I am very pleased to welcome you to the Pesticides Forum website.
The UK Government is firmly committed to encouraging the responsible use of pesticides. It supports its commitment principally through
a rigorous product approval system. However, many issues concerning pesticide use relate to the way products are handled and used. This is the area in which the Pesticides Forum, established in 1996, plays an important role. The Forum's membership brings together a wide range of organisations representing those who make, use or advise on pesticides as well as environmental, conservation and consumer interests. Many of the members are already engaged in initiatives to promote best practice. The Forum provides a mechanism for exchanging ideas and for encouraging joint initiatives to address particular issues. It also provides advice to Government on pesticide usage matters. I hope that you find the information on these pages helpful in gaining a fuller picture of the Forum and its work. We are always keen to communicate with you and welcome your comments and questions. Please feel free to email me at: pesticidesforum@hse.gsi.gov.uk
Best Wishes
James Clarke
Chairman, Pesticides Forum
Welcome to the latest report of the Pesticides Forum: ‘Pesticides in the UK – The 2008 report on the impacts and sustainable use of pesticides’.
In announcing the report, the Forum Chairman, James Clarke, outlined the progress made with the delivery of the Government’s ‘UK Pesticides Strategy’ by saying "Our report indicates that the use of pesticides is not impacting adversely on the health of UK citizens or the environment. The mix of statutory and voluntary controls delivered within the framework of the Government's UK Pesticides Strategy have been successful in ensuring that society derives the benefits which can accrue from the responsible use of these chemicals, without being exposed to unacceptable levels of risk which could arise from their use."
The report highlights key developments and trends in the use of pesticides during the last year. The Chairman particularly welcomes the impact of new low use rate fungicides in reducing total fungicide use and the relatively low number of breaches in pesticide legislation identified in Rural Payments Agency (RPA) cross compliance inspections. The report also identifies issues that the Forum believes need further monitoring or work, such as:
- Monitoring the impact of more land being used for farming on pesticide use and the removal of approvals for some pesticides
- The benefit of having a wider range of information from which it could assess the risks that can arise from the use of pesticides
- A reported increase in the number of wildlife incidents arising from the abuse of pesticides
The Chairman concluded, "The public can be assured that users of pesticides are applying these chemicals in a responsible manner. Many users take specialist advice before, during and after applications, and are adopting practices which exceed the statutory requirements. As such, the UK is well placed to meet the demands to further improve the way we use pesticides which will follow from the requirements of the EU directive on the Sustainable Use of Pesticides."
Please use the links below to view the report, but here are a few hints to help you find your way around the document:
- The report has been published as an Ebook. Once you open the document you will view it as you would a paper report. You can maximise the view by pressing the F11 button on your keyboard. Clicking the screen button (Ebook toolbar, third button from the left) will further increase the magnification of the text.
- Clicking on the left mouse button allows you to magnify your view of that particular area of page. To return to normal view move the cursor to a different part of the page and left click again.
- Hover your cursor over the buttons on the Ebook toolbar to see what they do.
- To turn a page of the report you can either:
use the arrow buttons in the Ebook toolbar at the top of the screen
or you can hold the cursor over the page and ‘drag’ the page over as if you were turning the leaf of a paper book.
- Please be patient when moving between pages as some PCs may take a moment to download the new page.
- Use the contents list (Ebook toolbar, first button on the left - green magnifying glass) to move to different chapters in the report and click on the button again to return to the contents page.
- There are links (green typeface) throughout the report. Click on these links to find out more information on a particular subject.
- The print button (Ebook toolbar, fourth button from left) gives you a range of printing options. Please note that the page numberings which appear in the print options, like those which appear in the Ebook toolbar, relate to the total number of pages in the report and are not, therefore, the same as the figures at the bottom of numbered pages.
- The search facility for the Ebook (Ebook toolbar, sixth button from the left - capital A and magnifying glass) works for the current view only. If you wish to search the entire document, click on the PDF button (Ebook toolbar, fifth from left) and, once the PDF version has opened, enter your search term in the box labelled 'Find'.
We hope that you find our report interesting and informative. If you have any questions about the report please email us at: pesticidesforum@hse.gsi.gov.uk We would also like to hear from you if you have any suggestions as to how these user hints might be improved.
You will need Adobe Flashplayer to view the document in Ebook format. Please click here for a free download: Adobe Flash Player
link to Ebook version of report
Alternatively, if you prefer to view a PDF version, you can open the report with Adobe pdf reader.
Click here if you need to install Adobe Reader.