herbicide concentration?

opm

I've got an old box of Gouldings "Clean-Up Total Weedkiller" in my shed, it's not made/sold here in Ireland anymore. It's missing the instruction leaflet from inside the box and there are no directions at all on the outside of the box.

The herbicide comes as a 750g bag of powder which is still sealed, containing 60% Atrazine w/w and 40% Aminotriazole w/w, but I have no idea what concentration solution I should make up for application.

Anyone any ideas?

-opm

fidgetbones

Sounds like something  for environmental health to dispose of safely.

nutcutlet

I agree fb

Dovefromabove

Old weedkillers can be very dangerous - and not just to plants! Some dry powder types can deteriorate over time and become liable to explode or burst into flames.   Please get professional advice and dispose of it safely 

Palustris

I'll say. Aminotriazole is banned for use anywhere near food crops as it is a known carcinogenic agent.

Atrazine is known to cause Heart problems if it gets into Drinking water.

Get rid safely!

Garden Maniac

OOOOh - you really don't want to use or keep that. If you feel the need, please get a modern equivalent, but I can't think for a moment why anyone would want to! What did you have in mind for it, opm? Maybe there's an alternative?

opm

Thanks for the advice, and wow, I wasn't expecting that!  This is normal garden weedkiller, nothing extra strong, extra special, or extra lethal about it.  I'm not surprised that weedkiller might contain carcinogenic elements or be otherwise toxic to the food chain, surely most weedkillers are effectively poisons?  I think that the two ingredients I have are common in many herbicides.

The deterioration angle is interesting, and alarming - I certainly don't want to store or start mixing anything that might not be stable.  @Dovefromabove - any idea of the time frame involved?  I'd say the box is probably about 5 years old, although of course it could have sat in the store room of the local hardware store for just as long.  The bag of powder is still intact, there's been no exposure to air.

I've been sufficiently frightened and will bend to your collective will.  I'll see if the local recycling centre can take it off my hands - they have a section for flamables and toxic chemicals.  I'll tell them about this post and that you reacted as if I wanted to spray my patio weeds with TNT, lol

Obelixx

It isn't a laughing matter.    IThese old chemicals are as bad in tehir way as TNT was.

The herbicide you have has been taken off the market precisely because it is unsafe, even when fresh, for both people and the environment.  It iis illegal to use such products in Europe so take the advice geiven and dispose of it safely by taking it to your local recycling centre where staff should know what to do.

fidgetbones

Some years ago I was clearing out the basement of a chemist. I decided that many of the chemicals were in a bad state and I opted to get a specialist firm in. Man turns up , dons his spacesuit type coverall, and gets to work. All went quiet and I went down to have a look at how he was getting on. He was standing very still, holding a jar in one hand. "fetch a bucket of water quick". I rushed off and got a bucket of water and put it down at his feet. He carefully lowered said jar into bucket of water, and then breathed a sigh of relief. Apparently said chemical should be kept under water at all times. Dry and it becomes explosive. If someone had tried to unscrew the jar, it would probably have taken their arm off. The scary thing was, he was directly underneath the oxygen store and next to a 5 gallon drum of industrial meths.  Kaboom

opm

@obelixx - thanks for that info.  I had contacted the firm that used to distribute the weedkiller and they told me nothing useful like that.  It will be disposed of tomorrow when the recycling centre opens for business.

@fidgetbones - super anecdote!