§ Lord Melchettasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether, in view of the fact that herbicides based upon ester hormone compounds are now recognised as sufficiently volatile and potent that they may vapourise from target crop leaf surfaces and this vapour causes damage to nearby broadleaved crops, they will ensure that standards for an acceptable level of volatility of pesticide compounds are introduced under the Pesticide Safety Precaution Scheme and that any compound found to be too volatile is withdrawn from the list of Approved Products for Farmers and Growers.
Earl FerrersA combination of circumstances must occur before there can be any risk of damage of the kind to which the noble Lord refers. First, certain ester formulations need to have been used in the vicinity of susceptible crops; and thereafter weather conditions need to be such both that vapourisation occurs and is then borne in the direction of the non-target crop concerned. Recent publicity, which has 1149WA been issued by my department, has highlighted the need for farmers to take commonsense precautions in such circumstances. In prescribing safeguards under the Agricultural Chemicals Approval Scheme and the Pesticides Safety Precautions Scheme, the advisory committees concerned already have regard to any husbandry or other risks which could arise from drift. It would be premature to consider withdrawal of the relevant products from the "Approved" list at the present time. However, with the objective of minimising risks to nearby susceptible crops, field and laboratory measurements of the volatility of such products are being made, and their label recommendations are being reviewed.