Preventing spray drift involves not only maintaining due care and attention at all times when spraying agricultural chemicals, but also knowing how to apply the product correctly. Examples of chemical misuse that can result in spray drift include:

• violating a specific use instruction on the label – notably one designed to limit spray drift, such as optimal spray droplet sizes
• incorrectly assessing the prevailing conditions (wind direction, speed, etc.).

Label instructions serve a vital purpose. By following them, you increase the chance of the chemical reaching its target, reducing the potential of spray drift. You should maintain control of all spray operations – stop spraying or stop the contractor spraying if the conditions are not right.

Tips for spraying correctly

Be prepared

• Keep your knowledge of application methods up to date. Attend equipment manufacturer or product manufacturer field days when these are organised in your area.
• Read the agricultural chemical product label and follow the instructions accurately. Many products have specific spray drift management instructions dealing with optimal weather conditions and spray equipment.
• If you don't understand a label instruction, ask someone who does before commencing the application. Product labels provide contact details of the manufacturer who can provide reliable technical advice to assist you if necessary.
• If you're not sure about what you're doing, consider engaging a professional contractor.

Be careful of surrounding areas

• Identify sensitive crops and areas (e.g. creeks and streams, livestock paddocks or schools) around the area where you intend to spray, and let the spray operator know about these areas.
• Discuss your spray plans with your neighbours and contractors. Good communication can often avoid complaints from neighbours or prevent misunderstandings and unnecessary conflict.
• If possible, maintain a buffer zone between areas of application and areas where there is a risk of damage from spray drift.

Use the right equipment

• Select equipment (applicators and nozzles) that will give you the correct droplet size range to minimise drift and maximise efficiency. Smaller droplets are more likely to drift. Always use equipment as recommended by the manufacturer.
• Maintain the correct boom height for the nozzles being used. For some products the maximum boom height is a label instruction. If spray is being applied aerially, make sure it is released only when the aircraft has levelled out above the crop and is turned off before ascending to turn.
• Calibrate the equipment correctly. Check with the manufacturer to find out how to correctly calibrate the equipment.

Check weather conditions

• Measure and record the weather conditions before and after the applications or as directed by the label. If you think they have changed, stop and measure them during the application as well.
• Spray only in favourable weather conditions. Ideal wind speeds are between 3-15km/h.
• During spraying, wind should be blowing steadily. Light and variable or gusty winds make it difficult to predict where spray will go.
• Spraying should not be carried out under calm or still conditions. Under calm conditions, droplets are more likely to remain suspended in the air.
• Ideally, wind should be blowing away from susceptible crops. If not, try leaving a buffer zone.
• Avoid spraying in temperatures near or above 30°C and when humidity is low as spray droplet size may be reduced, increasing the risk of spray drift.
• Do not spray when inversion conditions exist. Visual indicators include no wind, fog, dew, frost and smoke or dust hanging in the air or forming distinct layers. Inversion conditions are very prevalent in Australia.

Keep records

• Keep detailed records of each spray application. Good records will prove beneficial if complaints are made, particularly if you need to accurately recall information months after a spray event. Read more about record-keeping obligations. Be aware that some chemical labels contain instructions which also require particular records of each chemical application to be kept.

Also consider...

• Learn about ground distribution of herbicides.
• Learn more about use of agricultural and veterinary chemicals.
• Read the CSIRO's spray drift management report on managing spray application risks.

If you suspect that spray drift has occurred, try to resolve it locally before taking further action to report it. Sometimes, the problem is not as extensive as first thought, or the situation or injury may not be chemically related. People may just be reacting to an apparent chemical odour without any chemical being present.

Below are some actions you should consider before reporting the matter to a government agency.

Discuss health concerns with your local doctor

If you believe your health may be suffering due to spray drift, promptly discuss your concerns with a medical doctor before going further. You may suspect that you've been exposed to agricultural chemicals, but you may be suffering from a sensory reaction to the odour rather than direct chemical exposure.

Confirm the problem is chemically related

If animals die or are sick or valuable crops are affected when spraying is occurring nearby, you may suspect agricultural chemicals as a cause. However, you should also investigate other likely causes such as animal diseases, fungal diseases or nutritional disorders.

Promptly after the incident, ask your local vet or crop consultant to conduct an assessment. If the vet or crop consultant believes agricultural chemicals may be involved, reporting the matter to a government agency may be an option.

If you suspect that spray drift has caused fish deaths, contact the relevant government agency immediately rather than wait for a local vet's assessment. Find out who to report chemical spray drift to.

Determine the extent of the affected area

Are the crop effects only expected to be minor, or are the crops likely to grow out of the damage fairly quickly? Consider engaging a private crop consultant to discuss the crops' future after sustaining such damage. They can determine if the damage is due to agricultural chemical exposure, plant pest, disease or nutritional disorder, or another unrelated cause.

You might report the situation to the relevant government agency if the initial minor damage symptoms intensify several days after the alleged spray event.

Discuss your concerns with the people who might be responsible

Approaching the people who might be responsible can be daunting, but it is often the best way to resolve spray drift issues and find out more about what is happening in your area.

You should make the approach tactfully to keep discussions calm and productive. By listening carefully and asking questions, you can better understand the situation and the other person's view.

Sometimes, people in these discussions end up agreeing on the current issue and how to handle planned spraying operations in the future. However, the operator may instead deny responsibility, or they may accept liability and settle the matter amicably.

Not all discussions result in favourable outcomes due to mitigating factors that need further discussion. But these discussions can help get all parties talking about the incident and other valuable information may become apparent.

Contact your industry association

These associations often employ agronomists and consultants with experience in spray drift matters. They may help you mitigate any losses incurred and deal with any affects that have arisen.

If you report it to your industry association, you may find others who have been similarly affected. Industry associations can discuss the issues with government agencies when this occurs.

Notify a government agency

After considering all of the above options, you may still wish to lodge a complaint or raise your concerns with a government agency. To identify the agency best suited to handle your complaint, find out who to report chemical spray drift to.

Also consider...

• Learn more about use of agricultural and veterinary chemicals.

Several Queensland Government agencies are responsible for dealing with agricultural chemical misuse and spray drift incidents, depending on the nature of the incident. See who to report chemical spray drift to for a guide to choosing the right agency for your enquiry.

Information you need to provide

When reporting incidents to a government agency, provide as much information as you can, including:

• the date and time
• where the incident occurred
• the name and contact details of the user or operator (if known)
• how the agricultural chemical was applied (e.g. plane, boom spray)
• weather conditions on the day, particularly air temperature and wind speed and direction
• the name of the agricultural chemical suspected (if known)
• if agricultural chemical misuse is suspected, the label instructions that may have been breached
• the effect from the incident (e.g. risk to crops, livestock, health, environment effects).

Providing as much detail as possible in your initial contact greatly helps those investigating the incident.

Investigating spray drift complaints

The success of any government investigation depends on the:

• amount of information you provide to investigators when you lodge the complaint
• amount of evidence investigators gather to support a case for possible legal action
• willingness of eyewitnesses to provide reliable supporting accounts.

Investigations can be complex and may not always result in favourable outcomes to complainants.

If you are the affected party, you can opt to take private civil action through the court to try to recover any losses sustained from damage or injury caused by spray drift, rather than seek a government investigation.

Also consider...

• Learn more about use of agricultural and veterinary chemicals.

If you think that spray drift or chemical misuse has occurred, it's important that you report it to the right authority. There are different reporting requirements depending on the type of incident that has occurred.

Human health issues

Phone Workplace Health and Safety Queensland (WHSQ) on 1300 362 128 to report:

• on-farm chemical misuse incident involving human exposure to chemicals
• related concerns about risks to human health.

Agricultural chemical misuse incidents

If agricultural chemicals have been applied contrary to label instructions, report it to Biosecurity Queensland on 13 25 23.

Examples relevant to spray drift include violating the spray drift constraints that appear on some herbicide labels, such as:

• spraying crops during prohibitive weather conditions
• using spray nozzles other than those specified for minimisation of spray drift risk.

Examples of agricultural chemical misuse associated with other types of risk include:

• harvesting crops too early outside of label withholding periods
• crops being sprayed with an agricultural chemical not registered for the purpose
• applying a chemical above label rate.

Odour drift

Contact your nearest local government authority to report chemical odours.

Agricultural chemicals may emit strong odours that can drift over a considerable distance. However, the presence of an odour does not necessarily mean the chemical is present.

Read noise, odour or dust – making a complaint (ESR/2015/1865) (PDF, 114KB) for further information.

Environmental damage

Phone the Pollution Hotline on 1300 130 372 as soon as possible to report spray drift that you think has affected:

• waterways
• vegetation or trees.

Discuss the nature of your spray drift concern with the consultant who takes your call. Your complaint will be referred to a specialist officer for attention.

Alleged damage to vegetation needs to be assessed to determine if it is significant enough to warrant investigation.

Environmental fish kill

Phone the Pollution Hotline on 1300 130 372 as soon as possible to report an agricultural chemical misuse or spray drift incident causing an environmental fish kill (a large number of fish, other marine or freshwater animals, killed in a short period in a creek or river).

Contact the hotline even if chemical misuse or spray drift is not suspected of having caused an environmental fish kill.

Aquaculture fish kill

Phone Biosecurity Queensland on 13 25 23 to report an agricultural chemical misuse incident causing an aquaculture fish kill (a large number of fish or crustacea, such as crayfish, killed within a short period in a hatchery).

If you are unsure whether the incident is aquaculture-related, phone the Pollution Hotline. They will refer the matter to Biosecurity Queensland if it is aquaculture-related.

An adverse experience

Phone the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) on 1800 700 583 to report an adverse experience or read more about adverse experience from agricultural chemical use.

An adverse experience is an unintended or unexpected effect of a product when used according to the label instructions, including:

• noticeable harm/impact on humans, animals and crops
• noticeable effects to the environment
• visible lack of product effectiveness.

APVMA investigates all reports of adverse experiences with agricultural chemical products in Australia. APVMA is an Australian Government agency that approves the registration and labels of agricultural and veterinary chemical products, prior to sale.

Overflying of aerial spraying aircraft over residential homes

To report overflying issues only—not spray drift matters—phone the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) on 13 17 57 .

Spray drift incident resulting in more than one impact

Occasionally, the nature of an incident may require more than one agency to be involved because of multiple impacts.

For example, if agricultural chemical misuse has allegedly caused both commercial crop damage and chemical run-off into a nearby stream, the Department of the Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation would deal with the alleged run-off and Biosecurity Queensland with the alleged commercial crop damage.

Generally, you should contact the agency responsible for the issue that you consider has had the greater impact. That agency then consults with the other agency dealing with the lesser impact.