July 18, 2006

scientists respond to DEFRA pesticides report

Defra has published its response to the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution (RCEP)’s report Crop spraying and the health of residents and bystanders, and has chosen to accept 25 out of 35 recommendations from the report.

More information on the response to the RCEP report can be found at defra’s website.

Professor Alan Boobis (OBE), Professor of Biochemistry and Pharmacology, Imperial College London, said:

“This is a balanced response to the issues and reflects the state of our knowledge well.”

Professor Robert Smith, Deputy Chairman, Advisory Committee on Pesticides, said:

“I am pleased that there has been a thoughtful and balanced response from government. The ACP recognised several years ago that crop spraying was a concern to neighbours and residents. Indeed, the ACP devoted one of its annual open meetings to this topic. The ACP has reviewed its approach to this part of the risk-assessment process and has confirmed that, as a committee, it believes that it provides adequate protection to members of the public. The views of other advisory committees consulted confirm that this is the consensus of scientific opinion.”

Professor David Coggon, Professor Of Occupational And Environmental Medicine, Southampton University, said:

“The Government is right in concluding that a statutory buffer zone would be a disproportionate response to scientific uncertainty.

“Constructive dialogue between farmers and their neighbours can be very helpful in addressing the worries that many people have about pesticide spraying next to their homes.”