§ Joan RuddockTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what monitoring of glufosinate ammonium is being carried out in water courses and supplies in the vicinity of GM crop trials. [4464]
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§ Mr. MeacherBefore glufosinate ammonium was authorised for use in GM crop trials, the Advisory Committee on Pesticides (ACP) considered scientific data, which included data relevant to the risk of the compound entering water. The Government accepted the ACP's advice that winter use could be allowed in the trials (which are subject to a number of conditions including a limit on the treated area); the ACP did not advise that monitoring of water was needed.
The ACP noted that the data provided did not rule out that one of the metabolites of glufosinate ammonium might locally exceed the 0.1 g/1 standard set for drinking water. Although any exceedance would be localised and short-term, the ACP recommended that winter use should not be allowed on a commercial scale until the company had provided further data.
The Pesticides Safety Directorate is working with the Environment Agency to develop arrangements that will ensure that all sites for experimental field use of pesticides are kept away from vulnerable ground waters. This is a precautionary step as existing restrictions on experimental use are designed to prevent damage to the environment irrespective of the location of the experimental site.