Biocides - Risks and Alternatives

31.03.2010, PAN Germany, Christian Schweer

The European Parliament and Environment Council are currently considering a biocide regulation, which will revise current provisions for authorisation of products which tackle harmful or unwanted organisms outside agriculture. To coincide with this process PAN Germany has compiled a briefing. In it PAN Germany describes cases and identify aspects of the biocide regulation which urgently need solutions. We are particularly concerned about the following challenges:

• Biocides often include hazardous and persistent substances, which can adversely affect humans, animals and watercourses - 400,000 tonnes of biocides are sold in the EU each year.
• Current EU provisions do not guarantee proper biocide use.
• Up to half of market inspections reveal safety instruction violations.
• Over 15,000 biocide-related incidents have been recorded. Small children are especially affected.
• Many current legal amendments fail to tackle these problems: it is proposed to permit EU-wide distribution of highly hazardous biocides while there is no further support for publishing poisoning incidents.

PAN Germany supports a biocide regulation which is effective in banning the use of hazardous substances, and in a transparent manner, and which promotes real innovation for sound pest management alternatives and ensures the sustainable use of biocides.

Download of the briefing (pdf-file, 1,8 MB)