PRESQUE ISLE — State pesticide regulators decided Thursday to review a rule requiring applicators of Captan, a fungicide used by the apple industry to control scab, to notify abutting landowners of the chemical’s use and associated health risks.

However, until a final decision is made, Captan users must continue to notify their neighbors regarding the chemical’s application.

The request to repeal the Captan notification rule was made by the Maine Pomological Society, which represents about 75 apple producers in the state.

“I don’t mind telling people when I’m spraying or what I’m using,” said Arthur Kelly, chairman of the society’s environmental affairs committee, and an apple grower from Acton. “I can’t inform them of the health risks.”

Captan has been found to cause cancer in laboratory animals, according to Dr. Carole Eckert, a PCB member. However, the chemical’s label only contains information for the applicator.

“The label doesn’t tell the whole story,” Erkert said.

Kelly said neighbors with questions about Captan’s health risks can contact state or federal officials rather than rely on information supplied in a notification letter.

According to the society’s spokesman, apple growers have been advised not to use Captan until the notification process is changed. At the same time, growers may be forced to use other fungicides more often and in greater amounts to achieve the same performance level as Captan, Kelly said.

The board also voted to negotiate consent agreements with potato growers who applied more top killer than is directed on the chemical Diquot’s container label.

Farmers of 75 potato operations have admitted to using more than the prescribed two pints of Diquot per acre annually, according to Henry S. Jennings, chief of certification and enforcement for the board.

An additional 15 operations merit further investigation, Jennings said.

Meanwhile, the University of Maine Cooperative Extension has conducted research on the application of three pints and has applied for PCB approval for extended use of the chemical.

According to Extension potato specialist, Edwin Plissey, the added application would not result in a food safety problem.

The board also voted Thursday not to lower the pesticide drift standard from 20 to 10 percent. At the same time, the board plans to increase monitoring incidents of drift in order to develop data on whether the standard should be lowered.

Board Director Robert I. Batteese Jr. said after the meeting that pesticide applicators should be able to attain a maximum drift of 10 percent on a sensitive area.

The board determined that chemical-pollution liability insurance for commercial applicators is available, and voted not to extend a three-year waiver regarding coverage. Variance permits were approved for Maine Public Service Co. and Maine Department of Transportation herbicide treatment programs.