Report Pesticide Problems

Coughing? Headache? Skin rash? Vomiting?

Have you, your pets or your livestock ever had any of these or other health problems after using pesticides? Then you may have experienced a pesticide incident. If so, it's important that you report it to Health Canada or the pesticide company.

What is a pesticide incident?

A pesticide incident is a negative effect to humans, animals or the environment that can result from being exposed to a pesticide.

Common types of pesticide incidents include:

• effects to humans (e.g. skin rash or headache),
• effects to a pet or a farm animal (e.g. vomiting),
• effects to the environment (e.g. dead fish or birds), or even
• problems with pesticide containers.

How do I report a pesticide incident?

There are two ways to report them:

1. Contact the pesticide company using the information on the product label. They are required by law to report all incidents related to their products to Health Canada.
2. Go to the Health Canada website and fill out one of the forms under the section called "How to report a pesticide incident." If you have any questions about the forms, or need help filling them out, call Health Canada at 1-800-267-6315.
   
   

Why do I need to report pesticide incidents?

Health Canada is in charge of registering pesticides in Canada. Reporting problems helps Health Canada identify possible unexpected issues. For example; if an issue related to the eyes is identified with the use of a pesticide, Health Canada may add a condition to the product label requiring the use of protective glasses.

Important! Health Canada will not contact your employer. You do not need to provide Health Canada with any personal information (name or address) when you report an incident. You may view the report on the Health Canada website.

Additional Information

More information is available on the Health Canada website or by contacting the Pesticide Incident Reporting Program.