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Pesticide Drift Information
Quick links
Colorado Department of Agriculture
Environmental Protection Agency
National Coalition on Drift Minimization
Spray Drift Task Force
San Luis Valley Drift Management Factsheet
Drift management is the responsibility of everyone involved with pesticide applications. While drift cannot be completely eliminated it can be managed. This website provides a portal to educate applicators about drift and how to manage it. There are also links to manufacturer's information and other educational resources used throughout the country.
Please note that any spray drift is illegal. Chemical trespass issues are receiving increased attention. Colorado growers of sensitive and organic crops are increasingly concerned about drift damage from commonly used herbicides. Managing spray drift is the responsibility of the pesticide applicator. However, minimizing spray drift is in everyone's best interest.
Spray drift of pesticides away from the target is an important and costly problem facing both commercial and private applicators. Drift causes many problems including:
1) damage to susceptible off target sites,
2) a lower rate than intended which can reduce the effectiveness of the pesticide, wasting pesticide and money, and
3) environmental contamination, such as water pollution and illegal pesticide residues.
Drift occurs by two methods; vapor drift and particle drift. This website will mainly focus on conditions that cause particle drift and methods to reduce the drift potential from spraying pesticides.
To read the Colorado Department of Agriculture’s’ Statement on “The Importance of Preventing Drift when Making Pesticide Applications” please follow the link. To learn more about “Spray Drift Management and Thermal Inversion” with particular reference to the meteorology of mountain valleys please follow the link.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defines pesticide drift as:
"the physical movement of pesticide droplets or particles through the air at the time of pesticide application or soon thereafter from the target site to any non- or off-target site. Spray drift shall not include movement of pesticides to non- or off-target sites caused by erosion, migration, volatility, or windblown soil particles that occurs after application or application of fumigants unless specifically addressed on the product label with respect to drift control requirements."
This definition is based on a definition of spray drift composed by participants of the National Coalition on Drift Minimization (NCODM) . This definition was used in EPA’s Pesticide Registration Notice (PR NOTICE 2001-X) of 12/19/01 and can be viewed at http://www.epa.gov/opppmsd1/PR_Notices/prdraft-spraydrift801.htm .
Additional information from EPA including their Spray Drift Factsheet can be viewed at http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/factsheets/spraydrift.htm
The NCODM includes representatives from federal (including EPA and the U. S. Department of Agriculture) and state agencies and tribes, pesticide and equipment manufacturers, university scientists, and others, who have focused their attention on enhancing pesticide applicator education, application research, and regulatory initiatives to foster reductions in spray drift.
The NCODM defines drift as
“the physical movement of pesticide through the air at the time of pesticide application or soon thereafter from the target site to any non- or off-target site. Pesticide drift shall not include movement of pesticides to non- or off-target sites caused by erosion, migration, volatility, or windblown soil particles that occurs after application unless specifically addressed on the pesticide product label with respect to drift control requirements.”
The NCODM defines a buffer zone as
“an area where pesticide is not directly applied, thereby providing protection to a defined area. Buffer zone designations are contingent upon: state regulation, pesticide product labels, prevailing weather conditions, and sensitive/protected area(s). Buffer zones are usually adjacent to a protected area.”
The Spray Drift Task Force formed in 1990 to develop generic data base on premise that spray drift behavior is independent of active ingredient. The Task Forces’ field testing is complete and the reports have been submitted to the USEPA. EPA has reviewed all the Task Force data and is preparing a response for each study area. The Task Force reports can be viewed at:
AgDrift – http://agdrift.com/AgDRIFt2/DownloadAgDrift2_0.htm
Aerial Studies – http://agdrift.com/PDF_FILES/aerial.pdf
Ground Studies – http://agdrift.com/PDF_FILES/ground.pdf
Chemigation – http://www.agdrift.com/PDF_FILES/chem.pdf
Tank Mix Effects – http://www.agdrift.com/PDF_FILES/tankmix.pdf
Nozzles Size – http://www.agdrift.com/PDF_FILES/tankmix.pdf
Use of Buffers – http://www.agdrift.com/PDF_FILES/drift%20filtration.PDF
Robert Wolf of Kansas State University has developed an Application Technology Project website ( http://www.bae.ksu.edu/faculty/wolf/ ). The purpose of this website is to offer information and resources about the application of pest control products especially about current issues in application technology and research that has been conducted.
The Application Technology Research Unit (ATRU) of USDA ARS website ( www.ars.usda.gov/main/site_main.htm?modecode=36071000 ) has research information on pesticide application technologies including spray drift management.
Manufacturer Environmental Stewardship Sites
Syngenta – www.syngentacropprotection-us.com/enviro/driftmanagement/index.asp?nav=drift_management