Pesticide Levels in UK's Waters Better in 2007, Reports Say
Two new reports from the Pesticides Forum indicate levels of pesticides measured in Great Britain's waters returned to normal in 2007 after being significantly higher the previous year. One of the reports, which is titled "2007 report of indicators reflecting the impacts of pesticide use," also says very few cases of illness related to pesticide use are reported to or confirmed by the Health and Safety Executive, the UK equivalent of OSHA.
More needs to be done to encourage proper disposal of unused household and garden pesticides, the report notes. "It is important that the Pesticides Forum plays its part in making sure that the vision of a 'brave new world’, being presented by Brussels and the UK Government on the sustainable use of pesticides, helps to meet the increasing demand for food and fuel by protecting plants, while ensuring protection of the environment and people," said James Clarke, chairman of the forum. "We have an increasingly important role in bringing together the wide range of interested people and organizations to facilitate understanding, promote best practice, and monitor the impacts."
He said the forum "welcomes developments such as the proposed EU Directive on the sustainable use of pesticides and the UK Pesticides Strategy. Integral to these is the work of the Voluntary Initiative and Amenity Forum. The combined efforts of all these will help reduce risk by providing a framework for controls on use and more fully embedding best practice measures across all sectors."
The forum's Annual Report 2007 is available at www.pesticides.gov.uk/pesticides_forum.asp?id=1606. The second report is avaiable at www.pesticides.gov.uk/pesticides_forum.asp?id=1879.