PESTICIDES Learning from our mistakes


A


s the latest raft of legislation to protect the public against dangerous chemicals received


approval by the European Parliament late last year, Brian Hopkinson drew little comfort from the impassioned promises made by MEPs to clamp down on an industry that many argue is contaminating the planet. With the REACH (Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals) Act unlikely to come into force until 2007, it's already far too little too latefor Hopkinson who suffers from a rare condition called multiple chemical sensitivity, which has left him bed-ridden and allergic to just about every chemical imaginable; from those used in plastics, carpets and clothing to washing up liquid, disinfectants and even those found in the air. The 55-year-old former groundsman


from Manchester blames his deteriorating condition, which has symptoms of depression, fatigue, dizziness and headaches, on exposure to environmental chemicals in his former work.


He says his home has had to be stripped bare and he spends most of his time in an expensive organic bed because normal mattresses are coated in fire- repellant chemicals. He even has to hang new clothes on his washing line for months to allow the rain to wash out


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chemicals before he can wear them. But as Hopkinson calls for pesticides to be more tightly regulated, many in the industry argue that, nowadays, pesticides are among the most heavily regulated and scrutinised products in commerce. “We have made mistakes in the past,” admits Jon Allbutt, an advisor to the groundsmanship and greenkeeping industries and chair of the Amenity Forum. “But I don’t expect the REACH legislation to have a huge impact on pesticides because Britain is one of the most advanced countries in the world in terms of regulating the use of pesticides.” Even so, he’s the first to concede that the pesticides industry is forever kept on its toes by a constant threat of litigation. “There’s always this threat,” he says. “I know of one local authority who instructed their workers to spray water instead of pesticides for a while to see if it would have an effect on the number of complaints and legal threats they received. They received the same number of complaints as before with people saying their dogs had fallen over and that they felt dizzy. Local authorities are very aware of how people perceive pesticides these days.”


But even though Allbutt is quick to speak of how much progress the groundsmanship and greenkeeping industries have made in recent years in terms of ensuring a safer use of


pesticides, others believe this industry is still some way behind the agricultural sector. “Farmers are ahead of the game,”


argues Peter Sanguinetti, Chief Executive of the Crop Protection Association. “They’ve been up-to-date with training and best practice for some time and our members are keen to join forces with the amenity sector to organise training workshops for spray operators to follow a code of best practice.”


Sanguinetti says he hopes the recent Amenity Forum Conference on the ‘weed and pest control challenge’ will help many more spray operators gain industry ‘MOTs’ to ensure they’re fully up-to-date with safety procedures in using pesticides. He does admit though, that with stories constantly surfacing in the media linking pesticides with Parkinson’s Disease and low fertility rates as well as critical pieces examining the environmental damage caused in creating seasons-defying, beautiful weed- free golf courses, there’s always going to be an interest in finding a “smoking gun”.


But according to Allbutt, if the pesticides industry is to ever fully gain public confidence and trust it'll have to undergo something of a Glasnost period of coming to terms with the mistakes its made.


“One of the benefits of growing old


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