Q1. How are pesticides checked to make sure they are safe?
Q2. I want to report an incident resulting from pesticide use?
Q3. How do I find out what pesticides a local farmer has been spraying?
Q4. Is there a legal requirement for farmers to keep a certain distance from houses when spraying crops?
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. How are pesticides checked to make sure they are safe?
Pesticides can be dangerous. They are used to kill unwanted pests, weeds and moulds, so if not used properly have the potential to harm people, wildlife and the environment. We control their 'approval' (government license) for storage, marketing and use. Our policy is to allow effective ways to deal with pests and diseases and at the same time to protect people, animals and the environment.
There are several stages to get a pesticide approved.
- Pesticide manufacturers send us a wide range of scientific data about their pesticide.
These must show that the pesticide:
- is effective;
- is humane; and
- presents no unacceptable risks to human beings, animals or the environment.
- Our scientific experts check the data. They make sure that the pesticide satisfies the three requirements given above.
- We send our report to the Advisory Committee on Pesticides (ACP).
- The ACP then advises the government ministers responsible for pesticides.
- If the ministers are content they will give agreement for the pesticide to be approved.
- We routinely review the use of approved pesticides and we also review them if we are concerned about their safety. If necessary we restrict or withdraw the approvals for pesticides.
Pesticide approvals
Q2. I want to report an incident resulting from pesticide use.
If you believe the use of pesticides has affected anyone in your family, wildlife or the environment you can report it. We explain how to report your incident on our website.
Reporting incidents
Q3. How do I find what pesticides a local farmer has been spraying?
By law, those who produce food and animal feed must keep records of pesticide treatments. Other professional users will need to keep records of applications in the future (by law), however it is recommended that these records are always made as part of good practice. The 'code of practice for using plant protection products' explains how they record this information.
You can ask the farmer about what pesticides they have been using. They will usually just tell you: however they do not need to by law at the moment.
Code of Practice for using Plant Protection Products.
Q4. Is there a legal requirement for farmers to keep a certain distance from houses when spraying crops?
No, there is no requirement for farmers to leave an unsprayed area when spraying near houses. As long as farmers follow the conditions of use for the pesticide and the advice in the code of practice (see below) there should be no unacceptable risk from pesticide spray.
Before we approve a new pesticide we carry out a 'risk assessment' to look at the effects on people living and working nearby.
- We work out the possible pesticide spray drift from pesticide use.
- We look at the effect of different factors such as wind speed, application rate, type of sprayer and the speed of any vehicle used.
- We use our results to set specific conditions of use for that pesticide.
Farmers must follow these conditions when using a pesticide. They should also follow the advice given in the 'code of practice for using plant protection products'.
The code of practice advises farmers to carry out their own risk assessment before using a pesticide. They should:
- check whether spray drift is likely, taking into account how they will be applying the pesticide and the weather conditions; the law states that the use of a pesticide must be confined to what is being treated.
- consider tell people living and working nearby (this is good practice, but not always a legal requirement, depending on what and how you are spraying);
- take special care when spraying near vulnerable groups such as hospitals and schools;
- take special care where there are public rights of way.
Link to page on the Code of Practice for Using Plant Protection Products.
The Good Neighbour Initiative
As part of the Government’s response to the Royal Commission’s study on pesticides, Ministers asked the National Farmers Union (NFU) to collaborate with industry partners and interested stakeholders to draw up a ‘good neighbour’ guide to advise and assist farmers and crop sprayers using pesticides in populated areas.
As a result the NFU has published the following Best Practice Leaflet and Spray Operator Guide in conjunction with the AEA, CLA, AIC, CPA and NAAC and with advice from the UK Pesticides Campaign. These documents are intended to help spray operators to carry out their work responsibly and to take account of the concerns of residents living adjacent to their land. They may also be a helpful aid to rural residents who may wish to approach their neighbouring farmer with their concerns about pesticide use.
The Good Neighbour Initiative - Best practice when spraying near to residential areas (pdf - 1.45MB, 3 pages)
Good Neighbour Initiative - Spray Operator Guide (pdf - 206kb, 2 pages)
