Brazil reasserts urban herbicide ban

The Brazilian authorities have received “innumerable complaints” of herbicides used for weed control in urban areas. The practice has been banned since 2003, the national health surveillance agency, the Anvisa, says. The products being used are the same as those typically used on agricultural fields, the agency notes. All such products have a minimum 24-hour re-entry period, leaving the treated area isolated for that time, and must be applied with protective equipment, it warns. That is impractical in urban areas and risks poisoning the general public. Public authorities must carry out weeding in a safe and “environmentally-friendly” way, the agency adds.