§ Lord Onslow of Wokingasked Her Majesty's Government:
What studies have been made of the time that can be expected to elapse between the pollution of a watercourse and the recovery of invertebrate life in the case of (a) synthetic pyrethroid sheepdip; and (b) other comparable pollutants. [HL1634]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (Lord Whitty)There is limited information about recovery times for invertebrate life in watercourses polluted either by synthetic pyrethroids or by comparable pollutants.
It is possible to predict the impact of such pollution in laboratory studies, but effects observed in a laboratory are often not replicated in the aquatic environment. Recovery times tend to be site specific and to relate to factors such as the nature, magnitude and duration of the exposure and the diversity of the invertebrate population.
§ Lord Onslow of Wokingasked Her Majesty's Government:
What arrangements they have made to monitor the pollution threat from synthetic pyrethroid sheepdip; and when these were last reviewed. [HL1633]
§ Lord WhittyThe Environment Agency undertakes regular surveillance of watercourses. This includes sampling downstream of potential sources of synthetic pyrethroids and monitoring, targeted on the basis of predictive modelling, to assess pollution dispersal in catchment areas. The agency is currently undertaking a comprehensive review of monitoring, which will include a focus on substances of concern such as synthetic pyrethroids.