In the 1980’s, EPA required product-specific spray drift data. However, it was recognized that drift was predominately a function of application parameters such as droplet size, application height, and wind speed rather than the product being sprayed. Therefore, the Spray Drift Task Force (SDTF) was formed in 1990 to generate generic databases, allowing development and validation of spray drift models applicable to most products. The SDTF included an Administrative Committee that handled the business, financial, and legal aspects of the SDTF and a Technical Committee providing expertise in a wide range of scientific disciplines.  Contract labs and consultants performed the technical activities under the direct supervision of the SDTF, allowing input from the best scientists in the industry worldwide and Agencies working together on a common objective. The regulatory agencies in the U.S., Canada, and California were involved throughout the testing program, which subsequently underwent a peer review and EPA Science Advisory Panel (SAP) review.  SDTF developed methods and conducted studies on the effects of tank mix physical properties on droplet size formation; droplet size spectra formed by a wide range of nozzle characteristics, and field drift studies under differing release heights, wind speeds, droplet sizes, and crop canopies. Data were generated for applications by aircraft, ground boom sprayers, airblast sprayers, and chemigation systems. SDTF conducted surveys to ensure the protocols reflected actual field use conditions and published several scientific papers and educational booklets.  The SDTF was the first major generic task force of this kind and served as a template for subsequent exposure task forces. The SDTF clearly showed that the generic task force approach is the most efficient and cost-effective means for generating non-product-specific (i.e., generic) data for use by both the industry and the Agencies.

Spray drift task force (SDTF)

ACS Fall 2020 Virtual Meeting

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