Health and Safety
Executive / Commission
Biocides &
pesticides
BPU would like to thank all the approval holders who paid this years' levy promptly. The recovery rate was high, and there is now only one outstanding account, but as before we will continue to take action against companies who fail to pay by suspending products.
The levy rate for 2001/2002 was 1.91% which is in keeping with the commitment made to industry to increase efficiency and to keep levy costs on a downward trend.
As part of our efficiency improvements we have been able to reduce the time taken for secretariat approvals, which should now take 70 working days or less.
If you have any questions on levy issues please contact the levy team on 0151 951 3258, or on the Approvals group on 0151 951 3865. Alternatively, you can contact them at the address given at the end of the newsletter.
Thank you to the companies who have responded to the request to submit auditors certificates. This annual exercise, based on a sample of companies, allows HSE to demonstrate to the National Audit Office that the sales declarations made (nil or otherwise) are true and fair, and that the levy has been apportioned on an equitable basis.
Some companies however have failed to submit the requested certificates, and it is an additional burden on the levy to have to continually pursue the outstanding certificates. Advice has been provided on what is required from the auditors certificates, but despite this, some companies still appear to have difficulty in meeting the request. We would urge you to contact HSE as in most cases the difficulties can be resolved on advice from BPU staff. Prompt action in this respect will help keep levy costs down. Outstanding auditors certificates are still being pursued. If the problem with the return of auditors certificates continues, HSE may have to revert to a full verification exercise for the 2002/03 levy.
If you have any questions about the auditors certificates please contact BPU on 0151 951 3535.
Further to the article in the March edition of the Pesticide Newsletter (Issue Number 54), the Biocides & Pesticides Assessment Unit have decided on a date for this years seminar.
The event is to be held on Thursday 21st November at the Liverpool Maritime Museum. This venue proved popular with those of you who attended last year.
The seminar is open to delegates from all sectors of the pesticide and biocide industry. There will be presentations relating to the Control of Pesticides Regulations and the Biocidal Products Regulations and also an opportunity to talk to BPU staff throughout the day and at an open forum session.
A leaflet has been enclosed with this newsletter which gives you details of the programme and includes a booking form. Places for the seminar will cost £35 and will be allocated on a first-come-first served basis. All booking forms should be returned to the address given on the leaflet and NOT to BPU.
For further information on the seminar, please contact Alison Wightman at BPU by e-mail on biocides@hse.gsi.gov.uk, telephone on 0151 951 3927, fax 0151 951 3317 or by letter at the address given at the end of this newsletter.
Approval Holders will be aware of the ongoing reviews of anticholinesterase compounds (organophosphorus and carbamate pesticides) (see Issue 40, September 1998). The Advisory Committee on Pesticides (ACP), in April & May 2001 and March 2002, considered the effects on human health from the use of the organophosphate pesticide dichlorvos in non-agricultural pesticide products.
The outcome of this review is that Ministers have agreed that approvals for all non-agricultural products containing dichlorvos should be suspended as a precautionary measure. Ministers took this decision following advice from the ACP and it was effective from the 19th April. In reaching their conclusions, the ACP consulted members of the Committee on Mutagenicity and the Committee on Carcinogenicity. The ACP was concerned that it could not satisfactorily rule out the possibility that dichlorvos is a genotoxic carcinogen (i.e. causes cancer by damaging genetic material - DNA). The ACP recommended that suspension for advertisement, sale and supply for dichlorvos containing products remains in place until such a time as acceptable data regarding the mutagenic and carcinogenic potential can be presented to the ACP.
All relevant Approval Holders received suspension notices.
At the March 2002 meeting the ACP also considered anticholinesterase effects of products containing dichlorvos and recommended to Ministers that all but 3 non-agricultural pesticide products should, as a precautionary measure, be revoked. Ministers agreed to these recommendations. The ACP is concerned that, for long-term exposure to dichlorvos, there may be insufficient margins between the amount of dichlorvos to which users may be exposed, and the amount that may have the potential to cause anticholinesterase effects i.e. potential effects on the functioning on the human nervous system. It is recognised that any such risks would be very small, as the levels of exposure from non-agricultural pesticide products are unlikely to reach levels which could cause concern. Approval for aerosol products and most slow release products (this includes all the amateur products used by the general public) have been revoked.
All relevant Approval holders have received revocation notices. The revocation periods for these products are as follows:
Approval for the 3 professional use only products has been allowed to continue subject to restrictions on the use of the products and the submission of further data.
Please note that the suspension of advertisement, sale and supply remains in place during the revocation period as the suspension is related to the suspected carcinogenicity effects and not anticholinesterase effects. This also applies to the 3 professional use only products.
If you have any further queries about the review please contact BPU by telephone on 0151 951 3535, fax on 0151 951 3317), e-mail biocides biocides@hse.gsi.gov.uk or by letter to the address given at the end of this newsletter.
In the March and September 2001 issues of the 'Pesticides Newsletter' (Issue Numbers 50 and 52) BPU outlined its plans to revise the Pesticide Safety Directive (PSD) Efficacy Guideline document for rodenticides (Part Three/A3/Appendix 3 of the previous PSD/HSE Registration Handbook, formerly working document 10/2).
In the December 2001 issue (Issue Number 53) BPU informed rodenticide Approval Holders that comments were invited on the draft document prior to publication. All comments received during the consultation period (which has now closed) have been considered and if appropriate added to the guidance document.
A copy of the finalised document 'Guidelines on the Efficacy Data Requirements of non-agricultural pesticide products - Rodenticides' can now be downloaded from the BPU website.
Hardcopies of the guidance document are available on request.
If you require any further information on this issue, please contact BPU by telephone on 0151 951 3735, fax (0151 951 3317), e-mail: biocides@hse.gsi.gov.uk or by letter to the address given at the end of the newsletter.
There is some confusion as to what will happen to Experimental Permits under the Control of Pesticides Regulations (CoPR) now that the Biocidal Products Regulations (BPR) are in place. Under BPR, authorisations are required for placing on the market (which includes sale, supply and storage) for use. However, CoPR also places controls on the use of products that have not been placed on the market.
This means that CoPR Experimental Permits will still be required for experimental activities where products, subject to control under CoPR, are used but not placed on the market.
If you require any further information on this issue, please contact BPU by telephone on 0151 951 4254, fax (0151 951 3317), e-mail:biocides@hse.gsi.gov.uk) or by letter to the address given at the end 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
Published on HSE web site 19 June 2002