1.3 NH Product Classification: Prohibited, Prohibited-Limited & Restricted Use

1.3 NH Product Classification: Prohibited, Prohibited-Limited & Restricted Use

Pes 304.09(b)(1)c lists "product classification as set forth in Part Pes 701" among the label-comprehension topics every New Hampshire applicator exam must cover. Federal law gives you two buckets - general use and restricted use. New Hampshire gives you four, and knowing which bucket a product falls into determines who may sell it, who may buy it, whether a permit is required, and whether it may be used at all.

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The four buckets

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|  NEW HAMPSHIRE PESTICIDE CLASSIFICATION (Pes 700)                |
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|  1. GENERAL USE, STATE REGISTERED                                |
|     Sold anywhere. Commercial use still needs a NH credential.   |
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|  2. RESTRICTED USE (federal RUP + NH state restricted use)       |
|     Sold only by licensed dealers. Buyer must be certified.      |
|     Dealer records each sale (Pes 901.03).                       |
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|  3. PROHIBITED-LIMITED USE (Pes 701.05)                          |
|     Never sold to the general public. Special permit required.   |
|     Only the listed users, only the listed uses.                 |
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|  4. PROHIBITED (Pes 701.04)                                      |
|     17 named compounds. No sale. No use. No exception.           |
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1. General use

Registered federally and registered in New Hampshire, with no restricted-use marking. Pes 501.01 requires that all pesticides used in the state be registered in New Hampshire, so even a federally exempt FIFRA 25(b) minimum risk product needs state registration before it is sold here. Anyone may buy a general use product, but in New Hampshire anyone who applies it for hire or in the course of employment still needs a commercial credential.

2. Restricted use

Under Pes 701.02(a) and (b), every use that EPA restricts or prohibits is restricted or prohibited in New Hampshire, and any product whose labeling designates it restricted use is restricted use here. Pes 701.03 adds the state's own list: state restricted use pesticides may be sold or distributed only by licensed pesticide dealers under RSA 430:35, Pes 306, and Pes 700.

Practical consequences:

• A restricted product cannot be bought off a general retail shelf.
• The dealer must verify that the purchaser holds a valid supervisory certificate of registration or a private applicator restricted use permit.
• The private applicator distinction matters: a private applicator applying only general use pesticides holds a general use permit (no exam). A private applicator who wants to buy or apply state restricted use pesticides must pass the Pes 305.06 examination and hold a restricted use permit.

3. Prohibited-limited use (Pes 701.05)

These compounds are legal in New Hampshire only for the narrow uses the rule names, only for the users the rule names, and only under a special permit. They are never sold to the general public.

The methyl parathion conditions are a good example of how far a state restriction can go beyond a federal label. Regardless of whether bees are known to be visiting, the product may not be applied to a corn crop with 10 percent or more of its plants showing spike anthers, may not be applied to any labeled crop, orchard, or vineyard where weeds or other non-target plants average 5 or more blooms per square yard, and may not be allowed to drift to non-target areas meeting that bloom threshold.

4. Prohibited (Pes 701.04)

Seventeen compounds may not be sold or used in New Hampshire for any purpose. Learn the list as a group - they are almost all persistent organochlorines, plus a few acute poisons:

2,4,5-T (salts and esters) - Aldrin - BHC - Chlordane - DDD - DDT - Dieldrin - Dinoseb - Endrin - Heptachlor - Mercury and its compounds - Rothane - Strobane - TDE - TEPP - Thallium salts (acetate, sulfate) - Toxaphene (chlorinated camphene)

If an exam question describes finding one of these in a barn and asks what may lawfully be done with it, the answer is never "use it up according to the old label." It is an unusable pesticide under Pes 801.03 and must be returned to the manufacturer or supplier, or disposed of through an authorized hazardous or solid waste facility under the Department of Environmental Services rules (Env-Hw) and 40 CFR 262.

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Pesticide dealers (RSA 430:35, Pes 306)

Because restricted products move through dealers, the dealer rules are part of the regulations exam.

• A license is required for each location or outlet from which state restricted use pesticides are distributed, sold, held for sale, or offered for sale.
• The license is annual and expires December 31. The fee is $60, with a $10 late registration fee for renewals received after December 31.
• Each applicant must pass an examination on the laws and rules governing the sale and use of pesticides. In addition, each employee or agent who sells or recommends restricted use pesticides must hold a dealer license of their own.
• Salespeople and manufacturers' representatives selling state restricted use pesticides directly to the consumer count as dealers.
• Two exemptions: an applicator who sells pesticides only as an integral part of an application service, dispensed through the application apparatus; and federal, state, or county agencies supplying pesticides for their own programs.

Dealer records (Pes 901.03)

Dealers keep a record of annual sales and submit an accurate report when applying for license renewal. Each sale record carries six elements:

1. Date of the sale
2. Supervisory license or permit number of the purchaser
3. Name of the license or permit holder as it appears on the document
4. Quantity and container size of each pesticide purchased
5. Brand name of the pesticide purchased
6. Concentration of active ingredient

Dealer storage (Pes 803)

Dealers storing prohibited, prohibited-limited use, or state restricted use pesticides face a tighter version of the applicator storage rules in Pes 802 - notably, the storage room must be locked, not merely secured, and the floor must be smooth and impervious.

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Worked example

A Cheshire County grower calls a farm store and asks to pick up a restricted-use soil insecticide, a bird-control bait containing Avitrol, and "whatever is left of that old chlordane" from a neighbor's estate sale.

• The soil insecticide is a restricted use product. The store must hold a dealer license for that location, the person taking the order must hold a dealer license if they recommend or sell restricted products, and the sale must be recorded with the grower's permit number, brand name, quantity, container size, and active ingredient concentration.
• The Avitrol is prohibited-limited use. It may not be sold to the general public at all. The grower would need a special permit, and as a private applicator would need restricted use certification and a formulation of 0.5 percent active ingredient or less as the label allows.
• The chlordane is on the Pes 701.04 prohibited list. It cannot be sold, transferred, or used. It is an unusable pesticide and must be routed to lawful disposal under Pes 801.03.