Health and Safety
Executive / Commission
Biocides &
pesticides
Following on from the article in the Pesticides Newsletter No. 55 (June 2002) the Biocides & Pesticides Assessment Unit (BPU) will be hosting a seminar for the biocides and pesticides industry on 21st November at the Liverpool Maritime Museum. There will be presentations relating to both the Control of Pesticides Regulations and the Biocidal Products Regulations/Directive, and BPU staff will be on-hand for discussions throughout the day and in an 'open forum' session at the end of the day.
A leaflet is enclosed with this Newsletter giving further details and includes a booking form, and places for the seminar will cost £35 - please note that the booking forms should be returned to the address given on the booking form and not directly to BPU.
For further information on the seminar, please contact Alison Wightman at BPU by e-mail via biocides@hse.gsi.gov.uk, or by telephone on 0151 951 3927, fax 0151 951 3317 or by letter at the address at the end of this Newsletter.
The biocides and pesticides unit (BPU) will shortly be issuing Levy declaration forms to Approval Holders for the period 2002/2003. A prompt return of these forms will help BPU in our attempts to keep costs to industry as low as possible. We will continue in our efforts to maintain efficiency savings and your co-operation in this matter is appreciated.
Industry representatives are kept informed of all matters related to Fees and the Levy at the Fees and Charges meetings.
If you have any questions please contact the Levy team on 0151 951 4685 or e-mail bpau.levy@hse.gsi.gov.uk
The way in which pesticidal products are classified and labelled is changing, from July 2004 all plant protection products and biocidal products, the latter group including non-agricultural pesticides, will have to be classified and labelled according to the criteria set out in the Dangerous Preparations Directive 99/45. This Directive is implemented in the UK through the Chemicals (Hazard Information and Packaging for Supply) Regulations 2002, more commonly known as CHIP 3. These regulations came into force on the 24 July 2002.
Products that are currently approved under COPR will have to be classified and labelled according to the criteria set out in CHIP 3, with effect from July 2004. It is the responsibility of the supplier to classify and label products according to CHIP 3; this is a big change from our current procedures.
One of the main changes that CHIP 3 introduces is classifying products for environmental effects, with a new symbol (the 'tree and fish' symbol) required to identify a hazard to the environment. There is also a requirement for the following phrase for to appear on the label of all pesticide products - 'To avoid risks to man and the environment, comply with the instructions for use'
Further information on the changes that have been introduced under CHIP 3 can be found at www.hse.gov.uk/hthdir/noframes/chip/chip1.htm.
BPU will produce guidance to outline how the move to classification and labelling under CHIP 3 will affect pesticides. This guidance will be available on BPU's web site http://www.hse.gov.uk/hthdir/noframes/bpau.htm before the end of the year.
If you require further information please contact the Approvals Section on 0151 951 3535 or by letter to the address at the end of this Newsletter.
Approval Holders of tributyltin antifouling products and creosote wood preservative will be aware that there have been moves at International and European levels regarding these pesticides.
The International Marine Organisation agreed to prohibit the application or re-application of organotin compounds (such as tribtutyltin oxide and tributyltin methacrylate) to ships from January 2003 due to concerns over the risk of adverse effects to the environment. The EU is putting these controls in place via an amendment (2002/62/EC) to the 'Marketing and Use' directive (76/769/EEC). The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) is the lead department in the UK for implementing these requirements, and HSE has been working with DEFRA on how the requirements should be implemented for pesticides approved under the Control of Pesticides Regulations. All tributyltin antifouling product Approval Holders will be receiving a letter in the next few weeks outlining the actions that will be taken regarding their product approvals.
At the European Union level, the Scientific Committee on Toxicity, Ecotoxicity and the Environment has concerns over the carcinogenic potential of creosote and coal tar creosote. The EU has taken action on these concerns through an amendment (2001/90/EEC) to the 'Marketing and Use' Directive (76/769/EEC) which will require that all amateur uses of creosote will be prohibited by 30 June 2003. Professional and Industrial uses will be allowed to continue. There will also be certain restrictions on the use of creosote treated wood. The Department of Trade and Industry are the lead department for this amendment in the UK, and HSE will be carrying out actions on their behalf in relation to COPR pesticides. All affected approval holders will receive a letter from HSE in the next few weeks detailing the actions that will be taken on their product approvals.
If you have any further questions on either of these matters, please contact the Information Section at BPU by e-mail biocides@hse.gsi.gov.uk, by telephone on 0151 951 3535, fax 0151 951 3317 or by letter to the address at the end of this newsletter.
In the Pesticides Newsletters of September 2001 (Issue No. 52) and December 2001 (Issue No. 53) the Biocides & Pesticides Assessment Unit (BPU) announced plans to issue a series of guidance documents covering the chemistry data requirements for non-agricultural pesticides under the Control of Pesticides Regulations. We are pleased to say that the following guidance documents will be available on the BPU website (in the 'pesticides' section) in the next few days:
These documents will initially be available as "final drafts" for a period of 3 months to permit any comments. All comments should be sent to the Efficacy & Chemistry Section at BPU by the 30th November 2002. The finalised documents should be available on the website by the end of the year.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank all stakeholders who assisted us in the development of the first two guidance documents. We would also like to point out that guidance relating to new source applications will soon be available on our website.
If you require any further information regarding these documents, please contact the Efficacy & Chemistry Section by telephone (0151 951 4494), fax (0151 951 3317), e-mail (biocides@hse.gsi.gov.uk) or by letter at the address given at the end of this 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