EU to Ban 22 Dangerous Substances from Pesticides

(Industry Week – Agence France-Presse)

The EU states and parliament agreed a compromise deal on December 18 under which 22 toxic substances will be banned from use in pesticides, negotiators announced. The deal must be formally endorsed by the parliament in Strasbourg and the 27 member states.

“We have made a great step forward for the protection of consumers’ health and of the environment,” said German Green MEP Hiltrud Breyer.

The chemcial blacklist includes eight substances used in the manufacture of herbicides, 11 used in fungicides and three in insecticides, many of them produced by Bayer and BASF – including Ioxynil, Amitrol and Iprodion.

The substances will be banned due to their toxic or carcinogenic effects.The compromise deal, under which a longer list of substances to be banned was dropped, came after the phytosanitary industry complained that 40% of its ingredients would be struck off.