§ Mrs. Joyce Butlerasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what study he is making of possible less harmful alternatives to dieldrin in agriculture and in the treatment of timber; what progress has been made in any such studies: and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Strang:Under measures that have already been taken, total usage of dieldrin in agriculture in England and Wales dropped to less than two tonnes last year compared with 7½ tonnes in 1974. Over the next two years, we shall be phasing out the few remaining clearances under which it is still used in very limited cir-
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EEC INTERVENTION PRICES AND IMPLIED THIRD COUNTRY OFFER PRICES—WEDNESDAY 29TH NOVEMBER 1978 Commodity Unit EEC intervention price in the United Kingdom Third country offer price £ £ Common wheat … … Tonne … … 90 71 Butter … … Tonne … … 1,495 502 Sugar … … Tonne … … 231 100 Beef (live animals) … … 100 kg … … 72 51 Pigmeat … … 100 kg … … 61 56 cumstances, for example treatment of brassicas against cabbage root fly. All this reflects progress in the development of suitable alternative products for use in agriculture. I am informed by the Health and Safety Executive that the use of dieldrin in timber preservation is of considerable value, but is of course under continuous review through the pesticides safety precautions scheme in the light of the development of possible alternatives.
§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what action he is taking to ban the use of dieldrin pesticide.
§ Mr. Strang:The position concerning use of this pesticide in agriculture and for the treatment of timber is described in the reply given today to my hon. Friend the Member for Wood Green (Mrs. Butler). In the case of the food storage sector, all clearances have now been withdrawn save for lacquer formulations where these are necessary for effective control of cockroaches and tropical ants.