Food and Environment Protection Act 1985 (FEPA)

Control of Pesticides Regulations 1986 (as amended) (COPR)

Plant Protection Products Regulations 2005 (PPPR) and Plant Protection Products (Basic Conditions) Regulations 1997

Health and Safety At Work etc. Act 1974 (HSWA)

Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH)

Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992

Groundwater Regulations 1998

Relevant  legislation   

Food and Environment Protection Act 1985 (FEPA)

Part III of FEPA aims to:

• protect the health of people, creatures and plants;

• protect the environment; and

• establish safe, effective and humane methods of controlling pests.

This act also sets out arrangements for enforcing its requirements and aims to make information about pesticides available to the public.

Part III of FEPA applies to:

• any pesticide; or

• any substance, preparation or organism that is prepared or used for the purpose of:

– protecting plants, wood or other plant products from harmful organisms;

– regulating the growth of plants;

– controlling against harmful creatures;

– controlling organisms with harmful or unwanted effects on water systems (including sewage treatment works), buildings or other structures, or on manufactured products;

and

– protecting animals against parasites.

Control of Pesticides Regulations 1986 (as amended) (COPR)

These regulations, made under FEPA, specify that:

• all pesticide products must be approved by the Minister; and

• pesticides can only be sold, supplied, stored, advertised or used in line with the regulations.

Under COPR, anyone who uses pesticides in the course of their work must have received training in using them in a safe, efficient and humane way and have the knowledge, skills and experience needed for the duties they will perform. Also, any person who uses a pesticide must use it only on the land, crop, structure, material or other area being treated.

Plant Protection Products Regulations 2005 (PPPR) and Plant Protection Products (Basic Conditions) Regulations 1997

PPPR puts the European Council Directive of 1 July 1991 in force in the UK. It concerns placing plant protection products on the market (91/414/EEC). These regulations aim to make the ‘approval’ of plant protection products consistent throughout the European Union. The Basic Conditions Regulations define the conditions for selling, supplying, storing, advertising and using pesticides approved under PPPR (and are essentially the same as for pesticide products approved under COPR). These regulations, made under the European Council Directive, apply to new active substances and to older actives once they have been reviewed in the European Union.

Health and Safety At Work etc. Act 1974 (HSWA)

This act gives people the following obligations:

• Employers must protect (as far as is reasonably possible) the health, safety and welfare of their employees while at work. This includes providing the necessary information, training, supervision and protective equipment to carry out any job safely, and to protect employees and others;

• Employees and the self-employed must take reasonable care of their own health and the safety of others. This includes wearing suitable protective equipment;

• Suppliers must make sure that substances are safe and do not put health at risk when they are being used, handled, stored or transported. Suppliers must provide information about risks and how the substances can be safely used and disposed of.

Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH)

Under the COSHH regulations there is a legal duty to:

• assess the risks to health when working with substances which are dangerous to people’s health (which includes many pesticides); and

• eliminate or, if this is not reasonably possible, adequately control exposure to these substances.

Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992

These regulations:

• set out the principles for choosing, providing, maintaining and using personal protective equipment (PPE); and

• order that PPE is suitable for both the person using it and the risks it protects against.

These regulations do not replace specific laws dealing with providing appropriate PPE in certain situations.

Groundwater Regulations 1998

These regulations, which bring into force the EU Groundwater Directive Protection of Groundwater Against Pollution Caused by Certain Dangerous Substances (80/68/EEC), aim to prevent the pollution of groundwater by controlling disposal of certain substances, including all pesticides. Under these regulations, a groundwater authorisation is needed before pesticide waste can be applied to land in a way other than as approved for the product.