Pesticides (Hansard, 11 June 1997)

§ Mr. Martyn Jones
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what percentage of the active ingredients in common use within pesticides have no safety data; and if he will make a statement. [2629]

§ Mr. Rooker
All pesticides must be approved by Ministers before they may be marketed or used in the United Kingdom. The Pesticides Safety Directorate in my Department takes the lead in evaluating agricultural pesticides and holds safety data on all active ingredients used in approved agricultural pesticides. The Health and Safety Executive plays a similar role for non-agricultural pesticides.

§ Mr. Jones
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many different pesticides products are on the market; how many active ingredients they are formulated from; of those active ingredients how many are(a) in common use and (b) adequately tested; and if he will make a statement. [2627]

§ Mr. Rooker
Approximately 3,700 pesticide products are currently approved for use in agriculture and the home garden. The number of active ingredients contained in one or more of these products is approximately 340.
There is no clear definition of "common use". Levels of active ingredient used will change substantially as new chemicals replace old ones and will vary year by year according to factors such as pest pressures and weather patterns. So far as agricultural uses are concerned, the weights of active ingredients and crop areas treated are monitored and published as Pesticide Usage Surveys.
No active ingredient may be included in an approved pesticide until it has been assessed according to current standards. In addition, under United Kingdom and EC arrangements, programmes to review, "old" active ingredients are carried out to ensure that supporting data packages are brought up to modern standards.

§ Mr. Jones
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many of the pesticides in common use in the United Kingdom are possible(a) carcinogens, (b) mutagens and (c) allergens; and if he will make a statement. [2631]

§ Mr. Rooker
There are a number of different classification systems for mutagens, carcinogens and allergens. These are mainly based in a laboratory assessment of the innate hazard of the compound.
Pesticides are approved following a thorough evaluation by the independent Advisory Committee on Pesticides of the risk that they pose in use. This assessment looks not only at the laboratory estimate of hazard but also at the conditions of use and the consequent exposure of operators, bystanders, food consumers and the environment. If the risk is acceptably small, approval can be granted.
502W
Because the pesticides regulatory system is focused upon acctual risk rather than potential hazard, the figures requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

§ Mr. Jones
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what information is(a) held and (b) regularly gathered on the health effects of pesticides; how this information is collected; and if he will make a statement. [2628]

§ Mr. Rooker
Pesticides are approved on the basis of scientific information supplied by applicant companies; health effects are a key part of this data package. Companies are also required to supply any data that they subsequently generate or receive that may indicate a need to reconsider the risk assessment.
The Health and Safety Executive collect and investigate reports of incidents involving agricultural pesticides. The Department carries out and publishes a comprehensive programme of monitoring of pesticide residues in food and the results are considered by the Working Party on Pesticides Residues, a sub-group of the independent Advisory Committee on Pesticides.