Health and Safety
Executive / Commission
Biocides &
pesticides
As you will be aware, an important part of the levy collection process is to obtain auditor certificates from a percentage of companies who made declarations. This allows HSE to demonstrate to the National Audit Office (NAO) that a proper audit trail exists to verify that sales declarations made (nil or otherwise) are true and fair. To-date, many of the companies asked to submit auditor certificates have failed to do so. If this problem is not resolved in the near future, HSE may have to revert to a full verification exercise for the 2002/03 levy. It is also worth noting that having to continually chase up companies for auditor certificates adds an extra cost burden to the levy. To resolve this issue, Approval Holders who were asked to supply certificates and who have not yet submitted them to HSE are requested to do so promptly.
If you have any further questions on any of these issues, please contact BPU at the address at the end of this Newsletter.
The marketing and use of pesticides and biocides in Great Britain is controlled under The Control of Pesticides Regulations 1986 (as amended 1997) which were made under FEPA, the Food and Environment Protection Act 1985 and the Biocidal Products Regulations 2001 which implements the Biocidal Products Directive (98/8/EC). The Health and Safety Executive is the regulatory authority for all non-agricultural pesticides under COPR, which include the public hygiene insecticides, wood preservatives, surface biocides, antifouling products and rodenticides. The primary objectives of FEPA are to protect the health of people, animals, plants and the wider environment and to ensure that pests are controlled in a safe, efficient and humane manner. HSE is also the competent authority for biocidal products under the BPR/BPD, which includes all the product types covered by COPR as well as other products such as disinfectants; avicides; in-can, film and fibre/leathers preservatives, and other preservatives; and specialist biocides such as embalming fluids. The role of the Biocides & Pesticides Assessment Unit (BPU) of HSE is to carry out the scientific evaluation and associated risk assessment of products.
This statement outlines the level and type of service we believe our clients deserve and that we will endeavour to provide. The level of service is complemented by clearly defined standards. It will also give details of the action you can take if you are unhappy with any aspect of the service you have received.
BPU serves a very wide client base, including the pesticides industry, consumers, the general public, local authorities, enforcement bodies, other government departments, policy sections, official committees and pressure groups. As a large part of the work of BPU involves dealing directly with the pesticide industry, this statement is mainly aimed at this client base, however, we aim to ensure that all our clients received the same high level of service.
When dealing with our clients we will always consider addressing their needs to be a priority. We aim always to be courteous, helpful and accurate in all our contacts with you. We will use plain language and avoid the use of technical jargon wherever possible. The confidentiality to which our approval holders have become accustomed will be maintained.
Members of BPU staff will give you their names during all telephone conversations, in all correspondence and at meetings. Where appropriate we will also wear name badges or provide name plates at meetings or at public events.
We will always try to answer telephone queries promptly. If the answer to your enquiry cannot be given straight away, we will try to respond with further information the same day, and a full answer within ten working days. If your enquiry is not appropriate to the initial contact, you will be forwarded to a more appropriate member of staff.
We aim to answer all correspondence within a deadline of ten working days. If we are unable to respond fully within this time period for any reason, we will contact you to let you know why and when you may expect a full response. We will monitor enquiries for performance.
We are always happy to meet with our clients, but if for any reason a meeting has to be cancelled we will arrange a new appointment at a mutually convenient time.
We will aim to carry out the evaluation of your applications as quickly and efficiently as possible, without compromising scientific quality and safety considerations. To aid this process, we will provide you with clear and helpful information about the approvals process and the legislation affecting approvals. Further information and details of the data which would be required to support an approval under COPR is given in the COPR Registration Handbook. This handbook also identifies the data requirements required for approval, which are updated periodically. Copies of the handbook are available free of charge from the address given in the 'How to Contact Us' section of this statement. Further information on the requirements of the BPR/BPD scheme is given in the publication 'Biocidal Products Regulations : A Guide to Applicants' which again is available from BPU.
We will keep our procedures under review to see if improvements can be made, and to ensure that we provide the most useful and economical service possible to our customers
biocides and pesticides unit is always keen to hear the views of its customers on the service we provide. We therefore invite any clients to telephone, write or fax their comments to us. These will be used in conjunction with our ongoing assessment of ways in which we can improve our service. Where appropriate, we may also carry out surveys for your comments.
We will comply with our statutory responsibilities to provide access to information on non-agricultural pesticides.
Following a decision by the independent Advisory Committee on Pesticides, we will make sure that an evaluation document giving details of the committee's decision and a summary of the data they assessed to reach this decision, are made available. This will apply to all active ingredients approved or reviewed since 1986. The evaluations, which are priced documents, will be available from the ACP Secretariat, Pesticides Safety Directorate, Mallard House, Kings Pool, 3 Peasholme Green York YO1 7PX.
If you wish to view the data underlying a published evaluation, a room will be available, by appointment, at our Bootle Headquarters for your use.
We will keep our clients up to date with developments in legislation or procedures which may affect their applications or approvals. This will be done via the Pesticides Newsletter (issued to all approval holders), Biocides Fact sheets (issued to all approval holders and biocides contacts), the monthly 'Pesticides Monitor', the annual Pesticides 200-' and the Advisory Committee on Pesticides Annual Report (the latter three produced in conjunction with DEFRA). We will also write directly to those of our customers affected by a certain issue to arrange meetings with them to further discuss the matter if needed.
When submitting an application for approval, please ensure that you include as much information as you can, as this will help us process your application as quickly as possible. If you are unsure about any aspect of an approval, please contact us and we will do our best to help. All products are dealt with following receipt of the fee. Prompt payment and prompt return of signed NS1 forms and draft Schedules mean faster approvals.
If you feel that the service you have received has fallen below expected standards, we will welcome your comments, and will ensure that action is taken to correct matters. You should initially contact the person who is dealing with your application or enquiry. If this member of staff cannot answer your complaint to your full satisfaction, they will put you in contact with a more senior member of staff.
If you are still not completely satisfied (or are unsure who to contact), you should write to Ms. Ann Brazier head of the biocides and pesticides unit, at the address given in the section "How to contact us". Your complaint will be extensively investigated, and you will be sent a response within ten working days of your complaint being received.
If you remain dissatisfied, you can write to the Director General of the Health and Safety Executive, Timothy Walker or you can also write and ask your MP to take up your case with us or with Ministers. Your MP may also ask the independent Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration (the Ombudsman) to review your complaint.
Our postal address is:
Biocides & Pesticides Assessment Unit; Health and Safety Executive; Room 123 Magdalen House; Trinity Road; Bootle; Merseyside L20 3QZ.
Telephone : 0151 951 3535
Fax : 0151 951 3317
Our office hours are between 9:00 am and 5:00 pm Mondays to Fridays, though cover is normally provided from 8:00am to 6:00pm.
Further details of the approvals system and many of the our publications are available on our website 24 hours-a-day.
If you have a question about the progress of a specific application or
review, please contact the named officer responsible for that area of work.
For more general enquiries about the approvals process, application procedures
or other information on non-agricultural pesticides and biocides, please
contact us at the address given above.
In the September 2001 issue of the 'Pesticides Newsletter' (issue No. 52) BPU outlined to you its intention to circulate its draft guidance covering the following areas
(i) Storage stability
(ii) Method validation.
These draft documents are now ready for circulation and will be sent out later this month to all approval holders, trade associations and other interested parties for their review. Written comments will be invited for a period of up to 90 days from date of issue of these documents.
If you have any further queries please contact the Chemistry Section of BPU at the address given at the end of this Newsletter.
Further to the article that appeared in the September Newsletter (Issue 52, September 2001), this is a further reminder to Approval holders that the deadline for outstanding technical specifications is 31 December 2001.
BPU would also like to request submission from each approval holder (if not already provided), a list of active ingredients used in their approved products and the name of the corresponding manufacturer and/or supplier of that active ingredient.
After the above deadline has passed all approval holders will be contacted to inform them either that BPU has received the necessary information and no further action is required, or that BPU requires outstanding information by a set deadline.
If you have any further queries please contact the Chemistry Section of BPU at the address at the end of this Newsletter.
In the March and September 2001 issues of the 'Pesticides Newsletter' (Issue Numbers 50 and 52) BPU outlined to you its plans to revise the PSD Efficacy Guideline document for rodenticides (Part Three/A3/Appendix 3 of the previous PSD/HSE Registration Handbook, formerly working document 10/2).
A draft of this document has now been prepared and will be circulated to all Approval Holders and other interested parties during the week commencing 17th December 2001. Any comments you may wish to make on the draft document should be received by BPU no later than the 11th March 2002. If you require any further information on this issue, please contact the Efficacy Section of BPU at the address at the end of this Newsletter.
The review of the use of dichlorophenyl dimethylurea, as known as diuron, as a booster biocide in antifouling products carried out by HSE on behalf of the Advisory Committee on Pesticides has now been published. The evaluation gives details of the data that was considered during the review, including physical-chemistry, mammalian toxicity, operator exposure, environmental fate and behaviour, ecotoxicology and efficacy.
The document reflects the outcome of the 278th meeting of the ACP, and is available as a priced publication (£19.00), reference 'Advisory Committee on Pesticides Published Evaluation No. 201 - Evaluation on Diuron (dichlorophenyl dimethylurea) - Use as a Booster Biocide in Antifouling Products' from:
ACP Secretariat
Pesticides Safety Directorate
Room 202 Mallard House
Kings Pool
3 Peasholme Green
York
YO1 7PX
HSE will be holding 2 half day Road Shows early in 2002 to cover recent developments in the implementation of the Biocides Directive. The Road Shows will run from 1.30pm to 4.30pm, and will be held in Bootle (1103 Daniel House) on the 16th January and in London (Rose & Globe Rooms, Rose Court) on the 23rd January. They will update Industry on Scope issues, the Review Regulations, other EU issues (technical and competent authority meetings) and any issues arising from implementation in the UK. If you wish to attend one of these free Road Shows please complete the booking form attached to this Newsletter. If the Road Shows are vastly oversubscribed we will consider running some in the mornings on the same dates.
Approval Holders will notice that there is no Biocides Fact Sheet accompanying this issue of the Pesticides Newsletter. This is because there has been insufficient movement at the European level to justify the publication of a Fact Sheet for this quarter. The next issue of the Biocides Fact Sheet is expected to be published in March, alongside issue 54 of the Newsletter.
If you require any further advice or information about any of the articles in this issue of the Pesticides Newsletter, please contact the Biocides & Pesticides Assessment Unit by telephone on 0151 951 3535, by fax on 0151 951 3317, or by letter to: Biocides & Pesticides Assessment Unit, Health & Safety Executive, Magdalen House, Trinity Road, Bootle, Merseyside L20 3QZ. Alternatively we can be contacted via e-mail at biocides@hse.gsi.gov.uk
Back Issues of the Pesticides Newsletter and further information on pesticides and biocides can be found on the BPU webpages.
We would also like to take this opportunity to wish all our approval holders and interested parties a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, and we look forward to hearing from you in 2002!
Name:______________________________________________ Company:___________________________________________ Address:____________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________
Tel No:_____________________________________________
_______________________________________ Venue:_____________________________________________
(Bootle - 16 January 2002 or London - 23 January 2002) Places will be allocated on a first come first served basis. (There are 60 places in Bootle and 75 in London.) Please complete this form as soon as possible and send it to: Mrs S Lloyd Room 123 Magdalen House Stanley Precinct Bootle Merseyside, L20 3QZ Tel: 0151 951 3535 Fax: 0151 951 3317
Published on HSE web site 30 January 2002