Few agricultural areas would have conditions as predictable and controllable as the broad flat cotton fields. In Tasmania 3,000 petitioners asked for a 2 km buffer zone, and achieved a nominal 100m. There are no buffer zones in Queensland. In NSW it is illegal to spray pesticide within 150m of the boundary of a dwelling or public premises without written consent of the occupiers. Subdivision of rural land in horticultural districts brings spray right up to suburban gardens and some rural Councils have attempted to impose 500m buffer zones around development sites, without much success so far.
More forward planning is needed.
These are too numerous and complicated to describe in detail. Short-term effects of many pesticides include dizziness, nausea, sore eyes and throats, prolonged fatigue and increased respiratory difficulties. The people most at risk are probably owner-operators and neighbours. People who eat the sprayed crops are protected to a small though inadequate degree by regulations controlling pesticide residues in food. Employees have access to information from Worksafe or unions.