Health and Safety
Executive / Commission
Biocides &
pesticides
On Thursday 11 November 1999 the Pesticides Registration Section (PRS) held a one day seminar at the Liverpool Maritime Museum for members of the non-agricultural industry. Delegates attended from all sectors of the industry for a programme that was intended to inform delegates of recent developments in the regulatory process and to encourage discussion on specific topics.
In the morning session presentations were given on current issues on the labelling of pesticides, the fees and charges regime and an update on the review of active ingredients. During lunch there was much discussion, and PRS staff were on-hand to answer questions and give advice to industry delegates. In the afternoon session there was a progress report on PRS research projects and an update on the Biocidal Products Regulations. Following this there was an informal session over coffee where PRS staff again had discussions with industry representatives and there was a demonstration of the REMA antifouling model that is being developed by PRS.
Nearly 80 industry delegates attended the seminar and more than half returned questionnaires on the event. The results showed that all the sessions were well received, with the vast majority of delegates finding the presentations both relevant and useful to them. Encouragingly, all the delegates reported that the seminar met their needs. All the comments received will the considered to see if improvements can be made for any future events run by PRS.
During the coming year, a number of changes are due to take place with regard to HSE procedures for administering the charging system for the work done on pesticides. The prime factor driving these changes is the split in the levy between the agricultural and non-agricultural sectors of the industry, which will take effect in April 2000.
Charges are made to Industry by means of a fee and a levy. Fee rates will NOT be affected by the split and will remain as those listed in the June 1999 Pesticides Newsletter. There will however, be changes in the levy.
The levy is based on industry turnover, and it is clear that the relative size of the agricultural and non-agricultural markets will have an impact on the levy rate, and for the non-agricultural sector the levy rate will increase.
The levy rate agreed at the November fees and charges meeting this year, for payment in 1999-2000, will be the last joint levy.
The levy rate agreed in November 2000 with be the first based on the new arrangements. Payments for the 1999-2000 levy will be continue to be paid, as before, to the Pesticides Safety Directorate in York.
The figures for the exact percentage of increase were not available in time for inclusion in this newsletter. Further details will be available from your Trade Associations after the fees and charges meeting on 30th November 1999, when a trial exercise of expected costs will be discussed.
invoices for both fee and levy for HSE approved products will come from HSE Bootle, and payments for both will need to be sent to Bootle. Further details will be given in the March Newsletter.
For further information please telephone either Irene O'Neill ( Tel: 0151 951 4054) or Gill Smith (Tel:0151 951 4919) or write to them at the address given at the end of this newsletter.
Certificates of Free Sale (CoFS) are granted on request when a company want to export an approved pesticide to a country that may not have an approval system, or may want evidence that the pesticide has UK approval. CoFS may also be issued to state that an active ingredient is recognised in the UK, even if the particular product to be exported does not hold approval in the UK.
CoFS have been issued for many years, and were originally issued by the Department of Trade and Industry to help British exports, however because DTI kept having to contact HSE or MAFF to check if products were approved, they requested that HSE (or MAFF for agricultural pesticides) issue the certificates. The Pesticides Registration Section now issues many hundreds per year.
Whilst CoFS are not statutory documents they are issued on behalf of the Government and as such should not be altered or tampered with. Any unofficial alteration of CoFS for commercial gain could be considered as fraud and companies should note that any deliberate involvement in such practices may result in the withdrawal of the certificate and a restriction on the issue of further certificates
From the beginning of December 1999 PRS's procedure for processing Automatic Experimental Permits (AEP's) will be updated. Upon receiving legal advice we are having to change our procedures so that any Approval for an AEP must be signed on behalf of Ministers. Legal documentation in the form of a Notice of Approval will be sent to the Approval Holder with a covering letter confirming approval for 1 year. This change in procedure may result in a slight increase in the current 2 day processing time due to the need for Ministerial consent but all other aspects of the process will remain unchanged (refer to Registration Handbook Part 2 D19 for details).
If you require any further information please contact Victoria Brennand, Approvals Group, Pesticides Registration Section (Tel: 0151 951 4814 Fax: 0151 951 3317 or the address given at the end of this Newsletter)
Approval holders will be aware that the following phrase appears on the label of Non-agricultural Pesticide products:
The (COSHH) Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 1994 may apply to the use of this product at work.
Recently the COSHH 1994 regulations have been updated into the COSHH 1999 regulations and consequently the above phrase will change accordingly, replacing 1994 with 1999. PRS will amend our records although we will not be issuing amended Notices and Schedules for currently approved products, but Approval Holders are requested to incorporate the updated phrase at their next label reprint.
i.e.
The (COSHH) Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 1999 may apply to the use of this product at work.
All new products going through the Approvals system will have the updated phrase assigned to them.
Any queries on this subject should be directed to Mike Potts at the Pesticides Registration Section on Tel: 0151 951 3859, Fax 0151 951 3317 or at the address given at the end of this newsletter.
A full review of the uses of Copper Chrome Arsenic (CCA) as industrial wood preservatives was initiated in 1996, and in September 1999, the independent Advisory Committee on Pesticides (ACP) considered the available data relating to this use of CCA. The ACP recommended that approvals for products containing CCA be continued subject to certain data requirements.
In addition, there were recommendations for worker protection measures involving a biological monitoring programme and advice on work clothing. These recommendations will be made a statutory condition of approval. Ministers have now accepted the recommendations of the ACP. The approval holders affected by the data requirements and recommendations have been notified by the Pesticides Registration Section.
All of the existing products containing CCA will remain on the market, but will be subject to the new conditions of approval. New applications will be subject to the same conditions.
Details of the review will be made available as a priced evaluation document early next year, which may be obtained, on application in writing, from: the ACP Secretariat, Pesticides Safety Directorate, Room 308, Mallard House, Kings Pool, 3 Peasholme Green, York, YO1 7PX (Tel. 01904 455705).
Accompanying this newsletter is the latest edition of the BPD factsheet; Factsheet 5. This outlines developments in relation to the implementation of the BPD since June this year and includes an update from the recent Competent Authority meeting which took place in November. Your attention is also drawn to the fact that the relevant contact points for biocide related queries has changed.
In April 1999 a letter was sent to all approval holders outlining our intention to carry out an investigation into levels of active ingredient present in currently approved products. The background to this proposal was that research into the use of remedial products showed there was a marked variation between the amount of active ingredient stated on the label and that present in the product when it was applied. Results from an HSE study on a range of products also showed a variation in the amount of active ingredient present in the product to that stated on the label.
Further investigation into this area was felt necessary and in June 1999 the Health and Safety Laboratory (HSL) was commissioned to carry out this work. The initial phase of the project is underway and samples of products are now being collected from retailers and distributors throughout the country, with analysis of these products being the next stage of the project. We are relying on the co-operation of approval holders to help us to identify the most appropriate analytical methods for their products, which should eliminate any differences due to variations in the analytical techniques used.
If your product is part of the study, it is possible that in the near future you will be contacted by a representative from HSL requesting information on the analytical methods you use. If you have any questions about this study please contact Clare McNicholas at the Pesticides Registration Section on Tel: 0151 951 3865, Fax : 0151 951 3317 or at the address given at the end of this newsletter.
Certain Member States have, under the terms of the Amsterdam Treaty, requested a further ban on substances for which they had already secured a ban under the Marketing and Use Directive. Directorate General III of the Commission have informed us that the reason behind this was that the timing of the new Amendment coming into force left a gap where the Member State would not be legally covered. It is on this basis that the Commission is looking at the proposals. No new material has been presented for consideration. The decisions should be published in the official journal shortly.
There is a further point raised by Holland regarding the latest Amendment, in which they express concern at the decision on Cadmium. Whilst this does not affect any pesticidal products, the Directive also included the decisions on Pentachlorophenol (PCP) Copper/Chrome/Arsenic (CCA) and Triorganotins (TOT/TBT). There is a limit for the time allowed for such challenges, but it is not yet known how DGIII will react. At present, all of the agreed conditions remain in place.
There are no changes to any products as a result of these discussions.
There has been a recent proposal by Holland to restrict imports of wood treated with creosote. Government Departments and Trade Associations have been asked to comment on the proposal itself and the reasoning behind it. Please contact the Creosote Council in the first instance if you have any enquiries about this proposal.
There are no changes to any products as a result of this proposal.
If you require any further information please contact Irene O'Neill on 0151 951 4054 or Gill Smith on 0151 951 4919 or at the address given at the end of this newsletter.
If you require further advice or information about any of the articles in this issue of the newsletter, please contact the Pesticides Registration Section by telephone on 0151 951 3535, by fax on 0151 951 3317 or by letter to Pesticides Registration Section, Health and Safety Executive, Magdalen House, Stanley Precinct, Bootle, Merseyside L20 3QZ. Alternatively we can be contacted via e-mail at info.prs@hse.gov.uk
We would like to take this opportunity to wish all our Approval Holders a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Millennium.
Added to the HSE website 15 February 2001