk so no need to worry.
What you do is up to you but if you have already had words with the sprayer man then he is probably not sleeping that well tonight and has hopefully learned to be a bit more considerate. He probably has kids to feed and under a fair bit of pressure as well.
So I’d say lessons learned and no harm done without needing to blow it up into something it isn’t.

 

[Still Farming]

Why escalate it into a shitstorm for no reason?

It's up to the person rightly stated .
Personal exposure and cumulative effects differ between people.
Remember compulsory sheep dipping ,op poisoning, Gulf war syndrome, Glysophate cases, chemical cases etc etc.
As farmers we got to adhere and follow rules ,guidance and procedures, some don't give a monkey's, others over the top.
Why you think "stir shitstorm", fathoms belief?
Unless you know the persons health risks exposure, cumulative effects and susceptibility how you can say as I guess and unqualified medical expert say" be ok"?
Surely when you did your PA1 snd PA2 course and tests and ongoing CPD note these are procedures and records to follow plus if near domestic houses, footpaths ,water courses etc ,measures taken?
Up to the chap, but not good if different outcome?

 

[DrWazzock]

DrWazzock thank you for your reassurance - it is much appreciated.

StillFarming - yes I am worried, of course I am. I did phone the contractor and he was quite clear that this fungicide is what he was using - I can only hope that he was being honest with me. I don't really want to cause an issue, I just want to know that my dogs and I will be ok.

You are welcome and you did right to ask. And I am 100% confident that you and your dogs will be fine.

 

[Still Farming]

And StillFarming - what might they be spraying that they shouldn't?

No idea sorry, you don't say what crop, growth stage ,etc etc

 

[Wombat]

No idea sorry, you don't say what crop, growth stage ,etc etc

If you have no idea then I would stop adding unhelpful advice.

 

[willy]

This highlights the problems of foot paths across a working environment whether it be a cow and calf or a sprayer, the countryside is a working environment. Although courtesy would be to stop spraying and let you pass, what would make more sense would be to move foot paths around the boundary of the fields (walkers get a longer walk and more nature, farmers don’t get people in the middle of a growing crop)

 

[Chae1]

No idea sorry, you don't say what crop, growth stage ,etc etc

Obviously.

 

[Jim75]

Only if you want it to be.

As someone accused of spraying a family from 100m down a cliff side and making a family sick, HSE were involved and wasn’t a pleasant experience. Guilty until proved innocent for over a year. 2 sides to every story.

 

[solo]

What the op will have noticed is the smell of the carrier ingredient as that is usually the most pungent. This is what usually evaporates off the crop to leave the active ingredient behind. ( A little like paint after it is applied ) The applied spray will have dried quickly onto the crop in the current warm conditions, but It is not an acceptable situation for either party to have been in. Both parties should have given each other better consideration, but ultimately it would be down to the spray operator to apply when safe to do so.

 

[Andy26]

I don't really want to make a fuss - just wanted to know if anyone here knew the product/ingredients and if all will be well. One thing is for sure - if I see one of those things heading towards me again I will leave pronto.

First off the sprayer driver should of stopped whilst you passed or turned the section of sprayer off that was close to the footpath.

I wouldn't worry tebuconazole and bromuconazole are triazole fungicides that would have been diluted in water and probably not applied anywhere near the maximum rate they legally and safely could of been.

Triazole fungicides are used on humans too, whilst not pretending they are entirely the same, if that reassures.

An example being Fluconazole, see here: https://www.nhs.uk/medicines/fluconazole/

 

[Andy26]

Yes I read that sheet and got even more worried.

Here's one for your toothpaste: http://sds.chemtel.net/webclients/cheneybrothers/10004853MSDS.pdf

And Fairy Liquid: https://www.careshop.co.uk/img/cms/PFL5.pdf

 

[Badshot]

And if you really want to get worried about chemical exposure, just think back to being doused in nit killing shampoos and treatments.
Used to be organo phosphates, more recently permethrins, not sure if they ever got round to making them from neo nicotinoids?

Nasty stuff straight on the head however you look at it. And often to be left on neat overnight.

 

[Badshot]

Chem safety data sheets will scare you silly.

But so will medicine ones.

 

[Sonoftheheir]

How are you feeling today @JJSpringers ?