§ Hugh RobertsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what economic assessment has been made of the cost of banning Thinsec (Carbaryl) for the top fruit industry. [39245]
§ Mr. Morley[holding answer 28 February 2002]: Pesticide products containing carbaryl have been reviewed as part of the general review in the UK of all organophosphate pesticides. The main purpose of the review is to address public concerns about the potential toxicity of these chemicals and economic impact is not an overriding consideration where safety is concerned. However, the loss of some compounds may have an economic impact on particular sectors of industry. The decision to revoke a particular compound is not taken lightly. It may be revoked because serious safety concerns remain following the evaluation of data submitted in support of the compound or because there was insufficient data submitted for an adequate evaluation of the data to be made. The loss of carbaryl stems from a commercial decision by the approval holder not to support the compound under the UK review.
§ Hugh RobertsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs why the use of Thinsec (Carbaryl) for top fruit has been banned. [39246]
§ Mr. Morley[holding answer 28 February 2002]: Carbaryl has been included as part of the general review in the UK of all organophosphate pesticides. The review was undertaken because of public concerns about the potential toxicity of these chemicals.
Organophosphate pesticides are mainly older compounds and the review will establish whether there is sufficient safety data available to satisfy modern standards. Companies are therefore required to submit data they hold on human health and environmental effects to support the continued safe use of the products containing these compounds. If data are not submitted then the approval for these products are revoked.
The approval holder for carbaryl did not submit supporting data, therefore products containing carbaryl have been revoked. The approval for the product Thinsec expired on 31 July 2001.
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§ Hugh RobertsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions she has had with her EU counterparts on the decision to ban Thinsec (Carbaryl) for UK top fruit producers; and which EU countries plan to follow the UK's lead. [39244]
§ Mr. Morley[holding answer 28 February 2002]: Under EU rules the UK is not obliged to inform other member states of any national review programme of pesticide products undertaken to address national issues. However, all member states and the commission were informed of the UK programme to review organophosphate compounds, which includes carbaryl. In addition, all are automatically informed of any new product approvals and revocations. A separate European programme intends to review all active substances used in plant protection products within the community and all member states and the commission are involved in this decision-making process.
The approval holder for carbaryl did not submit supporting data under the UK review and therefore the approval for all products containing carbaryl, including Thinsec, have been revoked. Under the European review programme carbaryl has been supported so far. Data for the evaluation of carbaryl must be submitted to the member state evaluating the compound by the end of April 2002. The continued approval of carbaryl throughout Europe is therefore dependent on the conclusions of that evaluation.
It is possible for member states to carry out their own review exercises and for these to be carried out at different times to the European review. Member states are not obliged to follow other countries, domestic decisions regarding the approval or revocation of compounds. In this case, the UK organophosphate review was introduced to address public concerns about the safety of these compounds and we have acted in a consistent manner to revoke their use where appropriate.