Addition of LAMBDA-CYHALOTHRIN as Hazardous Substance

Addition of LAMBDA-CYHALOTHRIN as Hazardous Substance Controlled Under the Environmental Protection and Management Act and Environmental Protection and Management (Hazardous Substances) Regulations

Date: 20 Sep 2019

The National Environment Agency (NEA) announced that LAMBDA-CYHALOTHRIN will be controlled as hazardous substances under the Environmental Protection and Management Act (“EPMA”) and EPM (Hazardous Substances) Regulations (“EPM(HS) Regs”) with effect from 12 February 2020. This is to comply with the requirements under the Stockholm Convention (SC) and Rotterdam Convention (RC) which Singapore is one of the signatories.

Lambda-cyhalothrin is a synthetic pyrethroid insecticide used to control a broad range of insect pests on crops, turf, livestock, outdoor ornamentals etc. In Singapore, LAMBDA-CYHALOTHRIN is an active ingredient in some products used by professional pest management service companies.

Why does it need to be controlled?     

The Canadian Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) is proposing to ban the use of lambda-cyhalothrin on all food and feed commodities and to end indoor residential use due to human health concerns.

However, there has been no adverse report on the use of lambda-cyhalothrin locally.

Lambda-cyhalothrin acts by disrupting nervous system function and has high acute mammalian toxicity. It is also a respiratory, eye irritant and a skin sensitizer. It is highly toxic to fish and aquatic invertebrates. Human exposure to lambda-cyhalothrin may occur via food, drinking water, during application of the pesticide or coming into contact with the pesticide after it has been applied.

Safety Precautions

Members are urged to carefully read and follow the label instructions when using all pesticide products. This is important to protect our service technicians, clients and the environment.  

Update Hazardous Substance Permits

We would like to remind all members to apply and update list of hazardous substances of their Hazardous Substance Permits to include LAMBDA-CYHALOTHRIN before effective date 12 February 2020.

For more information on the control of Hazardous Substances, please visit NEA website.