New EU hazard-based pesticide rules to limit toxic offerings

European lawmakers have pesticides in their regulatory crosshairs. Proposed European Union rules will totally prohibit the marketing and use of substances proven to be carcinogenic, mutagenic and toxic for reproduction. However, substances considered “hazardous” could be used if available products did not offer sufficiently effective plant protection.

This exception to the general rule would be subject to strict conditions, with a transitional period of not more than five years. The go-ahead decision by agricultural ministers, which will be further debated this autumn, has annoyed Europe's pesticides industry, which says the new law will remove products from the market that have been used safely for years.Full story: Reuters