If you prepare or manage a contract, specify or agree the product to be used or are involved in the use of a pesticide (either directly or through the procurement and employment of contractors), you are responsible for ensuring that the work will be carried out in accordance with the law. Both the person who has tendered the contract and the contractor should monitor work to ensure that the law is adhered to and agreed standards met so that the risks to people and the environment are assessed and adequately contained. Training and guidance is available to help you understand the risks and sorts of controls that may be necessary and how you can keep up-to-date with any changes.
The EU recently adopted a ‘Thematic Strategy for Pesticides’ to further reduce risks associated with the use of these chemicals. The Strategy covers issues such as: the training of users; sales; testing spray equipment; prohibiting or minimising use in amenity areas; and the need for users to adopt an ‘integrated’ approach to weed control.
The use of pesticides can be an important element in managing amenity situations, and they are already strictly controlled. Before any product gets to the market, CRD’s experts assess its risks and, to ensure safety for people and the environment, they will often impose restrictions on how the product can be used. Other conditions include requiring professional users to be trained and to demonstrate they have sufficient knowledge to apply products safely (they can prove this by holding appropriate certificates of competence).
The Health and Safety Executive’s Chemicals Regulation Directorate (CRD) will shortly be consulting on how the Strategy is to be implemented in UK on behalf of Defra. For more information about the new EU Thematic Strategy and the UK consultation, please see CRD’s website http://www.pesticides.gov.uk/environment.asp?id=1980
Defra has issued a consultation document detailing options for implementing new EU legislation relating to the use of pesticides.
Key issues for those who use, or contract the use of, pesticides in amenity situations are:
What is the most appropriate way of ensuring that it is minimised (for example, should the government restrict the amount of available product or should the emphasis be on improving the information available to, and skills of, users or those who contract use).
How to ensure all applications are carried out in accordance with the principles of integrated pest management (a regime which promotes use of a range of control techniques);
Whether the public should be notified in advance of any spray operations (and if so how this might work);
What records of pesticide applications should be kept and how should provisions relating to public access to these records be implemented.
The consultation closes on 4 May 2010. Defra is particularly keen to hear from local authorities on what the proposed changes to the law might mean for local government.
http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/pesticides/
