Below is a list of current hot topics handled by the Chemicals Regulation Directorate's Information Section. You may find answers to your questions by clicking on the links in the following summaries:
Who do I contact if I wish to report a spraying incident?
Please see the following page for guidance: Reporting Incidents.
What conditions are ideal for crop spraying?
This can be answered by looking at the Code of Practice under Section 4: Working with Pesticides, sub-section 4.7 Spray Drift. In this section there is a wind scale giving what speed is considered as 'ideal spraying conditions'
Do I need a spraying Certificate (Licence)
We recommend that all users of professional products receive some form of formal training, but it is only a legal requirement if the user:
- is providing a commercial service,
- applying the product to land which they or their employers do not own, rent or occupy,
- was born after 1 January 1965 and
- is directly and personally supervising someone who is applying a professional pesticides and who does not hold a certificate.
Please see the Code of Practice for Using Plant Protection Products:- Section 2: Training and Certification.
Maximum Residue Levels (MRLs)
Since September 2008 all statutory MRLs have been set on an EC-Wide basis under Commission Regulation 396/2005. This Regulation provides a harmonised system of MRLs setting, and applies to all foods treated with pesticides after 1 September 2008.
Further information on the new MRLs system
Approval Status of Products and the Search Facilities
We have a number of databases available on our website. If you cannot find the product on our database then it is likely that the product is no longer approved.
Problems with manure being used on allotments
We have received a number of enquiries from allotment holders throughout the UK with regard to manure. The manure may contain traces of a herbicide called aminopyralid. For further information please follow these links to our Regulatory Updates 15/2008, 18/2008, 23/2008 and 30/2008.
Answers to Many of the Questions that People Ask can be Found elsewhere on this Site:
Frequently-asked questions,
How to register a pesticide,
Using pesticides safely,
European review,
Code of practice for Using Plant Protection Products (which replace the "Green Code"),
Advisory Committee on Pesticides (ACP),
Pesticide Residues Committee (PRC),
Reporting spraying incidents.
