Pesticide Storage, Handling and Application - Storage

Table of Contents

1. Site Selection
2. Farm Plan for Siting Pesticide Storage
3. Potential for Pesticides to be Transported to Groundwater and Surface Water
4. Available in Published Version of Pesticide Storage, Handling and Application

If you use pesticide products, you should have a proper pesticide storage system. Such a system would include the storage facility and the management practices required to make the system work. There are several worthy reasons for taking good care:

• safety
  • for people - children can be exposed to or ingest lethal amounts of pesticide products
  • for livestock - contamination of livestock facilities and feeds by concentrated amounts of certain pesticides can poison or kill livestock
  • for wildlife - poorly stored products can be accessible to wildlife
• security - pesticide containers could be stolen or vandalized
• fire safety - firefighters are less likely to be exposed if they know where pesticides are stored and can take appropriate precautions to contain runoff
• environmental protection
  • leaks from pesticide containers can infiltrate groundwater - 1 gram of 2,4-D can render an entire aquifer unsuitable as drinking water
  • runoff from spilled containers can contaminate any watercourse in close proximity
  • spilled pesticides such as herbicides can run off into natural areas and destroy living vegetative habitats
• practicality - storing pest control products in one safe place helps to keep inventories organized and readily accessible to certified users.

Figure 1. Leaks from improperly stored pesticides can run off to ponds and other surface waters. Buffer strips help to control agricultural runoff.

Strictly speaking, a spill is a discharge into the natural environment, from or out of a structure, vehicle, or other container, that is abnormal in quantity or quality in light of all the circumstances of the discharge.

Site Selection

Select a site for pesticide storage that is practical and safe for people and the environment. The two questions to be dealt with are:

• how do you place your chemical storage so that the chance of human contact - especially accidental or unauthorized - is reduced or eliminated?
• what is the best location for your storage to minimize any environmental impact of a leak or serious spill?

Factors to consider when choosing a storage site:

• human safety
  • pesticides should be stored and secured as far away as practical from food and water supplies - 60 metres (200 ft.) minimum from residential dwellings
• surface water and groundwater contamination
  • pesticides should be stored at a minimum distance of 90 metres (300 ft.) from surface water and wells
  • sites that slope towards watercourses pose a greater risk of contamination
• livestock feeds
  • livestock feeds are not to be stored in the same location as pesticides, to avoid risk of contamination of feed
• wildlife habitat
  • pesticide spills can destroy habitat areas, so locate storage at least 90 metres (300 ft.) away from wetlands, woodlands, and watercourses
• access
  • distance to hydro, water, other needed utilities
  • ability to access storage with machinery if required by fire department and other emergency vehicles
• potential for future expansion
  • increased size of storage or location of handling facility beside it
• soil conditions
  • clayey soils have higher potential for runoff, but a lower risk of groundwater contamination
  • the risk is higher on soils prone to groundwater contamination (shallow to bedrock, gravelly, sandy soils and all sites with high water table) if possible, try to select a site on soils with a lower risk of contamination.

Compared to clay soils, sandy soils have large spaces between the soil particles. Water may move quickly through these pores, carrying pesticides to groundwater. The following section can help you decide on leaching potential.

Farm Plan for Siting Pesticide Storage

Figure 2. Integrating minimum separation distances is the most important consideration when
selecting a site for your pesticide storage.

Text equivalent

Potential for Pesticides to be Transported to Groundwater and Surface Water

You can use a soil map to help estimate the risk of pesticide contamination by determining the risk of transport of pesticide products.

Figure 3. Soil map

Soil maps and reports can be very useful sources of information when selecting suitable sites for pesticide storage and handling facilities.

There are five key site features that affect water contamination risk.

Soil texture

Texture is the relative coarseness or fineness, of soils. Clayey soils are more prone to runoff as water infiltrates and percolates through them slowly.

Soil depth

Sites with soils shallow to bedrock or to groundwater pose a higher risk of runoff and groundwater contamination. Soils with a naturally occurring high water table are classed as "Very Poor", "Poor" or "Imperfect" in soil survey reports and map legends.

Perviousness

This is the relative speed at which water moves through soil. The most pervious are sandy and gravelly soils, because they are porous and have fewer charged soil particles (clay and organic matter). The more porous soils allow water to move more quickly through them to groundwater, allowing minimal opportunity for treatment or breakdown of contaminants.

Slope class

Slope is the elevation difference over a specified distance that is measured as a percent: 0% slope means level, whereas with a 5% slope, runoff during snowmelt and storm events would be clearly evident.

Proximity

Distances to watercourses, wetlands, ponds, and lakes contribute to the risk of surface water contamination from pesticide runoff.

Available in Published Version of Pesticide Storage, Handling and Application

• Storage Principles
  • Performance Measures - chart
• Site Selection
  • Groundwater Contamination Potential - chart
  • Recommended Minimum Separation Distance between Storage Location and Wells - chart
  • Surface Water Contamination Potential - chart
  • Recommended Minimum Separation Distance between Storage Location and Surface Water Sources - chart

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