Death by a thousand cuts
The quiet erosion of pesticide standards by the previous UK government and how to fix it
September 2024
D
espite promises made to tackle the biodiversity crisis and address the impact of pesticides on bees and other key species, the outgoing administration has not had a good track record. This is particularly highlighted by the four-year rolling ‘emergency’ derogation for the use of the beetoxic neonicotinoid, thiamethoxam, on sugar beet. It is, therefore, heartening to acknowledge Labour’s public commitment to closing this loophole. However, these derogations are just the visible ‘tip of the iceberg’ of an ongoing weakening of UK pesticide standards that has occurred over the past five years. Almost all of the changes have slipped in under the radar and are not immediately obvious. Cumulatively, and if allowed to continue, they could result in a significant undermining of UK pesticide legislation and open UK residents, consumers and the environment up to unforeseen harms. Similarly, many of these ‘invisible’ measures could also result in negative effects elsewhere as the UK exports its pesticide-related harms to impact workers, communities and wildlife in third countries where our food is grown. PAN UK is keen to discuss the issues raised in this briefing further. Do contact us at josie@pan-uk.org if a meeting would be useful.
Pesticide approvals Since leaving the EU, it has been no secret that the UK lacks the capacity to properly undertake the pesticide approval functions that were shared by the 28 EU Member States. Pesticide active substance approvals should be renewed every 15 years but, due to this lack of capacity, the UK government has chosen to grant automatic approval extensions for a wide range of active substances. The result is that harmful pesticides are being allowed to continue to be used without a proper assessment of their toxicity. Some pesticides initially authorised for a maximum of 15 years (as EUderived legislation dictates) will be on the UK market for 20 years or more without going through a renewal process. Some examples have been provided below of active substances that have received automatic appeal extensions. The focus is on Highly Hazardous Pesticides (HHPs) which is a UN concept used to identify pesticides with high potential to cause harm to human health or the environment.1
66 In 2021, the HSE gave an automatic three-year approval extension to any active substance whose approval was due to expire before 31st December 2023.2 It is unclear exactly how many active substances this extension was applied to, but it included a number of HHPs including;
®® Captan – carcinogen ®® Imazalil – carcinogen and Endocrine Disruptor (EDC)
®® Tefluthrin – acutely toxic and highly toxic to bees
Sugar beet Credit: Leopictures/Pixabay.com
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