EU pesticide review leads to further product removals 

The European Union removed a large number of pesticides from the market in July 2003 and is set to withdraw many more by the end of the year. A new report from the UK regulators has called for urgent development of safer alternatives.      

The review of pesticides registrations by the European Union (EU) has resulted in the withdrawal of 320 pesticides in July 2003 (48 of which were approved in the UK), and a further 90 will be withdrawn at the end of 2003. At present, there are two parallel systems for the approval of pesticides in EU member states. Under the first system, the scientific evaluation of pesticides is carried out at the national level. However, this is gradually being replaced by a system in which a major part of the scientific evaluation is carried out by the European Commission. This transition was introduced first for ‘plant protection products’ (mainly agricultural pesticides), but it is now being extended to other pesticides (known collectively as biocides). 
    Under the EU system, the active ingredients (ai) in pesticides are assessed by a committee of Member States, and if they are shown to be acceptable they are entered on a list of substances known as ‘Annex I listing’. Once an ai has been listed, formulated products containing the ai can be approved in Member State countries for specified uses.
    New chemicals are increasingly being approved under the European system; for agricultural pesticides this process is conducted under the Authorisation Directive 91/414. Under Directive 91/414 work has begun to review the many older pesticides that are marketed in individual EU countries. This review will result in a large number of pesticides no longer being marketed. Table 1 summarises the current state of the review, which prioritised pesticides into four phases (phase one being those of the most concern to regulators decreasing to phase four, those of the least concern to regulators). 
    About 320 compounds from phases two and three were withdrawn earlier in 2003. A further 90 chemicals from phase four will be withdrawn in 2004 (four of which are approved in the UK: boric acid, sodium chlorate, sodium cyanide and tar oils). Many compounds are being withdrawn because they were not supported by companies for commercial reasons. However, in addition, some were being removed because they failed to meet the stricter health and environmental standards set by the review. Although some new chemicals are being approved (42 new active ingredients approved by the European Commission since 1993), it seems clear that there will be a net loss of pesticides – possibly 500 from an original total of 865. The review is due to be completed by 2008.

A search for alternatives in the UK
In the UK, the Advisory Committee on Pesticides (ACP) advises government ministers on pesticide safety, working in parallel with the European Commission. The ACP has recently produced a draft report¹ that aims to cover the range of alternative pest control methods available to farmers and growers, to consider why these alternatives have not been used more widely to date, and finally to consider whether the present pesticide regulatory system needs to change to accommodate these alternatives. It concludes that alternative methods currently available in the UK cannot offer realistic substitutes for the conventional pesticides being withdrawn under the EU review. It is crucial that safer alternatives be developed and adopted by farmers and growers that are acceptable to the general public. (DB)

1. Alternatives to conventional pest control techniques in the UK: a scoping study of the potential for their wider use. Draft for discussion at ACP Open Meeting, 15 October 2003. The final document is due in early 2004.

[This article first appeared in Pesticides News No. 62, December 2003, page 18]